ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)

[tigerluver]

Copying this here as requested.

(12-30-2016, 07:19 PM)parvez Wrote: Northeast tiger genes unique, says study

The tiger population of the Northeast is genetically different from the rest of the country, an official tiger report has revealed for the first time.

The revelation was made in the detailed report of Status of the Tigers, Co-predators and Prey in India brought out by Wildlife Institute of India and National Tiger Conservation Authority that for the first time has dealt with genetic structure of tigers in the country to ensure effective conservation efforts.

There are mainly two large population clusters of tigers in the country - the northeastern population and population of the rest of the country.



"The tiger population in the Northeast represents a unique cluster when compared to those from the rest of the country. An interesting step would be to investigate the admixture of genetic material between these and the Indo-Chinese tigers ( Panthera tigris corbetti) found in the border areas of the northeastern states," the report said.

Senior professor at the Wildlife Institute of India and one of the authors of the report, Yadvendradev Jhala, said: "Tigers from the Northeast India are distinctly different in their genetic composition. This is likely as the Northeast tiger population probably forms a zone where there has been historic gene flow from Myanmar."

"This is the route tigers took to enter India and this process has been continuous, resulting in mixing of genes of tigers from Southeast Asia and India. It creates a different and distinct composition of gene frequencies in the region," he added.

Wildlife biologist with NGO Aaranyak, Firoz Ahmed, said: "The tigers of the Northeast have more chances to share its genes with the Southeast Asian tigers of Myanmar, Thailand and South China because of its habitat connectivity in the trans-boundary areas. Therefore, the Indo-Chinese sub-species and the tiger population of the Northeast India are likely to be very similar. Further genetic study may reveal this."

"The tiger population of the Northeast is significant for conservation as they may work as a stepping stone to exchange genes between the Royal Bengal tiger and Indo-Chinese tiger. This will help gene pool preservation within the tiger species," he added.

The report said the Northeast, Dibang and Namdapha formed one population cluster, while Manas, Kaziranga, Nameri and Buxa formed a second cluster.

Quantifying gene flow in tiger populations was also crucial to the understanding of how ancestry, dispersal and isolation operate in maintaining metapopulations, the report said. A metapopulation consists of a group of separated populations of the same species which interact at some level. The authorities also carried out non-invasive genetic sampling where tiger populations could not be assessed by camera trap because of logistic constraints like extremely low density. Scats collected in each landscape, across the country.

Under non-invasive genetic sampling , 12 tigers were found in Namdapha, Dibang and Dampa reserves in the Northeast, respectively.

Overall, in the northeastern hills and Brahmaputra landscape, Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong-Pakke-Nameri-Orang is the largest source (163 tigers) and should be managed as a single metapopulation. Enhanced protection in the region will help build prey and subsequently tiger population in the long-term, the report suggested.
Manas-Buxa, along with areas of Bhutan landscape, had potential to sustain higher number of tigers and were currently below their carrying capacity. Dibang and Namdapha show good promise for tiger and biodiversity conservation but needed more conservation investment, the report added.

https://www.telegraphindia.com/1160208/j...GZr3VR97IU

Reply

[parvez]

I read somewhere about athleticism of Amur and Bengal Tigers. I do not know where it is. Hope Peter doesn't mind me on posting here. I think amur tiger is slightly more agile than Bengal tigers speaking about general way of life in the wild. We can observe movement of Bengal tigers they seem to walk with slight stress. They do not seem to express their agility more often. Agility in the sense ability to move body parts quickly. But when provoked they seem to express unmatched athleticism. There was an incident where a Bengal tigress in Nepal mauled a researcher who climbed a tree branch and was 15 feet above the ground. So Bengals can do exceptional feats when provoked. While amur tigers seem to be athletic and agile in general way of lifestyle.
Edit: @peter If you feel this is irrelevant here please feel free to move it to the thread where this was discussed or delete it. Reply

[Polar]

Amur Tigers maybe tend to be more agile with their torsos, since they are skinnier there but less flexible in forelimbs due to their thickness and extra "fatty skin" layer than Bengals.

Agility is difficult to describe and assess, just like strength. Reply

[GuateGojira]

(01-13-2017, 07:40 AM)parvez Wrote: I read somewhere about athleticism of Amur and Bengal Tigers. I do not know where it is. Hope Peter doesn't mind me on posting here. I think amur tiger is slightly more agile than Bengal tigers speaking about general way of life in the wild. We can observe movement of Bengal tigers they seem to walk with slight stress. They do not seem to express their agility more often. Agility in the sense ability to move body parts quickly. But when provoked they seem to express unmatched athleticism. There was an incident where a Bengal tigress in Nepal mauled a researcher who climbed a tree branch and was 15 feet above the ground. So Bengals can do exceptional feats when provoked. While amur tigers seem to be athletic and agile in general way of lifestyle.
Edit: @peter If you feel this is irrelevant here please feel free to move it to the thread where this was discussed or delete it.

I can confirm the event of the tigress in Nepal, is described in the book "Tiger Moon" of Fiona and Mel Sunquist.

@parvez, it seems that you can't receive more PM, please check them because I can't send you my answers to your last two questions. Reply

[parvez]

(01-15-2017, 12:01 PM)GuateGojira Wrote:

(01-13-2017, 07:40 AM)parvez Wrote: I read somewhere about athleticism of Amur and Bengal Tigers. I do not know where it is. Hope Peter doesn't mind me on posting here. I think amur tiger is slightly more agile than Bengal tigers speaking about general way of life in the wild. We can observe movement of Bengal tigers they seem to walk with slight stress. They do not seem to express their agility more often. Agility in the sense ability to move body parts quickly. But when provoked they seem to express unmatched athleticism. There was an incident where a Bengal tigress in Nepal mauled a researcher who climbed a tree branch and was 15 feet above the ground. So Bengals can do exceptional feats when provoked. While amur tigers seem to be athletic and agile in general way of lifestyle.
Edit: @peter If you feel this is irrelevant here please feel free to move it to the thread where this was discussed or delete it.

I can confirm the event of the tigress in Nepal, is described in the book "Tiger Moon" of Fiona and Mel Sunquist.

@parvez, it seems that you can't receive more PM, please check them because I can't send you my answers to your last two questions.

Yes guate, since the last few days i am having the problem of PMs. Though i have deleted almost entire inbox the problem still persists. I am doing my best to solve this problem. Yes @GuateGojira , I can recollect it but i do not remember where i read it. Thanks for confirming. Reply

[peter]

IM MEMORIAM - DR. CHARLES McDOUGAL (1930-2016)

http://www.mikeldunham.blogs.com/mikeldunham/2016/05/in-memoriam-dr-charles-mcdougal-1930-2016-nepals-lifelong-friend-and-protector-of-its-tigers.html Reply

[peter]

'THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL MORPHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF CAPTIVITY', Hartstone-Rose (A) et al, November 2014

Interesting article. The conclusion is that the diet of captive big cats has more effect on skull shape than, for example, sex. This should tell you something, as the differences between skulls of male and female big cats is significant. When you see them next to each other, they seem to belong to two different species. Sexual dimorphism is pronounced in big cats. One reason, apart from size, could be diet.

Diet is the word to remember, as it could be the solution for the problems seen in many captive big cats. The advice of the authors is to change the diet of captive big cats:  

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0113437#pone-0113437-t004 Reply

[peter]

'BABARIYA: A COMMUNITY OF PROFESSIONAL TIGER POACHERS' - article in Republica (Nepal Republic Media) of 17-02-2016 by Chhatyal, D.

The Babariya, from India, are very good at what they do. They do tigers. Although they only get a fraction of the value of a tiger sold on the black market, they take honour in their trade. When they get the instruction, they move to the reserve targeted and start work. In one year, in one region in Nepal, they killed 8 tigers. At least.

The Nepalese studied them for about a year and know how they work. They also know that most parts of what used to be a wild tiger are moved to China and Vietnam. Although in custody now, the Babariya will be set free one day. As tiger hunting is their business, chances are they will continue in the way they did. I wonder if it would be possible to turn these specialists, who know all the tricks, into rangers: 

http://admin.myrepublica.com/society/story/37209/babariya-a-community-of-professional-tiger-poachers.html Reply

[peter]

'STAVING OFF EXTINCTION: A DECADE OF INVESTMENTS TO SAVE THE WORLD'S LAST WILD TIGERS (1995-2004)' - Gratwicke, B. et al, (Save The Tiger Fund, Washington DC, USA)

This is the first evaluation of the performance of $ 12,6 million invested by Save The Tiger Fund in 13 out of 14 tiger range countries. Interesting read (76 pp.) offering some insight in the way a large organisation involved in conservation tries to affect a situation that seemed all but hopeless nearly two decades ago.

The Preface was written by J. Seidensticker and Exxon Mobile was, by far, the largest contributor. 

Did it have an effect? Of course it had. Every effort to make a difference has an effect, but money is important as makes the world turn round. That, a vision, expertise and dedication. Dedication in particular. Same in conservation: 

http://www.nfwf.org/results/evaluationreports/Documents/STF_Eval.pdf Reply

[peter]

'The superficial layer of the MUSCULUS MASSETER and the well-developed process of the maxilla in the tiger Panthera tigris', Sasaki M. et al, in"Mammal Study 25, pp. 27-34 (2000)

This study, in a way, can be seen as complementary to the study discussed in post 1086 in that it offers insight in the skull structure, tendons and muscles of big cats. It also shows in which respects they differ from small cats.   

One of the 2 tigers used for the study was a captive, 14-year old, male Sumatran tiger with a greatest total skull length of 320 mm. A pity they didn't include skulls of wild Sumatran tigers in order to be able to describe the differences between wild and captive big cats, but interesting: 

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/mammalstudy/25/1/25_1_27/_pdf Reply

[Pckts]

(01-26-2017, 08:52 PM)peter Wrote: 'The superficial layer of the MUSCULUS MASSETER and the well-developed process of the maxilla in the tiger Panthera tigris', Sasaki M. et al, in"Mammal Study 25, pp. 27-34 (2000)

This study, in a way, can be seen as complementary to the study discussed in post 1086 in that it offers insight in the skull structure, tendons and muscles of big cats. It also shows in which respects they differ from small cats.   

One of the 2 tigers used for the study was a captive, 14-year old, male Sumatran tiger with a greatest total skull length of 320 mm. A pity they didn't include skulls of wild Sumatran tigers in order to be able to describe the differences between wild and captive big cats, but interesting: 

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/mammalstudy/25/1/25_1_27/_pdf

I have been looking for a description of muscle functions in big cat skulls, this was very helpful. TFS Reply

[peter]

ESSENCE, BONES, MUSCLES AND EVOLUTION

When you're interested in muscles, you have to start with the bones. As bones and function are strongly related, anyone interested in anatomy should read a bit about the essence of a species. That and evolution. 

Big cats evolved a long time ago. Everything you see today is a result of evolution and that largely is a result of what they do. All cats are professional hunters. Big cats can be considered as super cats: specialists who used the available opportunities in the past to develop into big game hunters.

Compared to most professional big game hunters before them, modern big cats are smaller and not as heavy. Same for skulls and teeth. The result is a more adaptable animal able, if need be, to change from big herbivores to hares at any moment. Even the two biggest Panthera species, lions and tigers, combine size, weight and strength with athleticism. In regions that still have big herbovires, big cats are larger and heavier than in regions where big animals have been exterminated. In these regions, big cats could develop into largish generalists within a few generations only. The keyword is adaptability. Big cats know all about it, as it was one of the conditions to survive the changes in the last 200 000 years or so. There were many. 

Today is the day of humans. In a century only, human overpopulation and a free for all kind of system resulted in the destruction of the natural world and global warming. Bad news, but not more so than, say, a decent vulcanic eruption, tsunamis, melting ice and meteorites. Mammals, perhaps, can be considered as the best answer to conditions severely affected by what I would consider as speed foremost.   

Returning to bones, muscles and big cats. Modern big cats can get big at times, but it doesn't show in the bones. Weight today isn't a result of large bones, but muscle mass. The question is how relatively small and light bones can be effective for a professional big game hunter subject to immense pressure at times. The answer is angles and density (different from robustness). That and skill (technique). 

When we want to discuss big cat skulls, muscles and the effect of captivity, we need precision. When I was in Stuttgart in 2012, I got these drawings from Dr. D. Mörike. They were posted in another thread some time ago, but a repost in this thread is not a bad idea. The 'big cat' in this case is the 'domesticated' house cat:   

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Reply

[Polar]

Big cats have some dense bones for sure, even small domestic cats. All carnivores tend to have denser bones in general than most other mammalian families.

From what I've read, the tiger has the thickest forearm bones for body size than any other big cat, and the lion excels this in the humeral bone (especially ancient lions). Muscle mass contributes significantly to bone mass/density in wild animals, and the more muscle, the thicker the bones. Denser bones are contributed mainly from how strong the muscle is and the concentration of muscle within those bones. Reply

[Kingtheropod]

(01-27-2017, 05:40 AM)Polar Wrote: Big cats have some dense bones for sure, even small domestic cats. All carnivores tend to have denser bones in general than most other mammalian families.

From what I've read, the tiger has the thickest forearm bones for body size than any other big cat, and the lion excels this in the humeral bone (especially ancient lions). Muscle mass contributes significantly to bone mass/density in wild animals, and the more muscle, the thicker the bones. Denser bones are contributed mainly from how strong the muscle is and the concentration of muscle within those bones.

Indeed. This I think is the reason why captive animals tend to have less dense bones then wild ones. Captive animal usually have less muscle mass then wild ones, and in addition less bone mass. That is what we have found in the case of skulls for lions at least. Reply

[peter]

TIGER HUNTING BOOKS 

Over the years, I bought a lot of books in second-hand bookstores. I also visited a lot of foreign cities to search for books. Still do it. This is how I found 'Man-eaters of Kumaon' (Jim Corbett).

A decade ago or so, the internet became more important. Today, book-sellers from all over the world use it to reach potential customers. There are many ways to search for tiger books, but 'tiger hunting books' always paid dividends.

A century and a half ago, big game hunters started writing about their experiences. Although some failed to deliver anything of interest, most had something to say. The best of them will drag you into unknown regions that were very wild only a century ago. Some books really are small treasures.   

Compared to many things that most of us need for some reason or another, old books are not that expensive. They range between 10 and, very seldom, 500 American dollars and I can fully confirm that most are a joy forever. This post has a few sites that could be of interest.

The first of these is Safari Press. Not seldom, they ask someone in know to write a book for them. These books are signed by the author and have a limited edition. Although they, compared to many others, are a bit expensive, the books are new and neat. Same, of course, for the photographs.

The second site is this one:    

http://www.shakariconnection.com/tiger-hunting-books.html

Highly recommended. Same for Safari Press. Reply