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ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)
ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)
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ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)
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IM MEMORIAM: DR. ALAN ROBERT RABINOWITZ (December 31, 1953 - August 5, 1918) - VOICE OF THE NATURAL WORLD
 *This image is copyright of its original author 1 - Introduction When young, I invested a lot of time in finding books about wild big cats. In my home town, it was far from easy. This was the reason I decided to look elsewhere. I found a good store in a small city not too far from Amsterdam. When I had bought just about everything of interest, the owner told me he had found a book not yet known over here. It was 'Jaguar, Struggle and Triumph in the Jungles of Belize' (1986). I had not heard of Alan Rabinowitz before, but after finishing the book I asked the owner to keep me informed about his whereabouts. He did until he had to close the store. The flipside of the internet is people read less than they did. A great pity. Good books about wild big cats are few and far between. Most of them were written a long time ago. Books published after, say, 1960 didn't really compare. The book about the Indian tiger written by Dr. Schaller was quite exceptional in this respect. Same for the book about the Belize jaguar written by Rabinowitz. My trade is tigers, but I also try to keep in touch with jaguars. The reason is personal experience. In the early eighties of the last century, I visited Surinam, French Guyana and the northern part of Brazil. When doing a trip into the interior of Surinam, the guide noticed I had something else on my mind. He proposed to go to a wild place he knew well in order to see the things I was after. Our first stop was an island in a big river. The guide didn't sleep in a tent, but under the canoe. Although experienced, he too didn't hear or see the jaguar visiting our camp at night. His prints, right in front of the tent, said he was just saying hello. That day, we explored the island. Although it wasn't overly large, we didn't seen him. Next morning, we saw deep scratches on the tree next to the canoe. Very fresh, they were. In my opinion, he said the hotel, after two nights, would close down for the season. He had work to do. The guide agreed our time was up. In the countries I visited, Indians and locals fear jaguars. I do not doubt they have good reasons, but when man and cat accidentally meet it is about the way they interact. That, circumstances and something difficult to describe. Here's a longish quote from an article written by Richard Sandomir in the New York Times of August 8, 2018: " ... Some years after persuading the government of Belize to set up the jaguar reserve, the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, Dr. Rabinmowitz was walking trough it when he saw the tracks of a large male. He began to follow it until it was getting dark - and realized that it was lurking behind him. Terrified, he thought to make himself small and untreathening. "So I squatted down and I was expecting the jaguar - hoping the jaguar - would just walk off. Although I loved watching it, I was also scared. And the jaguar just sat down. And he sits there on the trail, the trail I have to go back on. Sitting there, looking at me." Still uncertain how to proceed, Dr. Rabinowitz stood and fell on his back, thinking he now was easy prey. "The jaguar let out kind of a guttural growl and stood up and walked towards the forest," he said. " And right before it went into the forest, it turned and it looked back at me for a few seconds and our eyes met. And I remember that look so clearly from the cages in the cat house at the Bronx Zoo" ... " (New York Times, August 8, 2018). The jaguar most probably had seen people before. Alan Rabinowitz was different from many others. Wild big cats have the eye. They know. This photograph of a Sumatran tiger was first posted by Phatio:  *This image is copyright of its original author 2 - From The New York Times orbituary ('Alan Rabinowitz, Conservationist of Wild Cats, Dies at 64', August 8, 2018) The article written by Richard Sandomir in the New York Times is outstanding. Here's another long quote about a few things you should know: " ... Alan Robert Rabinowitz was born in Brooklyn on dec. 31, 1953. His father, Frank, was a high school physical education trainer, and his mother, Shirley (Felman) Rabinowitz, was a homemaker. His stutter led public schools in Far Rockaway, Queens, to put him into classes with children with Asperger's syndrome, dyslexia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and other conditions that other children around him often mocked. He underwent hypnosis and shock therapy and was given drugs. "It made me realize that adults thought I was broken, so I gave up trying to communicate with them," he told Publishers Weekly in 2014. He added, "I have no memories of being able to speak without severe disfluency, and I remember a childhood filled with fear and pain." He found relief when he was 18, at a clinic in upstate New York, where he learned to speak fluently. He graduated from Western Maryland ... in Westminster, Md., with a bachelor's degree in Biology and Chemistry. At the University of Tennessee, where he studied black bears, raccoons and bats, he earned a master's and a Ph.D. He wrote his dissertation about the ecology of the raccoon in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Dr. Rabinowitz was a research fellow at the Wildlife Conservation Society when Dr. Schaller, who was a top executive there, suggested that he go to Belize to study jaguars. "He had a vision for himself that he hadn't realized," Dr. Schaller said. "When you meet someone like that you have to give him a try." That set Dr. Rabinowitz on a path of exploration and adventure, one that dealt with not only jaguars, lions and tigers. In northern Myanmar, for example, he discovered a previously unknown species of deer, the leaf muntjac, and in the Himalayas he met the last known Mongoloid pygmies in the world, called the Taron. Recalling his meeting with one pygmy, Dr. Rabinowitz said he had communicated nonverbally with him. "He started making gestures about young children, which I didn't quite understand at first," he said in a 2013 interview with the On Being Project, which focuses on subjects involving moral imagination and social courage. When he realized that the man had asked him why he had no children, Dr. Rabinowitz answered through a translator, "Why do you assume I have no children?" The man replied, "Because you act like a man who still has this deep, deep hole inside of him." The conversation led him to think differently about his family and to decide with his wife, Salisa Rabinowitz, to have children (He and Salisa Sathapanawath had met in Thailand, where Dr. Rabinowitz was giving a lecture at the university where she was attending. They married in Thailand in 1992. They had a daughter, Alana, and a son, Alexander ... " (The New York Times, August 8, 2018). 3 - A voice for those unable to talk As a child, Alan Rabinowitz suffered from a severe stutter. It had a devastating effect, resulting in isolation. It also had another result: " ... There are two things that stutterers can do without stuttering: one is sing, and I could never sing. The other is speak to animals," Rabinowitz told U.S. comedian and TV host Stephen Colbert in an interview. "So coming home from school ... I would go into my closet and talk to animals like the chameleon, the green turtle, the gerbil, and I realized that animals don't have a voice. They're just like me. They can think, they have feelings, but they don't have voices. So at that particular point in my childhood as they were allowing me to pour my heart out to them, I made a promise to animals. I swore to them that if I ever found my voice and stopped stuttering, or if I could control my stuttering, I would be their voice. I would actually try to speak for them and save them ... " (Mongabay.com, August 7, 2018 - 'Alan Rabinowitz, big cat evangelist and voice of the wild, dies at 64'). His father often took him to the Bronx Zoo. Young Alan found joy in talking to them as well, especially an old jaguar, who was wary and watchful: " ... I would sit and whisper to this jaguar, outpooring all my emotions", Dr. Rabinowitz said in an interview with Natural World Safaris, a tour operator, "and I promised that if one day day I found my voice I would become their voice ..." (The New York Times, August 8, 2018). Did he keep his promise? This is from an article dedicated to Dr. Alan Rabinowitz I found in the National Geographic of August 2018): " ... He traveled the world studying jaguars, clouded leopards, Asiatic leopards, tigers, Sumatran rhinos, bears, leopard cats, raccoons, and civets. His work in Belize resulted in the world's first jaguar sanctuary (the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary). In Taiwan, his work helped establish the country's largest protected area and last piece of intact lowland forest. In Thailand, he generated the first field research on Indochinese tigers, Asiatic leopards, and leopard cats, in what ultimately became the region's first World Heritage Site. And in Myanmar, his work led to the creation of five new protected areas, as well as the discovery of the world's most primitive deer, the leaf deer, in the northern part of that country. He wrote more than 100 scientific and popular articles, as well as eight books, including a children's book entitled A Boy and A Jaguar ... " (National Geographic, August, 2018). Apart from all that, in 2006, he and his close friend Thomas S. Kaplan founded 'Panthera', a non-profit organisation dedicated to the conservation of the world's 40 wild cat species and the vast landscapes that hold them. He moved to Panthera full time in 2008. 4 - Quality According to conservation biologist Thomas E. Lovejoy, a former director of the World Wildlife Fund-US program and a National Geographic Fellow, Alan Rabinowitz had the ability to think and act big. He also had an irascible impatience with organisational grandstanding: " ... "When trying to save tigers, he came to the determination that the biggest problem with tiger conservation was tiger conservationists being more focused on the success of the organisation than the tigers themselves; it drove him crazy" said Steve Winter, a National Geographic photographer who worked with him. Rabinowitz, he said, was critical of organizations seemingly intent on having meetings, spending money, and having good PR. He was quick to be critical, and he had a few rough edges in how he did things, but he never got confused about what was quality conservation and what was quality science, Lovejoy recalled ... " (National Geographic, August, 2018). Red tape, vanity and countless combinations are seen everywhere all the time, but people like Dr. Alan Robert Rabinowitz are few and far between. When they go, you only see emptyness: " ... In a tribute, Panthera co-founder Kaplan wrote that losing Rabinowitz was like losing a twin. "It is beyond mourning," he wrote ... " (Mongabay, August 2018).  *This image is copyright of its original author 5 - Links, videos and photographs The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/08/obituaries/alan-rabinowitz-conservationist-of-wild-cats-dies-at-64.html The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/alan-rabinowitz-zoologist-dead-conservationist-animals-jaguars-a8484291.html Tribute (Panthera video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zCVVEEAp-E Rabinowitz' work in Myanmar resulted in a number of new reserves. One of these was the Hukawng Reserve. At 21,890 sq. km., it's the largest tiger reserve in the world. Here's a photograph of Rabinowitz with Myanmar government officials in 2000 (Steve Winter, Phantera):  *This image is copyright of its original author Most unfortunately, problems erupted in Myanmar. The video and the news report below say the reserve is going downhill rapidly: Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj476RWIf7U NewsRep: https://thenewsrep.com/106442/violence-in-myanmar-rises-tiger-population-plummets/ In Bhutan, the situation is very different. I knew about tigers in Bhutan, but was surprised at the number. I was, however, not surprised to find this picture:  *This image is copyright of its original author
Tiger – A Living Heritage of India
“nirvano vadhyate vyaghro nirvyaghram, chidyate vanam;
tasmadvyaghro vanam raksedvanam vyaghram ca palayet.”
[The Tiger dies without the forest, and similarly the forest is cut down without the Tiger. There can be no forest without Tigers and no Tigers without a forest. The forest shelters the Tigers and Tigers guard the forest.”] - The Mahabharata
From abundance and a position of reverence to a brush with Extinction - this sums up the story of the Tiger in India. Tigers are not only a symbol of all that is splendid, mystical and powerful about Nature. They are also a beacon of Biodiversity, linking together the forests they inhabit and the natural resources and ecosystem services that their habitats produce for the people. Tigers have played integral roles in ancient and modern cultures and folklore, being used to represent various characteristics and symbolisms throughout the centuries. They are also considered one of the charismatic mega fauna and are used as the face of conservation campaigns worldwide.
Palaeontological Evidences:
The oldest fossil remains of the Tiger in India were discovered at Karnool cave deposits in Andhra Pradesh, approximately 11,000 years ago. Some of the earliest images of the Tiger came from rock art. This was mainly because Tigers and early Man must have shared dwelling sites in the cave shelters and along the rocky outgrowths of hills and slopes. These rock drawings are depicted at many sites especially in Madhya Pradesh including Bhimbetka, the Mahadeo hills and Panna. The ancient people regarded Tigers as a kind of ‘totem’, and hoped they could derive strength from them so as to become immune to all kinds of disasters.
Indus Valley Civilization:
The Tiger has been India’s national symbol since about 2500 BCE (Before the Christian Era). The people of the Indus Valley civilization (2900 BC-1900 BC) of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro were the first to use the Tiger as an important symbol in their cultures. It was displayed on the Pashupati seal, where the Tiger, being the largest, represents the Yogi Shiva’s people. Other images showed the naked figure of a woman, upside down with her legs apart and two tigers standing to one side. It implied the close connection of the Tiger with fertility and birth and that Man and Tiger evolved together from the same ‘Mother-Earth’. “The depictions of animal figures on the seals from the Indus valley civilization were a mark of our heritage, culture, lifestyle and religious beliefs and practices.”
Shiv Pashupati – Lord of Animals [Photo: tigertribe.net]
Aryans and Hindu Mythology:
In India, the Tiger had also found a place of prestige in Vedic literatures. When the Aryans (Vedic Indic people - who migrated into the Indian subcontinent around 1500 BCE), spread the Hindu religion, the Tiger was absorbed into Hindu consciousness from the time immemorial, as the Divine vehicle of the supreme Goddess of power, Durga. Bringing light and peace to the Earth, Devi Durga, whose name means ‘beyond reach’, is the feminine force or Shakti, created by the Gods to combat the evil male power that has percolated through the world. The Tiger represented Shakti, was a repository of feminine force being born of the Earth Mother, and together constituted the most powerful repository of power against evil. This imagery can be seen in the Devi-Kothi temple in Himachal Pradesh – an 18th century wooden shrine with muralsfull of Tigers, as well as other Shakti temples throughout the country. One of the most important Hindu God - Shiva can be seen seated on a Tiger skin. Bagheshwar - The Tiger God is present in different manifestations among a variety of people in India, particularly among the Vindhyan and other hill tribes. When Buddhism evolved from Hinduism and spread through Asia, the Tiger came as spiritual and cultural images, which adorn splendid murals in temples in Bhutan, China, Thailand and Tibet.
Divine Vehicle of Goddess Durga (Photo1: Valmik Thapar)
Ma Vyagrabahini worshipped at Hatibagan Kundu Bari, North Kolkata (Photo 2: Author’s own click – Pujo 2017) Tigers in Human cultures: Forests have always been central to Indian civilization, representing the feminine force in ‘Prakriti’. Forests are the primary source of life and fertility, a refuge for the wanderer and a home for the seeker. Forests have always been viewed as a model for societal and civilizational evolution. The Tiger is deeply rooted in the history, culture, beliefs and myths of the Indian sub-continent. v BON-BIBI and DAKSHIN RAI – Deities of Sundarban Tribes:
Banbibi (Bandurga or Byaghradevi), the revered guardian spirit of the forests, worshipped by both Hindu and Muslim residents of Sundarbans. The honey-collectors and the woodcutters before entering the forest, seek her blessings for protection against the Tiger attacks. It is believed that the demon king, Dakshin- Rai, an arch enemy of Banbibi actually appears in disguise of Tiger and attacks the human beings. Dakshin Rai, the God of Tigers has been born of the imaginations of the people living in the Sunderban areas, who believe that he is the only God who can protect them from the beasts of the jungle.
Ma Bonbibi – Mother to humans and Tigers (Photo: indiatimes.com)
v Kollong and Ullatar tribes of Kerala considered Tiger as the son of Goddess Parashakthi. They called the Tigers,“Grand-dad”. They rarely killed Tigers. If the Tigers killed many people and cattles, then one of the tribal men would kill the Tiger and asked for pardon in a public place. Then he had to live outside the village for a year and eat the food given by others. This showed the respect they had for the Tigers.
Tiger worshiped by Kollong and Ullatar tribes (Source: 31-11-1963 article in Jayakeralam) [https:// tamilvedas.com]
v The Warli tribal people of India believed that the Tiger was the greatest of all Gods. The Warli tribals lived in the North of Mumbai in Maharashtra on tracts of land along the Gujarat border. They practiced subsistence agriculture using the slash and burn method, and rarely used fertilizers, hence believing that Mother Earth had her own method of fertilizing herself and man-made fertilizers would do harm to it. Phallic-shaped wooden and stone images were daubed in red to indicate their extreme sanctity and were placed everywhere as symbols of fertility, not only for the crop fields but also for marriages and the birth of children. A powerful symbol of fertility, the Tiger commanded fear and respect across different regions and cultures. Warli paintings are indicative of the deep links of the tribals with the Tigers. In this way, the Tiger also signified a vital link between diverse cultures and the magic of the Tiger determines the relationship between Man and Tiger in many parts of tribal India.
Indian Stamp Commemorating Tribal Art (Photo: indiantribalheritage.org)
Medieval India:
The Chola Empire (300 CE to 1279 CE) was one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of India. The Tiger was theRoyal Emblem of the Cholas and was depicted on coins, seals and banners. The seals symbolized Chola’s conquest and dominance over the Pandyas, the Cheras and the eastern Chalukyas, respectively.
1. Flag of Chola Kingdom [Photo: Wikimedia Commons]
2. Chola coin silver kasu of Uttama Chola (973-985) Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. [Photo: tigertribe.net] The beginning of one of the richest centuries, in terms of prolific depictions of Tiger art was the Mughal Era. The Mughal Emperors comprehensively documented their observations on India’s faunal wealth, notably the founder of the dynasty,Emperor Babar (Babarnama).
Fresco of Mughal Emperor Babur in a hunting expedition (Photo: indianhistoryspeaks.blogspot.com)
Sher Shah Suri (1486-1545), the founder of the Suri Empire; defeated Babar’s son Humayun and took control of the Mughal Empire in 1538. According to legend, while at Bihar, the Afghan King, Sher Shah Suri, was attacked by a Tiger. Sher Shah, managed to grapple the Tiger, eventually slaying the animal by tearing it into pieces with a single blow of his sword. The name Sher (meaning lion or tiger) was thus conferred upon him for his courage.
Mughal Emperor Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar’s passion for the big game: began a tradition of royal hunting, orShikar, that was carried on by Mughal rulers until the dynasty fell in 1857. Paintings from the period depict Mongol, Rajput, Turkish and Afghan nobility hunting from elephant or horseback. The Emperor’s favourites being Tiger hunting, leopard hunting and elephant catching. These outings were considered exotic, heroic sport- and Tigers were the ultimate trophies.
According to Abul Fazl, the court historian of Emperor Akbar, “His Majesty always makes hunting a means of increasing his knowledge and uses hunting parties as occasions to inquire into the condition of the people and army.”
Gwalior Tiger hunt painting – depicts Akbar hunting Tigers while returning from Agra to Malwa in 1561. Akbar had killed a Tigress and five subadult cubs. (Photo: messybeast.com)
Emperor Nur-ud-din Salim Jehangir, the eldest son of Mughal Emperor Akbar, was the greatest naturalist of the Mughal Empire. He was an astute observer, and his Tuzk-e-Jehangiri had detailed and animated descriptions of wildlife. He also kept a detailed record of his kills: for a period of over 36 years, he had personally hunted 17,167 animals, 80 of which were Tigers.
Hunting in the Mughal time was not only confined to the royal men. Jehangir’s Empress NurJahan, was also a markswoman and enjoyed hunting as much as her husband. On one occasion, she had killed four Tigers that came out of the bushes near the elephant carrying the royal couple.
The Tiger constituted an important subject of the Mughal Paintings - symbolizing power, royalty, strength and scenes depicting a member of the Mughal royal family, overpowering or felling a Tiger, underlined both his sovereignty and prowess.
Entry of the British:
Elaborate Big game hunts became a favorite pastime for the British Raj that succeeded the Mughals. The English were keenly aware that as royal beasts and masters of the jungle, Tigers had been closely associated with Indian rulers. Tiger Hunting was the symbol in the construction of British imperial and masculine identities, to provide endlessly exciting opportunities to test one’s marksmanship and sporting acumen – The control and mastery of the ruling community over the natural and human resources of colonial India. Tigers also represented for the British all that was wild and untamed in the Indian natural world. Therefore, by killing Tigers the British were also symbolically staging the defeat of Tipu Sultanand other Indian rulers who dared to get in the way of Britain’s imperial conquest of India.
British General and his mistress posing after a Tiger hunt. (Photo: indianhistoryspeaks.blogspot.com)
v Indian Rulers and the Tiger:
The Great Tipu Sultan (1750-1799) – “The Tiger man of Mysore” was also a great admirer of the Tiger. He was obsessed with the animal to the extent that he adorned almost everything with Tiger symbols. Even his banner carried the legend ‘The Tiger is God’. Around his kingdom stretched some of the finest Tiger habitats. He adopted the Tiger as his personal emblem, and kept a pair of pistols with tiger-headed golden hilts near his throne. Tiger claws were prized in the region for making jewellery and Tipu’s army wore specially made tiger-striped uniforms. The Tiger emblem was all pervasive and enmeshed into the dress, arms, armour, coins, uniforms, flags and the Royal throne. Tipu’s throne stretched eight feet in width and was supported by a life-sized Tiger heavily gilded in pure gold. Tipu even created a life-sized wooden Tiger mauling an Englishman. Housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum, this work of art is called ‘Tipu’s Tiger’ and is widely known. The symbolic meaning of Tipu’s Tiger was the emblematical triumph over the British.
Tipu Sultan’s Royal throne and Tiger Emblem (Photo: www.historyinthemargins.com/Historyondisplay)
Tipu’s Tiger - a life-sized wooden Tiger mauling an Englishman- housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum (Photo: https://speakzeasy.wordpress.com/TipuSultan)
v Annihilation during British Raj:
The promulgation of Forest Act of 1878, fenced the forest by placing over one-fifth of the landmass of South Asia directly under British control, making the Raj’s forestry department not only the largest land manager in the subcontinent but also one of the largest forestry enterprises in the world. The East India Company’s servants had the time of their lives hunting Tigers and leopards, slaughtering them in hundreds. So casual had they become that they often did not even care to keep a count of the Tigers they so wantonly killed.
Here is a list of Records which show some shocking data concerning the massacre of wildlife in colonial India:
“The Late Maharaja of Surguja claimed that his total bag of Tigers was 1,157. Captain Forsyth had shot 21 Tigers in one month. Gordon Cumming had shot 73 Tigers in the year 1863 and 10 Tigers within a span of five days in the following year.Nrupendra Narayan of Bihar had killed 370 Tigers, 208 Rhinos, and 430 buffaloes between 1871 and 1907. After ascending the throne in 1911, King George V and his team had slayed 39 Tigers and 18 rhinos within 10 days on his tour to Nepal.Colonel Geoffrey Nightingale had shot more than 300 tigers in India. William Rice had shot 158 Tigers, including 31 cubs between 1850 and 1854 in Rajasthan. One civil Judge bagged over 400 tigers in the short period of his service in Bengal.Simpson had killed no less than 600 Tigers during his 21 year stay in India. Percy Wyndham had bagged no less than 500 Tigers during his service in India.
The Indian heads of various states and provinces- known as ‘rajas’ and ‘maharajas’ were no less guilty in this regard as they also indulged freely in unscrupulous slaughter of the then abundant yet precious wildlife. The Maharaja of Nepal had shot 433 Tigers and 53 Rhinos between 1933 and 1940. . Newly crowned Rewa Kings in Central India thought it auspicious to slay 109 tigers after their coronation. Shooting a Tiger was a coming-of-age ritual for young Indian princes. Maharaja’s ofUdaipur, Vijayanagar, and Bikaner shot dozens, sometimes hundreds of Tigers each and decorated their palaces with Tiger pelts and Tiger heads and posed in front of piles of dead Tigers.”
- As recorded in the book, ‘Under the Shadow of Man-Eaters’ by Jerry A. Jaleel
Tiger Hunt by King George V in India. (commons.wikimedia.org)
The real destruction of India’s forests, the major habitat of its wildlife began under the rule of the East India Company about 250 years ago. In 1841, the British imposed a ban on the Warli tribals and their use of forest wood. Extraction of timber for ship building and railroad sleepers in the United Kingdom as well as in India by British companies was the principal cause of deforestation. To meet the needs of the two World-Wars, they justified the excessive fellings as ‘war fellings’. The planned felling of forests was undertaken without any understanding of the functioning of the forest ecosystems.
2. Maharaja of Bikaner with his 200th Tiger, 1939
(Photo: indianhistoryspeaks.blogspot.com)
Edward James Jim Corbett, British India’s iconic hunter of man-eating Tigers and leopards, was actively engaged in big game hunting during the first half of the twentieth century. Corbett’s active period of man-eater hunting was spread over more than thirty years from 1907 to 1938, during which he killed twelve man-eating tigers and leopards responsible for killing more than 1,500 people in the hill districts of Garhwal, Almora and Nainital. Man –Eater Tiger of Powalgarh was shot in winter of 1930 by Jim Corbett (Photo: Wikipedia) Post- Independence: Deforestation rose in order to make way for infrastructure and industrial development in the country. The trade in trophiesand the Tiger-hunting safaris that followed Independence were even worse than the British era. There is no reliable record of the resultant loss of wildlife. Ranthambore was the hunting reserve of the Maharajas of Jaipur. In the year 1955, it was declared as Sawai Madhopur Wildlife Sanctuary. Sawai Madhopur hosted Queen Elizabeth II along with her husband, Prince Philip - Duke of Edinburg to shoot Tigers in 1961. Maharaja Sawai Man Singh and Maharani Gayatri Devi had played hosts to the British Royalty. The Queen infamously even asked for a calf as bait to hunt Tigers, only to be gently turned down by the then Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Nevertheless, a 10-foot long Tiger was shot down by the Duke. Prince Philip and the Queen are pictured after a Tiger hunt on 26th January 1961 during the Royal tour of India. The Tiger was shot by Prince Philip. (Photo: http://www.thetimes.co.uk)
One of the earliest voices of protest against this unethical and wanton carnage of wildlife and ecological destruction was that of the Hunter, the Conservationist, and the Legend Jim Corbett. Highlighting, the significance of Corbett’s conservationist leanings, Author Reeta Dutta Gupta in her book, Jim Corbett: Hunter-Conservationist writes; “To the people of Kumaon and Garhwal, Corbett was their savior, who delivered the village folk from the jaws of marauding man-eaters. To the world he presented the Indian tiger in a new light – a world heritage that had no substitute. He was the first man of his time to call for the tiger’s protection.” “Carpet Sahib” taught villagers about man-eaters (Photo: Wikipedia)
At the close of the 19th century, when Rudyard Kipling penned the Jungle Book, between 50,000 and 100,000 tigers were thought to roam the Indian subcontinent; in 1971 the numbers had fallen to less than 2,000. It was at this time, “India’s greatest wildlife savior” - Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi took over the reins. She spearheaded a fight against the growing tiger crisis, outlawing the export of skins in 1969 and appointing a Tiger Task Force, two years later. The Indian Tiger was listed in the RED DATA BOOK as a PROTECTED SPECIES and its hunting was finally banned in 1970. The first International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) conference hosted by India in New Delhi in 1969 was the first milestone where the issues of Tiger conservation were brought into limelight. Then on 1st April 1973, Indira Gandhi launched “Project Tiger”, which still stands as the World’s most comprehensive Tiger conservation initiative. She established nine tiger reserves, hired guards to patrol them and forcibly moved whole villages outside their perimeters. Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi with a Tiger (Photo: ‘Indira Gandhi’ – A Life in Nature by Jairam Ramesh)
What really established the future foundation for the Tiger’s survival was Mrs Gandhi’s very public message for Project Tiger. She said: “Forestry practices, designed to squeeze the last rupee from our jungles, must be radically reoriented at least within our national parks and sanctuaries, and pre-eminently in our Tiger reserves. The narrow outlook of the accountant must give way to a wider vision of recreational, educational and ecological value. Is it beyond our political will and administrative ingenuity to set aside about one or two per cent of our forests in our pristine glory for this purpose?” The Tiger – as it stands today: The Wildlife Institute of India’s grim 2008 report shocked India and the world with its finding: A far more accurate camera trap survey counted just 1,411 adult tigers – after a $400 million investment over 34 years to save them under Project Tiger. Today there are 50 Tiger reserves covering over 2% of the area and approximately 10% of the recorded forest area. Poaching continues to skyrocket and over the years, Tiger deaths have been very high. The trade in all parts of Tigers, especially their bones for Chinese medicine is the new threat that is decimating the species. According to TRAFFIC 1994 report, China exported 40,900 kg and 3,514 cartons of medicines containing tiger derivatives in 1991. Though all the derivatives claimed may not be genuine, even a small fraction is enough to endanger our Tigers. A Hope for the Future: It is clearly evident from the above discussion that, one species of wild animal that has captivated human beings from time immemorial is the Tiger. Until the 19th century, it was ‘the dangerous beast’; during the first half of the 20th century it became the royal quarry; the two decades post Indian independence it played the role of a mascot luring trophy hunters to India; and today it is an unrivalled conservation emblem. As the famous historian Romila Thapar writes, “At the start of Indian civilization the Tiger was revered and woven into Mythology, yet a few thousand years later it was hunted almost to extinction. The Tiger was not an alien or exotic animal; it had long been appropriated into the semantics of power and myth in Indian society. What were it then that was so mysterious about the animal?” Dedication and determination backed by hard labour, bold and timely action, a strong political will (as provided by Mrs. Indira Gandhi) and above all, conservation consciousness among our people as part of our culture are needed to save the last remnants of India’s pristine natural wonders and its inhabitants. Let’s pray for a better and safe haven for Tigers on this International Tigers day – 29th July 2018. Let us hope that the Tiger will always continue to inspire the artist as it had done in the past and Human beings will always be enveloped in the Tiger’s magical spell. References: 1. The Tiger: Soul of India – By Valmik Thapar. 2. Tiger History in Indian Subcontinent – tigertribe.net 3. A Concise History of Tiger Hunting – National Geographic 4. Indira Gandhi – A life in Nature by Jairam Ramesh. 5. The Tiger: Timeless Treasures from Indian Museum – A booklet by Indian Museum, Kolkata. 6. Our Wild Heritage – A Hope for the Future – By Kailash Sankhala. 7. Hinduism and Nature – a Book by Nanditha Krishnan. About the Author: Diptarka Ghosh, a post-graduate in Zoology, from the University of Calcutta; is cuurently pursuing research in the Zoological Survey of India. An avid nature and wildlife lover, he wishes to work for the conservation of nature and wildlife in the near future.
ABOUT THE PREVIOUS POST
Although the aim of this thread is to provide good information about wild tigers, I don't mind something else at times. Provided it's relevant and reliable, that is. What you posted, Rage, could be interesting. The problem is it is a bit wanting in some respects. It isn't easy to get to a good story when you base it on a few loose fragments collected here and there and hope for the best when you start writing. One of the risks is getting to statements not supported by facts. Another problem is inaccuracies made by those you use. You have to be very sure that every fragment is correct in every detail. I'm afraid not everything was. One example is the remark on the famous Bachelor of Powalgarh, shot by Jim Corbett in 1930 in Kumaon (northern India). THE BACHELOR OF POWALGARH It's true that Jim Corbett hunted man-eating leopards and tigers in India. It's also true that his great book about his experiences 'Man-eaters of Kumaon' (1947) has a story called 'The Bachelor of Powalgarh'. It's, however, not true that the Bachelor was a man-eater. His reputation was a result of his size. " ... In spite of the many and repeated attempts that had been made to bag him with the aid of buffalo bait, the Bachelor had never been fired at, though on two occasions, to my knowledge, he had only escaped death by the skin of his teeth. On the first occasion, after a perfect beat, a guyrope by which the machan was suspended interfered with the movement of Fred Anderson's rifle at the critical moment, and on the second occasion the Bachelor arrived at the machan before the beat started and found Huish Edye filling his pipe. On both occasions he had been viewed at a range of only a few feet, and while Anderson described him as being as big as a Shetland pony, Edye said he was as big as a donkey. The winter following these and other unsuccessful attempt I took Wyndham, our Commissioner, who knows more about tigers than any other man in India, to a fire track skirting the upper end of the ravine in which the Bachelor lived, to show him the fresh pug marks of the tiger I had found on the fire track that morning. Wyndham was accompanied by two of his most experienced shikaris, and after the three of them had carefully measured and examined the pug marks, Wyndham said that in his opinion the tiger was ten feet between pegs, and while one shikari said he was ten feet five inches over curves, the other said he was ten feet six inches or a little more. In 1930 the Forest Department started extensive fellings in the area surrounding the Bachelor's home and, annoyed at the disturbance, he changed his quarters; this I learnt from two sportsmen who had taken out a shooting pass with the object of hunting down the tiger. Shooting passes are only issued for fifteen days of each month, and troughout that winter, shooting party after shooting party failed to make contact with the tiger ... " ('Man-eaters of Kumaon', pp. 92-93). When an old dak runner had told him he had seen the biggest pug marks he had ever seen during the thirty years of his service that morning, Jim Corbett set out to prospect next morning. Guided by his knowledge and his dog Robin, he got very close to the tiger. After breakfast he returned alone: " ... armed with the heavy .450 rifle, and as I approached the hill, ..., I heard the boom of a big buffalo bell and a man shouting. These sounds were coming from the top of the hill, which is flat, and about half an acre in extent, so I climbed up and saw a man on a tree, striking a dead branch with the head of his axe and shouting, while at the foot of the tree a number of buffaloes were collected. When he saw me the man called out, saying I had just arrived in time and his buffaloes from a shaitan of a tiger, the size of a camel, that had been threatening them for hours. From his story I gathered that he had arrived on the hill shortly after Robin and I had left for home, and that as he started to cut bamboo leaves for his buffaloes he saw a tiger coming towards him. He shouted to drive the tiger away, as he had done on many previous occasions with other tigers, but instead of going away this one had started to growl. He took to his heels, followed by his buffaloes, adn climbed up the nearest tree. The tiger, paying no heed to his shouts, had then set to pacing round and round, while the buffaloes kept their head towards it. Probably the tiger had heard me coming, for it had left only a moment before I arrived. The man was an old friend who, before his quarrel with the Headman of his village, had done a considerable amount of poaching in the jungles with the Headman's gun. He now begged me to conduct both himself and his cattle safely out of the jungle; so telling him to lead on, I followed behind to see that there were no stragglers. At first the buffaloes were disinclined to break up their close formation, but after a little persuation we got them to start, and we had gone half-way across the open plain I have alluded to when the tiger called in the jungle to our right. The man quickened his pace, and I urged on the buffaloes, for a mile of very thick jungle lay between us and the wide, open watercourse beyong which lay my friend's village and safety for his buffalo's ... " ('Man-eaters of Kumaon', pp. 95). The quotes say the Bachelor, as a result of the extensive fellings in the area surrounding his home, had changed his quarters. As he most probably had no knowledge of the district he had entered, the tiger could have been a bit nervous. Animals entering an unknown district in wild country, like humans, most probably watch their back all the time. Safety always comes first. Food also is important. In the district in which he lived, the tiger knew where to find wild boars and deer. In the new district, he didn't. When he saw the buffaloes, he was interested. And he wasn't to be intimidated. Corbett knew the sheer size of the tiger could result in problems. He also knew his dog could succumb to pressure. I don't think the decision to return without the dog and with the heavy rifle was a result of the intention to shoot the tiger, but it's likely he expected trouble of some kind and wanted to be prepared. When entering a warzone, you need your energy for yourself. All of it. One thing you want to avoid is other guns nearby. When pressure arrives, you never know what will happen. Friends, neighbours and dogs can be as dangerous as anything. Corbett knew all about that. When he walked towards the place where he had last seen the tiger, he stumbled upon his old friend. The man who had been treed by the tiger, I mean (see the last quote above). When he conducted him and his buffaloes out of the jungle and knew the tiger meant business, he promised his friend to try to shoot the tiger:  *This image is copyright of its original author Corbett didn't follow the tiger, but decided the tiger should come and look for him (...). He called three times and " ... laid down flat in the open, twenty yards from where the track entered the scrub. From this point I had a clear view up the track for fifty yards, to where a bush, leaning over, impeded my further view. If the tiger came down the track, as I expected him to do, I decided to fire at him as soon as he cleared the obstruction. I had not called since I came out of the plain, so to give him direction I now gave a low call, to which he immediately answered from a distance of a hundred yards. If he came on at his usual pace, I judged he would clear the obstruction in thirty seconds. I counted this number very slowly, and went on counting to eighty, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a movement to my right front, where the bushes approached to within ten yards of me. Turning my head in that direction I saw a great head projecting above the bushes, which here were four feet high. The tiger was only a foot or two inside the bushes, but all I could see of him was his head. As I very slowly swung the point of the rifle round and ran my eyes along the sights I noticed that his head was not quite square on to me, and as I was firing up and he was looking down, I aimed an inch below his right eye, pressed the trigger, and for the next half hour nearly died of fright ... " (Corbett, 1947, pp. 96-97). Jim Corbett knew the tiger had been looking at him when he fired. He knew where he was, that is. Although he lost a bit of bone from his skull (of two inches square) and destroyed anything within reach while roaring all the time, the tiger didn't attack him (...). A day later, Corbett shot the tiger near a little stream. To his amazement, the wound caused by the bullit fired the other day was perfectly clean. In his opinion, the tiger was recovering (...). When you read posts written by preferenced posters saying big cats, unlike bears, are unable to take severe damage, remember the Bachelor of Powalgarh. True in all respects. And Jim Corbett? My guess is he had mixed feelings about shooting the tiger. True, he had intimidated his friend and followed them all the way to the village, but he had not attacked. I'm not saying he was completely harmless, but he most certainly didn't compare to the tiger known as 'The Killer of Men' just south of Bhutan. That tiger, able to kill the largest wild male buffaloes with ease, had killed humans. In spite of that, Bengt Berg didn't shoot him when he had the opportunity. He wanted the tiger to pass on his genes and chances are he did. The Bachelor did not, but my guess is he had sired many cubs long before he was shot. SIZE OF THE BACHELOR OF POWALGARH In those days, male tigers shot in that part of India (Kumaon), averaged just over 9.9 in total length measured 'over curves'. Although Sir John Hewett, very experienced, never saw a tiger exceeding ten feet five and a half inches, longer tigers have been shot in Kumaon and Nepal. The mighty Bachelor of Powalgarh was one of them:  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author AVERAGE LENGTH OF MALE TIGERS SHOT IN NEPAL AND INDIA IN THE PERIOD 1869-1939 Here's a table with information about the minimum, average and maximum total length ('over curves') of male tigers shot in Nepal and three regions in India in the period 1869-1939 for comparison. It was posted before (this thread). As the Cooch Behar, Nepal and northern India samples are quite large, chances are the averages could be quite reliable. A table isn't about numbers only. What's not there, is important as well. Tigers measured and weighed in northern India made the table. Those that were measured but not weighed didn't. Most of them, however, were significantly longer than those that made the table. As there is a strong relation between total length and weight in male Indian tigers, it's more than likely that male tigers in northern India could have been heavier than those in Cooch Behar. Recent information also points in that direction:  *This image is copyright of its original author
Hey peter and rage. I think we should make a whole new thread dedicated to tiger culture. Because there are also a lot of misconceptions regarding tigers and lions, and how there is lion culture in many tiger places. I know Rishi knows a lot about this, and i have found a lot of info today too.
(12-07-2018, 11:59 AM)paul cooper Wrote: Hey peter and rage. I think we should make a whole new thread dedicated to tiger culture. Because there are also a lot of misconceptions regarding tigers and lions, and how there is lion culture in many tiger places. I know Rishi knows a lot about this, and i have found a lot of info today too. All wild mammals have societies and cultures. Most of them are all but unseen. Unseen and unknown often live in close proximity. A lack of knowledge can result in unsound decisions. For those involved in conservation, sound decisions are of vital importance. We now know we need to conserve complete ecosystems in order to assist a species living on the edge. What we don't know, is in what way wild animals respond to sudden changes affecting their society. What is needed, therefore, is research. Accurate descriptions of elusive societies will enable us to get to the correct conclusions. Research is also needed to understand human societies and to affect ideas not based on facts. Equally important, as it is clear that some ideas can have a devastating effect on wild animals. I've read a few books in which animal cultures are discussed. One of them is 'The Tribe Of Tiger - Cats And Their Culture' of Elizabeth Marshall Thomas (New York, 1994). Well written and interesting all the way, I thought. I hope it will inspire some to continue. If Rishi is interested, we could give it a try. My proposal is to start a sub-section in the Captive Animals Section for now. The sub-section could have two pillars: one in which animal culture is discussed (a) and one in which human culture regarding animals is discussed (b). The post of Rage could be the first in the second department. 
On the right door, on the bottom is a tiger engraved.
Han dynasty Chinese tomb.  *This image is copyright of its original author
(12-09-2018, 11:21 AM)Wolverine Wrote: Ussuri brown bear getting out of the den, Bikin national park, camera-trap. Very nice videos, Wolverine. I knew bears were robust over there (referring to males of both species), but male Amur tigers do not seem to be lacking a lot in this department. I know it's tricky to use videos to get to estimates, but they do seem different from one or two decades ago. Not long and tall, as their captive relatives (referring to Amur tigers in northwestern Europe), but stocky and robust. Are they developing a new model, or have sleeping genes been re-activated? When records of Baikov and other hunters are discussed by posters, length often features. Bengt Berg, however, wrote size is a result of weight and the dimensions of the skull. According to V. Jankowski, who most probably saw more wild Amur tigers than anyone, the Sungari river tiger shot in 1943 was an exceptional individual in all respects. Measured 'over curves' (V. Mazak, 1983), the tiger was 11.6 (350,52 cm.) in the flesh. In his book 'Tiger, Deer and Ginseng' (1993), V. Jankowski says the length of the fresh skin was more than 375 cm. (over 12.4). Very long, but still significantly shorter than a skin from Mongolia or Amurland (not quite clear) mentioned in Rowland Ward's Records (1928 issue, pp. 478, see also Pocock, JBNHS, Vol. 33, pp. 529). That skin was 13 feet and 6 inches (411,48 cm.)! Three other skins from that region, by the way, were 12.4, 12.0 and 11 feet and three and a half inches. According to Pocock, Satunin saw an enormous Caspian tiger with a skin of at least 14 feet: " ... But I must not suppress a surprising record published by Satunin, who states he saw in the flesh a Transcaspian tiger of 'colossal dimensions' ... 'hardly smaller than an ordinary native horse'. Its stripped skin from the tip of the nose to the root of the tail ... was three and a half metres - that is to say about 11 and a half feet. This would have meant a total length of about 14 and a half feet! I must leave it at that, with the comment that the learned Russian was not a sportsman 'out' for records ... " (Pocock, in the JBNHS, Vol. 33, pp. 522). Returning to the Sungari river tiger. In his letter to V. Mazak of May 1970, V. Jankowski wrote the tiger was at least 300 kg. In his book, he said the tiger was 350 kg. (772 pounds). We'll never know the exact weight, but the photograph suggested it was a robust and large-skulled male. Exceptional in that respect? Not quite, as others allegedly shot even heavier Amur tigers. In a recent evaluation of hunting records published a decade ago, all records of tigers exceeding 550 pounds, with the exception of one, were dismissed for lack of credible evidence. I understand, but also don't doubt Baikov, who wrote " ... The muscular system of the body is extremely massive and perfectly developed. Especially amazing is the powerful structure of the muscles of the chest, fore legs, neck, back and chewing muscles. They are great, roundish, very elastic and tather short; muscles of the hindlegs are oblong and also elastic. The size of the fully adult Manchurian tiger is: the total length is 3,90 meters, from which the tail is 100 cm. The height in the shoulders is 115 cm., width of the forehead (between the ears) - 30 cm., volume of the fore leg is 60 cm., volume of the chest is 220 cm.. The volume of the neck is 100 cm., the weight is 320 kg. (or 20 poods) ... " ('The Manchurian Tiger', 1925, English translation of A. Shevlakov of 2000, pp. 9). This record was dismissed, but a 560-pound male he shot near the Korean border in 1911 was accepted. I understand why records of much larger tigers were dismissed, but I wonder why a man who hunted all his life invested so much energy in trying to portray a tiger that must have flabberghasted many. Anyhow. What I'm saying is Amur tigers today could be a mere blueprint of their relatives shot a century ago. Their former relatives, and those shot in Manchuria in particular, could have been much more robust. The genes are still there, as I saw a few of them in the seventies and eighties of the previous century. Immense animals, they were. If the Russians keep it up and succeed in even partly recreating conditions that existed a century ago, tigers could respond. Biologists interested in capturing them could be in for a surprise. Just like in Nepal and northern India, when they discovered 500-pound scales were not quite adequate. My guess is that exceptional individuals will only be seen in completely undisturbed, well-stocked and densely vegetated regions far away from settlements. In hill country with deep snow in winter, tigers need to be athletic. (12-11-2018, 07:38 AM)peter Wrote:(12-09-2018, 11:21 AM)Wolverine Wrote: Ussuri brown bear getting out of the den, Bikin national park, camera-trap. It's hard to say. For sure Amur tigers could become bulkier and hence heavier if they started feeding better in recent times. But I don't think they could get larger in size because those genes were lost. Lets imagine a following situation: During World War II somewhere in Eastern Europe existed human settlement consisting of 800 people. In some parts of this settlement some families had taller representatives than other families in diferent part of the settlement. The men belonged to family M and N were tallest - 1,85 m, the shortest belonged to family C - 1,75 m, all other were average - 1,80 m. Then suddenly the settlement is invaded by Nazi SS division "Totenkoph" and exterminate all but 30 people belonging to family C. After the war survived people in settlement become to reproduce, but now the average height of the people in the village will be smaller, even they feed better because the genes of families M and N are lost. In their lowest point in 30's and 40's the last 30-40 Amur tigers survived only in one limited area of central Sihote Alin mountains in the valley of Bikin. I haven't heard about any record sized tigers killed in this region earlier by hunters during end of 19th-begining of 20th centuries when tigers in Ussuriland were still numerous. The records has come from more southern areas - East-Mandjurian mountains, Southern Sihote Alin, Inner Mandzuria etc. So accidentaly the tigers with genes for largest size were exterminated while accidentally survived the tigers with realtively smaller size and now they expanded and settled in all Russian Far East. So, my opinion is that Amur tigers in future could get bulkier and heavier then before if they feed better, but they cant become larger in size or at least no as large as some historical Amur tigers. 
It appears to be a pretty-well established fact that roughly a hundred years ago and beyond that the Amur tiger was larger than those of today. I would suppose that hunters and poachers ( both the same from a tiger's perspective ) would be the main cause. Both from depleting the prey animals and perhaps also from shooting the biggest tigers.
I would be interested in knowing also, has the size of the Ussuri brown bear experienced any change?  (12-09-2018, 11:21 AM)Wolverine Wrote: Ussuri brown bear getting out of the den, Bikin national park, camera-trap.@Wolverine Thanks for sharing, very powerful Brown Bears and Siberian Tigers  (12-11-2018, 03:19 PM)brotherbear Wrote: I would be interested in knowing also, has the size of the Ussuri brown bear experienced any change? The post 1,931 (from @peter) and 1,934 (from me) in the page 129 of this topic, present good information about the size change in the brown bears from the Russian Far East.  (12-12-2018, 08:57 PM)GuateGojira Wrote:(12-11-2018, 03:19 PM)brotherbear Wrote: I would be interested in knowing also, has the size of the Ussuri brown bear experienced any change? Bear weights are always problematic if there is only a chart with a few specimens and no details about age range and as you also said earlier, what time of year weighings have been made. It is quite difficult to make too big conclusion with data where is mentioned, that 10 specimens for instance and then mentioned only "adult". There is for instance open question, that does adult mean there a bear at age when starting breeding, which is about 5 years, or does it mean a bear, which can be counted as full grown, which means about 9-10 years old. When combining that to big changes in weight from spring to autumn, these details should be involved to these charts so, that readers could figure out, that do those numbers have value if comparing for instance bear sizes in 1970´s and bear sizes today. With many other animals weight is much more stabile during a year if able to get food regularly. That is the reason why I think, that in those charts is maybe too little information to make big conclusions. (12-12-2018, 09:17 PM)Shadow Wrote: Bear weights are always problematic if there is only a chart with a few specimens and no details about age range and as you also said earlier, what time of year weighings have been made. It is quite difficult to make too big conclusion with data where is mentioned, that 10 specimens for instance and then mentioned only "adult". There is for instance open question, that does adult mean there a bear at age when starting breeding, which is about 5 years, or does it mean a bear, which can be counted as full grown, which means about 9-10 years old. When combining that to big changes in weight from spring to autumn, these details should be involved to these charts so, that readers could figure out, that do those numbers have value if comparing for instance bear sizes in 1970´s and bear sizes today. With many other animals weight is much more stabile during a year if able to get food regularly. You have a good point. Variation of the weight in bears is incredible. They can gain and loose about 30% of its body mass trough the seasons, so it is very important to know in what season where they weighed. Also the age is important too, as you say, there is a diference between "adult based in reproduction" and "adult based in body madurity". The same happen with tiger for example, so people states that a 3 years old tiger is already an "adult" just because they can breed, but actually they are still in development and can grow more. Sadly, these tables are the only information that we have and I think that we must respect and use it, as they are the results of hard work and time from scientists that try to present information usefull to all of us. Interesting to see with a "simple view" (no deep analysis) that the male bears weigh more now and female weigh less. I am interested in see what conclutions can we draw from this, but I think that if the moderators are agree, they can COPY (not cut please) those two posts in the topic about Amur bears and continue the discusion there as this is a topic of tigers. (12-12-2018, 09:26 PM)GuateGojira Wrote:(12-12-2018, 09:17 PM)Shadow Wrote: Bear weights are always problematic if there is only a chart with a few specimens and no details about age range and as you also said earlier, what time of year weighings have been made. It is quite difficult to make too big conclusion with data where is mentioned, that 10 specimens for instance and then mentioned only "adult". There is for instance open question, that does adult mean there a bear at age when starting breeding, which is about 5 years, or does it mean a bear, which can be counted as full grown, which means about 9-10 years old. When combining that to big changes in weight from spring to autumn, these details should be involved to these charts so, that readers could figure out, that do those numbers have value if comparing for instance bear sizes in 1970´s and bear sizes today. With many other animals weight is much more stabile during a year if able to get food regularly. I can say, that finding comparable information about bears is surprisingly difficult task and of course all material what can be found is valuable. Same time is important to remember problems which are mentioned and be careful in conclusions. But I think, that your idea about collecting information and charts to one place is a good one. Maybe it is possible to find more information about some charts and circumstances how data has been collected by researchers. This topic is interesting also what comes to other brown bear subspecies and for sure should have own thread. This should be after all about tigers and how endangered they are, as you said too, I just noticed 
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