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

[peter]

KAZIRANGA TIGERS

This post is an illustration of some of the notions on prey size and tiger size discussed in the previous post. 

Female 1:

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Female 2:

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Female 3:

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Female 4:

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Male 1:

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Male 2:

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Male 3:

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Male 4:

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Male 5:

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Male 6:

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Male 7:

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Male 8:

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Nearly all tigers seem heavy and robust animals, even females. It could have been a result of selection, angles or circumstances, but chances are Kazirangha tigers are robust animals with large skulls.

As the main difference with other regions is in the sheer numbers of large herbivores, one would think the most logical explanation for the large size would be plenty of food. However. Reliable information on tigers hunting large immature herbivores and, at times, even adults suggests the large size could be an adaption to the size of the prey animals. This means they could hunt them more often than we think. Reply