There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
No way we can say that cow is a "minimum of 500-600lbs" especially since we know nothing of type of cow, average size of it, etc..
It looks small and possibly younger but it definitely takes nothing away from the absolute massive size of that Tiger.
It's head and body are just absurd.
It also shows what I have been thinking is the cause of these freaks amongst the worlds largest cat.
Not only do these Kaziranga tigers hunt rhino, elephant, buffalo etc. but they must also chase down prey through deep grasslands which also contributes to a larger more powerful frame. They must generate great power to move such a massive body through such thick terrain.
Eco System and evolution has created a super cat, they never cease to dissapoint.
That Kaziranga tiger taking down the cow looks almost cartoonish. I mean he clearly looks bigger than the whole cow. In every departement he looks bigger. Hell, he looks even taller than the cow. So my guess is, that the cow is a female and most likely not fully grown or belongs to a sort of breed that is smaller than the typical eurpean cow. Thus the cow isn´t a wild specimen as well. Though this doesn´t make the cat less impressive. As Pckts mentioned, Kaziranga is an enviroment with deep grasland, which makes it pretty hard to move. And the video clearly showed that characteristic. Both, cow and cat had a hard time running. I´d love to see a male tiger in a reference photo with another big fully grown animal or a car. Appart from the photo with the male tiger in the background and the rhino at the front we don´t have any other photo, which could give further proof for their outstanding size and frame.
Kaziranga doesn't lend itself to easy sightings. All we can go off of is video and images and the eye witnesses.
I take Kanwaar Deep's word as gold, he has seen so many tigers from all over and he specifically states those Kaziranga tigers as the largest he's ever seen.
But I would love to see a Kaziranga Tiger next to a another animal that we know the size but at least we got one with a Cow so it helps us estimate a bit. I agree that cow is probably younger or female but you can watch it running next to the black cow and they look pretty close in size. But we still know nothing about the size of the cows, and cows range in sizes. We have beef cows and milk cows that range in size from 500-1500lbs but I have no idea about Indian cows.
It seems kaziranga wil not give up her secrets without lots and lots of work.