Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Carnivora. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Tiger - Panthera tigris
Topic Started: Jan 7 2012, 08:50 PM (34,932 Views)
maker
Member Avatar
Apex Predator
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Warsaw2014
Herbivore
[ *  *  *  * ]
Sneaky Siberian Tigers
Siberian Tigers are out there!
Baltimore Sun, November 8, 1998
Siberian tigers are menaced as Russian economy collapses
By Will Englund
In 1992, when the economy was very bad here, poaching threatened to get out of hand. Reports that the tigers faced extinction led to a grant by the German branch of the World Wildlife Fund to support the poaching patrols.
At the same time, Russia reinforced its customs checkpoints along the Chinese border. These measures didn't solve the problem, but they kept it in check. Some experts even ventured that the Russian tigers were better protected than any other group of tigers in the world.
"This year," says Astafyev, "the situation with poaching had been much better -- until this economic crisis started. The criminals are still active, and now the other part of the population has also become involved."
As night falls, the van works its way out of the Sikhote-Alin range, heading to the coast. Here, in 1906, a military detachment led by Vladimir Arseniev came through on an expedition trying to get a better understanding of this distant corner of the czar's realm. Arseniev wrote a book that became a Russian classic; in it he described how he found the forest infested with bandits, and he worried that Chinese marauders were wiping out much of the wildlife.
Not that much has changed since then.
As the van turns east on the coast road, John Goodrich, a field coordinator here for a program called the Siberian Tiger Project, run with help from the Hornocker Wildlife Institute in Idaho, offers a quick history: This stretch was once the range of a tiger they nicknamed Lena. She was killed by a poacher in 1994. Another female took over; she disappeared in 1997, probably shot. Two females then divided the range. One vanished last summer, also probably hunted down. This was when poaching was thought to be under control. Now the economy is crashing.
"I guarantee you," says Dale Miquelle, an American who is resident chief of the Siberian Tiger Project, "poaching's coming back this winter."
Earlier in the day Goodrich had stopped in to pay a call on Bart Schleyer at a cabin deep in the woods where he runs the trap lines. Tigers (and bears, which are also being studied) are caught in spring-loaded cable footholds, tranquilized, weighed and measured in all sorts of ways, and fitted with a radio collar. Schleyer had come into camp with a collar in his hand -- from a bear shot by poachers looking to sell its gall bladder and other bodily parts to China.
As the van jolts and bounces through the darkness, Goodrich talks about his work, and about what he and his wife, Linda Kerley, have learned in their three years here. Siberian tigers generally feast on elk or boar; but sometimes they eat wolves, and one male at Sikhote-Alin specializes in brown bears. He weighs in at 445 pounds; he'll kill bears bigger than he is. He killed one bear and dragged it a mile. Tigers also kill badgers, lynx, people (two since 1995), cattle and dogs.
They have huge territories. A typical female's range covers about 175 square miles, Goodrich says. A Bengal female, by contrast, needs a little more than 6 square miles. Males here have ranges of 200 to almost 600 square miles -- even with the radio collars it has been too difficult to keep tabs on them more precisely. Goodrich says a male might take a month to patrol his territory.
The taiga -- the vast north Asian forest -- is nowhere near as lush as the Indian jungle. The soil is thin, the winters long. There are only so many boar and elk that can live off the land, and a tiger needs about 25 pounds of meat a day. It needs that much territory to get that much food.
People can live in the taiga for 20 years and never see a tiger. Others encounter them without wanting to. One man on a rickety Russian motorcycle was chased by a tiger 30 miles down the road, all the way to the town of Plastun.
Late at night the van pulls into town. When a visitor grumbles to Smirnov about not seeing any tigers, he replies, "They saw you. I guarantee it." In fact, there are probably more tigers than ever along the coast because of the ferocious forest fires raging inland. One fire at Terney, which destroyed a few thousand acres, was probably set off by a hunter shooting at elk with tracers. This is a new problem. When the white-hot bullets don't hit their mark, they make excellent incendiary devices.
The days of aerial reconnaissance and water drops from helicopters are long past; the government pulls men off poaching patrols but otherwise can do little. Tigers and elk can escape the flames, but herds of wild boar are being devastated. "You know, to the north of Terney, everything burned down," says Igor Nikolaev, a biologist who is said to know more about the Siberian tiger than anyone. "There are no boar or elk there at all."
The survivors are coming down to the coast to get away from the fires, but this is where the roads and villages are; as the tigers follow, they'll be making the poachers' jobs that much easier. Hunters will also be out. Last year, Astafyev calculates, about 1,000 elk were taken in the forest bordering the reserve, though licenses were issued for only 500. More and more, hunting and gathering is replacing agriculture.
Valentina Kaushinskaya's experience is instructive. Five years ago, she and her husband decided that private farming was the way to make a new life in the new Russia. They quit their jobs and carved out a 150-acre farm along a river bottom at the foot of the Sikhote-Alin range.
They didn't count on the lack of available credit for anyone without the right connections, nor did they expect that their neighbors would become too impoverished to buy their food. They have beef, vegetables, cheese and milk to sell, but no way to sell it. They're closing up. Come January, Kaushinskaya will say farewell to her eight remaining cows, to her chickens, to her lonely homesteader's life in the forest -- and to Natasha, a tiger who wanders over from the reserve a few times every year. "We've been living side by side," Kaushinskaya says. "It's her place as much as ours."
One night recently Kaushinskaya and her husband woke up and realized that Natasha was attacking their dog in his doghouse. There wasn't much they could do about it. The tiger got the dog. That's what tigers do. "They're not beautiful to me, and they're not frightening," says Bannikov, the taiga fire fighter. "They're just part of life."
But the tiger's weakness is that it is not afraid of roads or villages. And in a countryside where the poverty runs so deep that the skin and organs of one tiger, successfully smuggled to China, bring an amount of money equal to 100 years' salary for a forest ranger, even Smirnov, the optimist, can't discount the power of human temptation.
http://bellybuttonwindow.com/1998/russia/sneaky_siberian_tige.html


"...As the van jolts and bounces through the darkness, Goodrich talks about his work, and about what he and his wife, Linda Kerley, have learned in their three years here. Siberian tigers generally feast on elk or boar; but sometimes they eat wolves, and one male at Sikhote-Alin specializes in brown bears. He weighs in at 445 pounds; he'll kill bears bigger than he is. He killed one bear and dragged it a mile. Tigers also kill badgers, lynx, people (two since 1995), cattle and dogs..."

This is a revised version:
The largest bear killed by an adult male tiger was a 150-200 kg adult female
Seryodkin, I. V., Goodrich, J. M., Kostyria, A. V., Schleyer, B. O., Smirnov, E. N., Kerley, L. L. and Miquelle, D. G. 2005. Relationship between tigers, brown bears, and Himalayan black bears. In: D. G. Miquelle, E. N. Smirnov and J. M. Goodrich (eds), Tigers of Sikhote-Alin Zapovednik: ecology and conservation, pp. 156-163. PSP, Vladivostok, Russia.

"...Добыча и поедание тиграми медведей; защитные свойства берлог
В четырёх случаях при нападении тигров на бурых медведей (во всех случаях это были
взрослые самки медведя) удалось установить степень противоборства хищников. Дважды
признаки борьбы были незначительными и тигры быстро умерщвляли медведиц. В двух других
случаях борьба была более продолжительной и заканчивалась смертью медведей. В июле 1997 г. в
бассейне р. Заболоченная взрослый самец тигра (M20), напавший на медведицу, боролся с ней, в
6
результате чего на участке леса площадью 10×2 м была взрыхлена почва и сломано большинство
кустарников. В этом месте было множество клочков медвежьей шерсти, но была и тигриная. Вся
зона сражения с забрызганной кровью землёй и деревьями имела длину 30 м. В другом случае (12
августа 2001 г.) тигр после преследования на склоне напал на медведицу 8-10-летнего возраста
весом 150-200 кг. Звери несколько метров катились вниз сцепившись. На месте схватки выбита
площадка 10×8 м. После победы тигр отошёл на 15 м в сторону, где отлежался. У него
кровоточила рана. Предположительно, у медведицы были медвежата, которые успели скрыться. .."




http://www.brothersofthebow.com/html/solospirits.html

Bart Schleyer"...Some older tigers would also stalk and kill brown bears, which were easier to catch than elk. Following tigers with radio locators, Bart could read these stories in the snow. The tigers usually just walked the bears down from behind. The big cats had killer instincts and usually about a hundred pound weight advantage on the bears. They would go straight for the neck and sever the spine at the base of the skull. Every once in a while the trampled snow would tell of a furious fight, which always ended with a dead bear..."
http://www.brothersofthebow.com/html/solospirits.html
Posted Image
Tigers and Wolves in the Russian Far East:
Competitive Exclusion, Functional Redundancy,
and Conservation Implications
Dale G. Miquelle, Philip A. Stephens, Evgeny N. Smirnov,
John M. Goodrich, Olga J. Zaumyslova, and
Alexander E. Myslenkov
file:///home/c3po/Pobrane/Miquelle%20etal.2005.Tigers&Wolves.pdf
Edited by Taipan, Mar 30 2015, 07:53 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Warsaw2014
Herbivore
[ *  *  *  * ]
Kaziranga helps Northeast add 53 tigers
Written by Samudra Gupta Kashyap | Guwahati | Published on:January 23, 2015 1:39 am
The all-India tiger estimation report has put the total number of tigers in the Northeast at 201, a significant increase from 148 recorded in the 2010 count.
Of the 167 tigers counted in Assam, more than 125 are believed to be at the Kaziranga National Park, which is great news for a park more in the news for poaching of its rhinos.
“The number of tigers is definitely increasing in Kaziranga. While a park- and sanctuary-wise break-up is yet to be released, that Kaziranga’s tiger population is on the rise is evident from more sighting of cubs in the current season,” Kaziranga Park Director M K Yadava said.
Altogether 18 to 20 tiger cubs have been sighted in different pockets of the national park, he added, while one male cub had to be shifted to the state zoo in Guwahati after it was separated from its mother.
“The most positive aspect of Kaziranga is that tigers have never been targeted by poachers here,” says Park DFO S K Seal Sarma.
In contrast, Kaziranga has lost three rhinos to poachers in the current year already, while 27 were killed in 2014. All the three tigers who died in Kaziranga last year died due to natural causes.
Apart from Kaziranga, Assam has tigers in its three national parks of Nameri, Manas and Orang.
Arunachal Pradesh has also seen its tiger numbers jump, to 28. According to Arunachal Pradesh PCCF (Wildlife) Onkar Sing, that is due to better habitat management coupled with stringent protection measures.
Arunachal has two tiger project areas — the 1,985-sq km Namdapha National Park and 861.95-sq km Pakke Tiger Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary.
The 500-sq km Dampa tiger reserve in Mizoram has three tigers, the report said.
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/kaziranga-helps-northeast-add-53-tigers/
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Warsaw2014
Herbivore
[ *  *  *  * ]
http://www.wcsrussia.org/Publications/TigerMonograph/tabid/2082/Default.aspx
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Warsaw2014
Herbivore
[ *  *  *  * ]
http://www.mid-day.com/articles/having-recovered-from-injuries-gabbar-the-tiger-is-ready-for-new-exploits/16125197
PrevNext
Having recovered from injuries, Gabbar the tiger is ready for new exploits
By Ranjeet Jadhav |Posted 09-Apr-2015
307 280 7 0 1

Researchers were concerned after the 8-year-old tiger got injured in a fight a month ago, since he is the only male tiger that has been radio collared at the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve

With age setting in, however, Gabbar is getting tough competition from rival males and was injured in a fight last month. But unlike his namesake in the cult film Sholay, everyone has been rooting for Gabbar the tiger to make a speedy recovery, since he holds great promise for researchers at Tadoba.
Gabbar is one of the two tigers that have been radio collared and are being monitored by researchers so we can better understand the big cat’s behaviour. Much to the authorities’ relief, Gabbar made a natural recovery without any human intervention and is now back on the prowl in his territory.
TATR field director Prahlad Garad said, “We were a little worried last month when one of our radio-collared tigers was found with injures on his face. We had a discussion about whether we should tranquilise the animal for treatment or not. But after monitoring the animal’s movement, we came to the conclusion that there was no need for him to be tranquilised. Gabbar has recovered naturally from his injuries and is even hunting properly.”
The struggle for power is far from over for Gabbar though, as sources from the tiger reserve said that due to his advancing age, Gabbar might be pushed out of his territory by younger, stronger males. This is just a matter of time, which is why it is important that the experts not waste even a single opportunity to study the tiger and his activities.
Apart from the fact that Gabbar showed promise of getting better on his own, researchers did not want to tranquilise him as it would have interrupted the ongoing data collection process from his radio collar. Dr Bilal Habib from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) who had radio-collared Gabbar and the female tiger, Tara in October last year, will study the duo for a year, until the collar’s batteries run out.
Experts hope to understand prey segregation amongst males and females so that they can explain the weight difference between the two – Tara’s weight is 85 kg and Gabbar’s is 185 kg, a full 100 kg more. The researchers also plan to collar two leopards and a dhole (wild dog) in the same area to know how tigers, leopards and dholes move in the same area and how they segregate in terms of space and time.
Scientist Dr Bilal Habib from WII said, “In cats it is the pouncing effect that subdues the prey and through the collaring study that we are doing, we may get the segregation data about the prey. We may also get details like what is the choice prey of a male tiger and that of a female. We want to study this factor also because there is a huge difference between the body weight of a male tiger and that of a female.”
Expert speak
Dr Anish Andheria, President of the Wildlife Conservation Trust of India (WCTI) said , “The forest department could monitor Gabbar post his injury purely because of the collar. We do not even know what happened to the other male involved in the fight. Gabbar has dominated his territory for over seven years, which is the upper limit for tigers. It is about time that he will be challenged and possibly displaced by a much younger male.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Sicilianu
Member Avatar
Omnivore
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
Some Tigers Could Be Wiped Out to Save Others
JUN 26, 2015 02:00 PM ET // BY JENNIFER VIEGAS

A tiger currently classified as being a Sumatran tiger. It would be reclassified as a Sunda tiger, if the suggested new guidelines were implemented.

Seven of nine tiger subspecies should be eliminated, advises a new paper that could radically change the way that not only tigers, but also other animals, are classified.

If the proposed changes, outlined in the latest issue of Science Advances, are implemented, the world’s tigers would only fall into two subspecies: the Sunda tiger and the continental tiger. These subspecies would no longer be recognized: Bengal tiger, Caspian tiger, Amur tiger, Javan tiger, South Chinese tiger, Balinese tiger, Sumatran tiger, Indochinese tiger and Malayan tiger.

“A classification into too many subspecies — with weak or even no scientific support — reduces the scope of action for breeding and rehabilitation programs,” lead author Andreas Wilting told Discovery News. “For example, tiger populations in South China and Indochina have been reduced to such low numbers that, if each continues to be classified as separate subspecies, they would likely face extinction.”

The situation is dire, as fewer than 4000 tigers inhabit the forests of Asia. The big cats occupy only 7 percent of their estimated former distribution range. Habitat loss and degradation, as well as hunting by humans, are the primary threats to tigers now.

Wilting explained, “There is still a very high demand for various products from wild tigers, particularly in Eastern Asia.”

For the study, Wilting and an international team of researchers compared the form and structure of more than 200 tiger skulls, as well as the coloration and stripe patterns of more than 100 tiger skins with molecular genetic data, ecological and life history traits.

The comparisons found that there is tremendous overlap between the existing nine subspecies. Tigers from the three Sunda islands — Sumatra, Java and Bali — were, however, different enough from continental tigers to warrant their classification into a separate subspecies.

Right now subspecies are largely defined by a population’s primary geographic region, which is why their locations are in their subspecies names, from Bengal to Malayan.

“The problem with using the geographical distribution is that it is arbitrary where to draw the lines, particularly on continuous habitats such as continental Asia,” Wilting said, explaining that no clear geographical barriers have existed over the past ten thousand or more years for mainland Asian tigers.

The taxonomic status of all living wild cats is now being revised by a working group of the IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group. The co-chairs of that are Urs Breitenmoser and his wife Christine Breitenmoser-Würsten.

While the Breitenmosers suggest that more research is needed on tigers before a decision is made on the proposed changing of subspecies, they told Discovery News that “the practical consequences for conservation could be that the reduction of subspecies in tigers could considerably ease translocation and therefore the recolonization.”

They explained that re-introducing tigers into their known native habitats is just one of many conservation tools that are being considered.

They believe that the new paper is “extremely interesting with regards to its possible practical consequences, and is a model case for future reevaluation of the phylogenetic (evolutionary history) status of widely distributed species.”

Wilting echoed that the new approach could likely be applied to animals other than tigers.

“We are certain that for many other species, the current taxonomy is invalid,” he said. “Most species and subspecies were described hundreds or decades ago, mainly based on a low number of available specimens.”












Planning tiger recovery: Understanding intraspecific variation for effective conservation

Andreas Wilting, Alexandre Courtiol, Per Christiansen, Jürgen Niedballa, Anne K. Scharf, Ludovic Orlando, Niko Balkenhol, Heribert Hofer, Stephanie Kramer-Schadt, Jörns Fickel, Andrew C. Kitchener


Although significantlymoremoney is spent on the conservation of tigers than on any other threatened species, today only 3200 to 3600 tigers roam the forests of Asia, occupying only 7% of their historical range. Despite the global significance of and interest in tiger conservation, global approaches to plan tiger recovery are partly impeded by the lack of a consensus on the number of tiger subspecies or management units, because a comprehensive analysis
of tiger variation is lacking. We analyzed variation among all nine putative tiger subspecies, using extensive data sets of several traits [morphological (craniodental and pelage), ecological, molecular].Our analyses revealed little variation and large overlaps in each trait among putative subspecies, and molecular data showed extremely low diversity because of a severe Late Pleistocene population decline. Our results support recognition of only two subspecies: the Sunda tiger, Panthera tigris sondaica, and the continental tiger, Panthera tigris tigris, which consists of two (northern and southern) management units. Conservation management programs, such as captive breeding, reintroduction initiatives, or trans-boundary projects, rely on a durable, consistent characterization of subspecies as taxonomic units, defined by robust multiple lines of scientific evidence rather than single traits or ad hoc descriptions of one or few specimens. Our multiple-trait data set supports a fundamental rethinking of the conventional tiger taxonomy paradigm, which will have profound implications for the management of in situ and ex situ tiger populations and boost conservation efforts by facilitating a pragmatic approach to tiger conservation management worldwide.

Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Warsaw2014
Herbivore
[ *  *  *  * ]
Posted Image
Daughter and Father Bonding Session: An infant tigress taking the liberty of play-slapping her father in Tadoba. Not only tigresses but tigers too make affectionate parents. (Photo: Anish Andheria)
48 tigers in non-protected Chandrapur forest areas: Survey
By A Correspondent |Posted 29-May-2015
72 10 3 0 0
There is good news for the wildlife enthusiasts as a survey conducted by Wildlife Conservation reveals that there are 48 adult tigers in forests surrounding the Tadoba Tiger Reserve at Chandrapur in Maharashtra.
A first-of-its-kind tiger estimation study conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) in areas outside the Protected Areas of the Chandrapur District of Maharashtra has revealed the presence of 48 adult tigers. This pushes the number of tigers in the district to 120 including 72 living inside the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (as per the 2014 tiger estimation report)
The WCT study, which was conducted in collaboration with the Maharashtra Forest Department, covered 2,000 sq. km. of tiger habitat that falls outside the Protected Area network. Speaking about the exercise, WCT researcher Aditya Joshi said, “We identified 20 breeding tigresses, which is a positive sign of the health of this multiple-use-landscape. Our findings have highlighted how important it is for protection nets to extend beyond Protected Areas. The tiger population in Tadoba is stable because of the healthy presence of tigers in the areas around it.” “A particularly interesting aspect of the study,” said WCT President, Anish Andheria, “is that the tiger density in some reserve forest blocks is actually higher than that of some tiger reserves of India. For instance, tiger density in the Kanhalgaon-Central Chanda block is 2.34 which are more than that of the Melghat Tiger Reserve. In the Junona-Central Chanda block, tiger density stood at 1.77, higher than that of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve.” “The presence of tigers in such densities in human-dominated landscapes speaks volumes about the tolerance of the people of Chandrapur and the good work put in by the forest department of Chandrapur circle. This study has proved that humans and tigers can share a landscape however the future of large carnivores outside national parks and sanctuaries will depend on the efficiency of the forest department in mitigating human-animal conflict and an increased awareness among humans about tiger and leopard behaviour,” Andheria added. Chief Conservator of Forests (Chandrapur Circle), Sanjay Thakre said his team was encouraged by the findings. The WCT study was conducted in close conjunction with the frontline forest staff with a strong focus on building technical capacity in the forest department for future tiger estimates. As many as 600 camera traps, donated by Panthera were used for this study. The study area was divided into several blocks. Every block was further divided into 3 sq km grids and one camera trap pair was installed in each 3 sq. km. area for 25 days, fulfilling the guidelines mandated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority for such studies. The data was collected over 18,000 camera trap nights, making it the most intensive camera trapping exercise ever carried out outside Protected Areas in India. The research substantiated earlier findings by WCT regarding the significance of territorial forests to the dispersal of tigers between Protected Areas in the state. In 2014, WCT researchers working in the Pench Tiger Reserve photo-captured ‘Prince’ (PTR-T8), a male tiger earlier seen in the Nagzira-Navegaon Tiger Reserve. A press release sent to the media also stated that WCT is trying to use the data collected from these studies to help design better wildlife management policies in tiger states. - See more at: http://www.mid-day.com/articles/48-tigers-in-non-protected-chandrapur-forest-areas-survey/16250177#sthash.XxH3EhvH.dpuf
- See more at: http://www.mid-day.com/articles/48-tigers-in-non-protected-chandrapur-forest-areas-survey/16250177#sthash.XxH3EhvH.dpuf
Edited by Warsaw2014, Aug 11 2015, 03:35 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Warsaw2014
Herbivore
[ *  *  *  * ]
Sundarbans Tiger Project Activities and Results 2005-2006

Adam C. D. Barlow1
, Md, Osman Gani2
, Md. Ishtiaq Uddin Ahmed12, Sk. Mizanur Rahman2
,
Anwar Hossain12 Abu N. M. Hossain2
Tariqul Islam2
, Uttam, K. Saha2
and James L. D. Smith1
1
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, 1980 Folwell Ave. University of
Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108
2 Forest Department, BanBaban, Dhaka, Bangladesh
"The tiger weighed approximately 75 kg and measured 234 cm from nose to tail along the
curves
. Hair and tissue samples were taken for genetic analysis and photos were taken of the tigerís
stripe pattern for future identification. A GPS collar was attached and the tigerís temperature was
continually monitored as it slowly recovered from the effects of the drug. It was difficult to give
accurate estimates of a tigerís age from an examination of its teeth. However, compared to other
tigers of known age examined by the investigator, a conservative estimate for the captured tiger
would be around 14 years or older. She recovered slowly but steadily through the night. The first
ìhead upî was recorded at about 1:30 p.m. She then went through intermittent bouts of sleep until she
walked away from the capture site at 10:00 a.m.
A second female tiger
(Chaprakhali Rani or CR) was
captured on the night of the 2nd of
March, 2006. Judging by teeth wear
it was between 10-12 years old.
She weighed an estimated
110-125 kg, and measured 228 cm
from nose to tail tip along the curves.
https://www.panthera.org/sites/default/files/STF/2001-0152-006.pdf
Edited by Warsaw2014, Aug 16 2015, 10:59 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
pckts
Heterotrophic Organism
[ *  *  * ]
110-125kg for a sunderban female is a big girl.
Thats as large as any of the captive Sumatran males, I saw weights for at the SD Safari park.

Being 10-12 years old and probably out of her prime, she could certainly of been even larger in her prime.

Also surprised at the age of the 1st female, "14 years or older"
She is obviously on her way out, but nice to see a couple of females living full lives in such a hostile place for human, Tiger Conflict.
Edited by pckts, Aug 18 2015, 02:45 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Warsaw2014
Herbivore
[ *  *  *  * ]
The Royal White Tiger
A complete documented study into one of the zoo industry's strongest conservation tool.
For a two year old kitten she had tremendous growth-almost 190 pounds,
three feet tall at the shoulders, and eight feet from nose to tail."[10] White tigers can be larger and
heavier than regular orange tigers. The average length of a white tiger at birth is 53 cm, compared
to 50 cm for a normal orange cub. Shoulder height is 17 cm (normal 12 cm), weight 1.37 kg (normal
1.25 kg). Dalip and Krishna, two white tigers at New Delhi Zoo, weighed 139 kg and 120 kg
respectively, at two years of age. Ram and Jim, two normal colored tigers at the same zoo, weighed
106 kg and 119 kg, at the same age. Raja, the white tiger, had a shoulder height of 100 cm, at ten
years of age, while Suraj, an orange tiger, had a shoulder height of only 90 cm, at 12 years of age,
according to New Delhi Zoo director K.S. Sankhala. Ratna and Vindhya, orange tigresses "from the
white race", who carried the white gene as a recessive (both were fathered by Mohan), were higher
at the shoulder than average, measuring 87 and 88 cm, compared to a normal orange tigress named
Asharfi, who measured 82 cm at the shoulder.[2
http://www.truthaboutwhitetigers.com/whitetigerreport.pdf
Edited by Warsaw2014, Aug 19 2015, 05:50 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
WaveRiders_
Autotrophic Organism
[ *  * ]
In a post I made earlier this year on WF I stated that when Female Tiger F101 was weighed in Chitawan NP, Nepal, at 164 kg on 3 March 1975 “she was pregnant and relatively close to give birth to a litter (approximately 4 weeks …). Therefore this weight was not a natural weight for the animal (apart from the stomach contents issue).”

Anybody is free how to consider in his own weight analyses the figure of 164 kg occurred in that particular circumstance. I just pointed out that 164 kg was not a natural weight for the animal. My suggestion came from my consideration that although weight increase for pregnant carnivore does not appear to be linear with time till the birth, more then likely there would have been a contribution of some kg to the recorded weight of 164 kg due to pregnancy.

I spot the above fact a long time ago. It was not a relevant issue and that difficult to come to light. In general one should read most or the whole reports if possible and not just the page with weights and lengths … (ok, that report is 90+ pages, well … but if one has the ambition to be a Researcher …). I did not provide evidence of how/where I understood F101 was pregnant when weighed at 164 kg. also because I gave for granted that should people not been aware of my info (which I honestly thought it was unlikely as there are several good people in animal forum digging pretty well into literature) curiosity would have pushed people at least to carefully check my statement by themselves in all their sources. Furthermore I assumed relevant “Experts and Researchers” were obviously familiar with

Sunquist, M. E. 1981. The Social Organization of Tigers (Panthera tigris) in Royal Chitawan National Park, Nepal. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology No. 336. 98 pages

I have recently noticed that my statement on Female Tiger F101 weighed in Chitawan NP at 164 kg when pregnant and relatively close to give birth to a litter (approximately 4 weeks …) has been later dismissed by GuateGojira despite he apparently made some checks in the meantime. I “dare” to say that Guate evidently needs to study and apply himself more.

I now feel the need to back up my statement with clear evidence.

After my previous post (# 387 in “Siberian Tiger v Eurasian Brown Bear” thread), the one related to the misunderstanding from GuateGojira and peter that their supposed 165 kg wild adult male brown bear recently weighed by zoologists in Amur-Ussuri land was instead an animal roaming not too far from Moscow, it took just a few hours for GuateGojira to get to know about my post and he commented that I was/am unable to show evidence of my statements perhaps pointing out in particular to even those which are instead undisputable FACTS.

Well, so Guate thinks that I am not able to provide crystal clear evidence of all my clear statements when these are actual facts and not my personal estimates, interpretations, personal conclusions or whatever (for everybody including myself of course these latter ones for nature are instead debatable and I am aware of it although there could some pretty much solid backup behind). Evidently Guate other then have been much arrogant, offensive and overly aggressive for many years in Animal Forum as many people can testify, has now become masochist and likes that his superficiality is clearly shown to everybody.

Fine, I can have many presents for Guate as he has insisted so much. For now I am sending him another one with my compliments suggesting him to stay tuned as I have some further spare time.


Below it follows the demonstration concerning Female Tiger 101 being pregnant and close to give birth when weighed @ 164 kg on 3 March 1975 in Chitawan National Park, Nepal.


Part relevant to the issue of the post I sent on 3 February 2015

Posted Image


Part relevant to the issue of the post from GuateGojira sent 2 May 2015 with my comments

Posted Image


From Sunquist (1981)

Posted Image


From Sunquist (1981)

Posted Image


From Sunquist (1981)

Posted Image



WaveRiders




Edited by WaveRiders_, Aug 23 2015, 06:59 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Asadas
Member Avatar
Herbivore
[ *  *  *  * ]
One year after release, rehabilitated Amur tigress caught on film in Russia

https://youtu.be/DqoNZKIHb5k

Thanks to four camera traps IFAW had donated to the Khingan Nature Reserve, we now have footage of Ilona the tigress that shows she is thriving in the wild and still sporting her tracking collar.

Ilona, now three years old, is one of the six orphan tiger cubs from the Russian Far East whom IFAW helped rehabilitate and release.

In this particular video, Ilona was captured leaving marks on a tree in which different species—from black bears to red deer—have left their “messages,” proving that rangers chose the right spot for the video trap.

She is one of three famous “Putin’s tigers,” which he helped release a year ago. Ilona actually did not leave the transport cage when Putin first slid the door open. She jumped out of the cage to freedom only after Putin, his staff, and accompanying journalists left. IFAW was left to catch this epic release on camera.

For me it is very emotional to watch Ilona on that video and see how well she is doing in the wilds of Khingan Nature Reserve. She is hunting deer, wolves and wild boars, even though the latter are the least preferred prey.

IFAW has been involved with the rehabilitation of tiger cubs at the Russian Far East for years now. We have made great progress changing the opinions and policies of Ministry of Natural Resources officials.

The first four cubs we helped were delivered to the zoos, due to the belief that it is impossible to return cubs after rehabilitation to the wild. IFAW and our partnering groups proved otherwise and now five tigers we’ve released are successfully living in the wild.

The need for additional camera traps arouse when Ilona scrunched one of five camera traps already installed in the reserve. Ilona seems to be well aware of the presence of the cameras and each time passing by adjusts the camera’s position and then looks straight into the lens. Vyacheslav Kastrikin, Deputy Director of Science at Khingan Nature Reserve, directed the installation of camera traps.

Locations for installing the photo traps were selected based on the results of the winter field work of monitoring feeding habits of the tiger. The photo traps are located at the forest roads which Ilona used quite regularly, no less than once a month.

Apart from these two roads, we were not able to find trails that Ilona would use regularly. Outside of the roads during the winter period the tiger moved mostly along the tracks of wild boars, each time using a new track.

If concentration of the female tiger trails moves away, the photo traps will be moved to the new area she chooses to inhabit. However, Ilona is not likely to move away from such an abundant area.

--MV

http://www.ifaw.org/united-states/news/one-year-after-release-rehabilitated-amur-tigress-caught-film-russia

Putin’s Tiger Caught on Film One Year After Release

https://youtu.be/ZkjlhGi1QgE

Masha N. Vorontsova, Regional Director in Russia for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has some exciting news to share, posted below. In the previous year IFAW released 5 Amur tigers in collaboration with President Putin and recently captured some camera trap footage of one tigress Ilona.

It has now been more than a year since the biggest Siberian tiger release in history. Four of the five Amur (aka Siberian) tigers released last year in the Russian Far East have adapted successfully to life in the wild. Newly released video captured by a camera trap positioned at the Khingan Nature Reserve shows a healthy tigress Ilona marking her territory.
Posted Image
Satellite tracking and camera trap videos show that the rehabilitated orphan tigress continues to thrive in the Russian forests near the Chinese border. By tracking her movements, scientists have learned that she is hunting wolves, deer and wild boar.

“Success stories like Ilona are helping to change the opinion and policy of officials in the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources,” said Maria Vorontsova, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Russia director. “There was a general belief that it was impossible to rehabilitate and return orphan tiger cubs back to the wild. IFAW and our partner groups have now proven that it is indeed possible.”

Nicknamed “Putin’s tigers” after President Vladimir Putin’s participation in the release, all but one of the five tigers have successfully adapted to life in the wild. Kuzya, Ilona, Borya and Svetlaya have been tracked and are establishing territories of their own. Ustin was caught after months of wandering near human settlements, along the Chinese-Russian border and was ultimately taken to the Rostov-on-Don zoo due to public safety concerns.
Posted Image
The tigress Zolushka (which means Cinderella in Russian) was released in 2013 and was the first to be successfully rehabilitated and reintroduced to the wild. Scientists report that she is doing well and continues to thrive in the Bastak Nature Reserve. It is believed that she found a mate, Zavetny, and may already have given birth to cubs. If the young survive, they will increase the remaining population of approximately 400 wild Amur tigers.

With ongoing support from the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, a multi-group collaboration between IFAW, Special Inspection Tiger, A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Phoenix Foundation make this tiger rescue, rehabilitation and release possible.
Posted Image
Male tiger, Kuzya moments after his door is opened for his release back to the wild. The release was attended by Russian President (Photograph: © IFAW/M.Booth, 2014)

http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2015/06/02/putins-tiger-caught-on-film-one-year-after-release/
Edited by Asadas, Oct 29 2015, 03:37 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Taipan
Member Avatar
Administrator

Historic image of tiger and her cubs

Date: December 10, 2015
Source: Wildlife Conservation Society
Summary:
WCS and partners report from Bastak Reserve, a 162 square mile (420 km2) protected area in the Pri-Amur region of the Russian Far East, a tiger cub who lost her mother and nearly died, has became a “Cinderella” and is now a mother.

Posted Image
“Zolushka” standing under a huge Korean pine tree in Russia’s Bastak Reserve with two small cubs huddled underneath her. This is the first time tigers have repopulated this region in 40 years.
Credit: Bastak Reserve

Cinderella has babies! WCS and partners report from Bastak Reserve, a 162 square mile (420 km2) protected area in the Pri-Amur region of the Russian Far East, a tiger cub who lost her mother and nearly died, has became a "Cinderella" and is now a mother.

The reserve was devoid of tigers for nearly 40 years until Cinderella was released there two years ago and has now attracted a mate from another region.

Anxious waiting by biologists in the area was rewarded on December 9, 2015, when Ivan Podkolnokov, the reserve inspector responsible for monitoring Zolushka -- Russian for Cinderella -- returned from the field with historic photos: Zolushka standing under a huge Korean pine tree, with two small cubs huddled underneath her.

"This is a great day for Bastak Reserve" said Aleksandr Yuryevich Kalinin, Director of the protected area. "This demonstrates that there is still suitable habitat for tigers in the Pri-Amur region of the Russian Far East, and there is a place for tigers here. Our thanks go out to Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, WCS, IFAW, the Phoenix Fund, and Special Inspection Tiger and working collaboratively with us to make this happen."

Said WCS Russia Director Dale Miquelle: "This is a watershed event not just for Zolushka, but for the entire population of Amur tigers. These births mark the return of tigers to habitat that had been lost, and the beginnings of a recovery and expansion of the last remaining Amur tiger population into habitat lost years ago."

Said Cristián Samper, WCS President and CEO. "The story of this Cinderella is no fairy tale," "The discovery of Zolushka's cubs is real proof that conservation on the ground, conducted by groups working in partnership, can and does work. Zolushka and her cubs are proof that tiger habitat lost long ago is coming back in the Russian Far East."

In February 2012, hunters in the southwestern portion of Primorskii Krai, one of the last strongholds of the Amur (or Siberian) tiger, came across a starving, four-month old tiger cub. Brought to the local wildlife manager, she was nursed back to health. After an operation to remove the tip of her tail which was damaged due to severe frostbite, Zolushka was transferred to the Aleksayevka Rehabilitation Center, managed by Inspection Tiger and supported by the Russian Geographical Society.

Kept away from humans (so as not to become acclimated to them) and provided live prey, Zolushka slowly learned how to hunt. In May 2013, when approximately 20 months old (the normal age when young tigers disperse from their mothers), Zolushka was taken to Bastak Reserve and released. On her own, Zolushka quickly figured out how to exploit the abundance of badgers, wild boar, and red deer.

WCS assisted scientists from the Severtsov Institute (Russian Academy of Sciences) with Zolusha's transfer and release into Bastak -- some 700 km away. WCS staff spent considerable time tracking Zolushka as she explored her new home to ensure she was properly acclimating to life back in the wild.

However, there was one problem. Tigers disappeared from the forests of Bastak Reserve forty years ago, making Zolushka a lonely Cinderella. That problem was miraculously solved when a lone wild male arrived, apparently making the 200 km hike west from the northern-most portions of current tiger range in Russia. Tracks of Zolushka and her prince were soon found together, but there was still a long wait as Zolushka still needed to mature and became ready for motherhood.

Story Source: Wildlife Conservation Society. "Historic image of tiger and her cubs." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151210093315.htm (accessed December 11, 2015).
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Ceph
Member Avatar
Piscivore

Niche overlap and competition potential among tigers (Panthera tigris), sabertoothed cats (Homotherium ultimum, Hemimachairodus zwierzyckii) and Merriam's Dog (Megacyon merriami) in the Pleistocene of Java
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
Volume 441, Part 4, 1 January 2016, Pages 901–911
Authors: Rebekka Volmer, Christine Hertler, Alexandra van der Geerd,


Abstract
On Java during the Pleistocene, tigers of more than 300 kg occurred, but these are restricted to a single Late Pleistocene faunal unit, while Early and Middle Pleistocene tigers possessed body masses comparable to those of historic Javanese and extant Sumatran tigers. However, former studies have excluded carnivores from the Middle Pleistocene site of Sangiran where tigers co-occurred with machairodonts (Hemimachairodus zwierzyckii and Homotherium ultimum) and the large Merriam's Dog (Megacyon merriami). The aim of this study is to test if large tiger individuals occurred already in Early and/or Middle Pleistocene sites in Java and evaluate competition potential among carnivores from Sangiran and its consequences.

We calculated body masses and prey mass spectrum for tigers and potential competitors using linear regressions. Niche overlap was then estimated based on the prey mass spectrum after which niche-overlaps were used as indicators for competition potentials. Reconstructed body mass for H. ultimum, H. zwierzyckii, M. merriami are 154 kg (comparable to Homotherium from Untermassfeld), 130 kg and 52 kg, respectively. The niche overlap between tigers and Merriam's Dog is highest (100%) while it is comparatively low (60%) between tigers and H. ultimum. Tigers have not increased body mass before Ngandong faunal level, but competitors like Merriam's Dog seem to have decreased body mass to avoid competition with tigers. The sabertoothed cats on the other hand seem to have been unable to adapt to competition and went extinct.

Posted Image

Volmer, Rebekka, Christine Hertler, and Alexandra van der Geer. "Niche overlap and competition potential among tigers (Panthera tigris), sabertoothed cats (Homotherium ultimum, Hemimachairodus zwierzyckii) and Merriam's Dog (Megacyon merriami) in the Pleistocene of Java." Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 441 (2016): 901-911.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S003101821500601X
download pdf
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Taipan
Member Avatar
Administrator

With help, tigers clawing back in Southeast Asia

Date: February 18, 2016
Source: Wildlife Conservation Society

Posted Image
Tiger camera trap. An eight-year study shows tiger population recovering in a Thai sanctuary, the only location in Southeast Asia where tigers are confirmed to be increasing in number.
Credit: Government of Thailand/WCS Thailand

A new study by a team of Thai and international scientists finds that a depleted tiger population in Thailand is rebounding thanks to enhanced protection measures. This is the only site in Southeast Asia where tigers are confirmed to be increasing in population. It is also the first-ever long-term study of tiger population dynamics in Southeast Asia.

Moreover, the scientists feel even better days lay ahead for this population of the iconic carnivores.

The Government of Thailand in collaboration with WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) established an intensive patrol system in in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary (HKK) in 2006 to curb poaching of tigers and their prey, and to recover what is possibly the largest remaining "source" population of wild tigers in mainland Southeast Asia.

Monitoring of the population from 2005-2012 identified 90 individual tigers and an improvement in tiger survival and recruitment over time.

"The protection effort is paying off as the years have progressed, as indicated by the increase in recruitment, and we expect the tiger population to increase even more rapidly in the years to come," said Somphot Duangchantrasiri, the lead author of the study."

To monitor the tigers, the scientists employed rigorous, annually repeated camera trap surveys (where tigers are photographed and individually identified from their stripe patterns) combined with advanced statistical models.

"This collaboration between WCS and the Thai government used the most up-to-date methodologies for counting tigers," said Dr. Ullas Karanth, a senior scientist with WCS and one of the authors of the study. "It's gratifying to see such rigorous science being used to inform critical conservation management decisions."

Analyses of the tigers' long-term photo-capture histories and calculations of tiger abundances and densities, annual rates of survival, recruitment and other information provided scientists with direct, comprehensive measures of the dynamics of the wild tiger population in HKK.

Joe Walston, WCS Vice President of Field Conservation said, "This is an outstanding conservation success coming from an area where wildlife has been struggling for some time. The result to date is reflective of the commitment made by the Thai government and its partners to Thailand's natural heritage. And despite the considerable gains made already, we believe the future looks even brighter."

The authors note that 10-15 years of intensive protection of source sites is required before prey populations attain optimal densities necessary to support higher tiger numbers.

Story Source: Wildlife Conservation Society. "With help, tigers clawing back in Southeast Asia." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160218102800.htm (accessed February 18, 2016).




Journal Reference:
Somphot Duangchantrasiri, Mayuree Umponjan, Saksit Simcharoen, Anak Pattanavibool, Soontorn Chaiwattana, Sompoch Maneerat, N. Samba Kumar, Devcharan Jathanna, Arjun Srivathsa, K. Ullas Karanth. Dynamics of a low-density tiger population in Southeast Asia in the context of improved law enforcement. Conservation Biology, 2015; DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12655

Abstract
Recovering small populations of threatened species is an important global conservation strategy. Monitoring the anticipated recovery, however, often relies on uncertain abundance indices rather than on rigorous demographic estimates. To counter the severe threat from poaching of wild tigers (Panthera tigris), the Government of Thailand established an intensive patrolling system in 2005 to protect and recover its largest source population in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary. Concurrently, we assessed the dynamics of this tiger population over the next 8 years with rigorous photographic capture-recapture methods. From 2006 to 2012, we sampled across 624–1026 km2 with 137–200 camera traps. Cameras deployed for 21,359 trap days yielded photographic records of 90 distinct individuals. We used closed model Bayesian spatial capture-recapture methods to estimate tiger abundances annually. Abundance estimates were integrated with likelihood-based open model analyses to estimate rates of annual and overall rates of survival, recruitment, and changes in abundance. Estimates of demographic parameters fluctuated widely: annual density ranged from 1.25 to 2.01 tigers/100 km2, abundance from 35 to 58 tigers, survival from 79.6% to 95.5%, and annual recruitment from 0 to 25 tigers. The number of distinct individuals photographed demonstrates the value of photographic capture–recapture methods for assessments of population dynamics in rare and elusive species that are identifiable from natural markings. Possibly because of poaching pressure, overall tiger densities at Huai Kha Khaeng were 82–90% lower than in ecologically comparable sites in India. However, intensified patrolling after 2006 appeared to reduce poaching and was correlated with marginal improvement in tiger survival and recruitment. Our results suggest that population recovery of low-density tiger populations may be slower than anticipated by current global strategies aimed at doubling the number of wild tigers in a decade.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160218102800.htm
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Create a free forum in seconds.
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Feline · Next Topic »
Add Reply