Some interesting facts about big cats

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Data from:Yohimbine antagonizes the anaesthetic effects of ketamine-xylazine in captive Indian wild felids.
by Sadanand D Sontakke, Govindhaswamy Umapathy, Sisinthy Shivaji

www.mendeley.com/research/yohimbine-antagonizes-anaesthetic-effects-ketamine-xylazine-captive-indian-wild-felids/#


Data from:THE SUNDARBANS TIGER. ADAPTATION, POPULATION STATUS, AND CONFLICT. MANAGEMENT BY ADAM C. D. BARLOW
www.carnivoreconservation.org/files/thesis/barlow_2009_phd.pdf

Figure 4. Growth curves of male lions in human care plotted with models from 158 wild lions (Smuts et al., 1980).

Figure 5. Growth curves of female lions in human care plotted with models from 186 wild lions (Smuts et al., 1980).

Weight data were collated from 190.229 parent reared, 74.73 hand reared, 33.32 unknown reared, and
23.25 wild born African lions reported in the literature (Clarke & Berry, 1992; Green et al., 1984; Haas et
al., 2005; Schaller, 1976; Smuts et al., 1980; Visser, 2009) and 27.43 parent reared, 8.19 hand reared,
and 1.2 unknown reared Asian lions for a total of 779 lions and 14,456 data points. Weights of male lions
were always greater than female lions of the same age, but there was no difference between Asian and
African lions nor was there a difference between parent-reared lions in human care which were wild born
versus zoo-born. Data were compared to growth curves for 158.186 wild lions reported in the literature
(Smuts et al., 1980) (Figure 4, Figure 5, Table 6).
Growth is often assumed to be linear in young animals, including domestic cats and as was reported in
wild lions (Smuts et al., 1980) and in general this is an adequate assumption. However, when assessing
the needs of neonates (for example when hand-rearing) a more accurate model of early growth is critical.
Unfortunately continuous growth curves for lion in human care and wild lions fail to estimate reasonable
weights during the first year of growth (Smuts et al., 1980). The broken-line model was constrained to
derive accurate weight estimates from birth to maturity to provide a practical tool for evaluation of growing
lions.
The rate of lion growth differed based on rearing and gender, however changes in the growth rate
(breakpoints) were similar for males and females within each rearing group. Parent-reared males and
females accelerated growth around 45 and 100 days of age whereas hand-reared males and females
began growing at about 72% of the parent-reared rate but accelerated earlier around 30 and 70 days of
age so that they equaled or surpassed the parent-reared animals in weight around 85 days of age. All
animals decelerated growth around 18 months of age and reached mature weights around 3 years of
age. After 365 days of age, the broken-line and continuous growth curve become similar and both could
be appropriate (Zullinger et al., 1984). Continuous deceleration of growth is more physiologically
accurate; however the broken-line model also describes the data well.
Continuous growth curves for both wild and zoo animals predicted maximum average daily gains around
10 months for female lions and 11 months for male lions (Smuts et al., 1980), however maximum growth
rates for wild lions were predicted to be only 60% of the maximum rate for lions in human care. Overall,
wild lions grew more slowly and for a longer period of time, although the linear estimate of growth
predicted maturity at a similar age to lions in human care (Smuts et al., 1980). The difference between
these animals was also observed by Smuts et al. (1980) and attributed to restricted nutrient availability for
wild lions. This suggests that the higher growth rates in zoo animals reflect a more optimal plane of
nutrition. Conversely, too-rapid growth rates can increase the risk of metabolic disorders, particularly in
association with obesity. Rapid “catch-up”’ growth following periods of restriction may exacerbate these
risks and could be occurring in hand-reared animals (Forsen et al., 2000; Ozanne, 2001; Ozanne &
Hales, 2005). However, due to the small differences between hand-reared and parent-reared lions, the
likelihood that nutrition is limiting in wild lion populations, limited data suggesting that metabolic disease is
a significant problem in lions in human care, the growth rates reported here for both parent-reared and
hand-reared lions in human care are expected to be appropriate. Difference in growth rate of hand-reared
animals may result from formula composition initially followed by more rapid weaning to solids.



Body Condition Scoring
Obesity is purported to be the most common
nutritional disorder in domestic felines (Zoran, 2002).
The most practical method for evaluating degree of
fatness for animals which cannot be readily palpated
is visual body condition scoring. Body condition
scoring (BCS) systems provide a spectrum of fatness
usually with 1–5 or 1–9 levels (BCS points). Nine
point BCS systems are more specific and preferred
in domestic cats, dog, horses and other species and
have been validated against direct and indirect
objective measures of fatness (German et al., 2006; Henneke et al, 1983; LaFlamme, 1997; Laflamme,
2005; Stevenson & Woods, 2006). One advantage of a 9 point body condition scoring system is that
scores of 4 (moderate low) and 6 (moderate high) serve as warning zones where diet or management
changes can be made to avoid ever reaching body conditions of increased health risk (low 1–3 and high
7–9 scores). Weights can provide the most specific measure of change in fatness, however body
condition scoring is necessary in addition to weight to determine appropriate target ranges and also to
track animals when weights alone are not indicative of BCS such as during growth and gestation. Body
condition also does not require special equipment or animal training to achieve, although scorer training is
needed.
A 9 pt. BCS scale has been developed for the lion based on 125 images collected from the internet and
other institutions, 60 photosets collected from 2.4
lions at an AZA-accredited zoo, 26 of which were
paired with weights, and 5 paired with palpations and
transcutaneous ultrasounds collected over ribs,
back, rump and tail while the animals were
anesthetized (Fig 6, Fig 8). Although each species
has
unique
conformation
supporting
the
development of specific BCS systems, areas of fat
accumulation are similar across many quadrapedal
species, in particular: over the hips, the base of the
tail, the torso and ribs, the backline, behind and over
the shoulder, and the neck.
It is generally recommended that animals in zoos be
maintained within the range of moderate body
condition scores (4–6 on a 9 point scale). More
extreme body conditions are associated with
increased
health
risks,
poor
reproductive
performance and reduced longevity in domestic cats
and
dogs
(Laflamme,
2005).
Palpation
and
transcutaneous ultrasound can provide a more
accurate measure of fatness and should be used in
conjunction
with
weights
to
calibrate
visual
assessment if possible.
BCS scores showed a strong linear relationship (r=0.939) to weights for lions. This relationship was
similar in other large felids so lion data were combined with data from 2.2 tigers (Panthera tigris) and 1.0
jaguar (Panthera onca) for a total of 50 weight/score pairs with pairs for each individual spanning at least
3 body conditions. Weights were normalized (weight at BCS 5 = 100%) and plotted against body
condition scores (Figure 7). Linear regression for combined data clustered by animals gave a value of
7.3% change in bodyweight per unit BCS (95% confidence interval 6.3 to 8.3%, r = 0.957).
More specific body composition techniques exist and can further validate BCS scales in exotic animals,
however these techniques are challenging or expensive to apply. Beyond the data reported above, body
composition has not been assessed in lions, however it has been estimated from total body water from 14
wild lions in 2 studies (Clarke & Berry, 1992; Green et al., 1984). Average total body water was 64% and
did not differ between males and females or immature vs. mature lions (P>0.05). This corresponds to an
average fat mass of 13% bodyweight (range 3 to 21%)[glow=red,2,300][/glow]. Studies in domestic cats using the same method,
bioimpedance or DEXA, found fat masses of 23%, 28% and 5-55% bodyweight (Ballevre et al., 1994;
Elliot, 2006; German et al., 2006). From these studies, an equation was derived to estimate body
composition from body condition scores using a 9 pt scale in the cat (German et al., 2006):
%Fat Mass = 6.652(BCS)-14.07
Based on this equation an increase in 1 body condition score is equivalent to a 6.652% increase in
bodyweight, very similar to the 7.3% estimated for large felids. The equation also predicts 0 fat mass at
BCS 2 which would seem appropriate the BCS systems for lions presented above. Accordingly, the
equation for estimating fat mass from BCS in domestic cats appears to be applicable to lions and other
big cats, estimating 20% body fat corresponding to a BCS 5 out of 9. Extrapolating from this equation,
wild lions ranged from 2.5 to 5.25 BCS, with an average BCS of 4 out of 9 (Clarke & Berry, 1992; Green
et al., 1984).


Source:
CREATED BY THE. AZA LION SPECIES SURVIVAL PLAN®. IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE. AZA FELID TAXON ADVISORY GROUP. LION.
www.google.pl/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=CREATED%20BY%20THE.%20AZA%20LION%20SPECIES%20SURVIVAL%20PLAN%C2%AE.%20IN%20ASSOCIATION%20WITH%20THE.%20AZA%20FELID%20TAXON%20ADVISORY%20GROUP.%20LION.%20&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CDYQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aza.org%2FuploadedFiles%2FAnimal_Care_and_Management%2FAnimal_Programs%2FAnimal_Programs_Database%2FAnimal_Care_Manuals%2FLion%2520Care%2520Manual%25202012(1).pdf&ei=JGkyUeiCF8fl4QSs9YEg&usg=AFQjCNFmPklRB6OgIM2JJhMcQMfWzChPAQ&bvm=bv.43148975,d.bGE

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The effects of personality of keepers and tigers on their behaviour in an interactive zoo exhibit

4 februari 2009 - bron: Source: Applied Animal Behaviour Science, vol 106, issue 4, 2007

Personalities can be determined for individual animals from their distinctive patterns of behaviour, providing that they are consistent across time and situations. Although there have been no previous studies of the role of personality in ...

keeper:tiger interactions in zoos/wildlife parks, previous research has determined that cat personality can be reliably assessed from their attributed feelings in social interactions. We asked tiger keepers to rate the personality of their tigers from a list of adjectives, and they consistently used terms relating to three domains representing extroversion, agreeableness and youthfulness. These did not correlate well with simple records of tiger behaviour taken over a short period of time. However, self assessed keeper personalities correlated well with keeper behaviour during interactions with the tigers, which mainly involved intercepting fighting tigers, clapping their hands to elicit a change in behaviour and pushing them to make them move. It is concluded that keeper, but not tiger, personality has strong connections to the interactive behaviour between the two in an interactive zoo exhibit.
www.jagran.nl/PrimoSite/show.do?ctx=25145,169648,338419

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Siberian tiger threatened by mystery disease

Conservationists say an epidemic is destroying the big cats' ability to hunt and turning them into potential man-eaters
A mystery disease is driving the Siberian tiger to the edge of extinction and has led to the last animal tagged by conservationists being shot dead in the far east of Russia because of the danger it posed to people.

The 10-year-old tigress, known to researchers as Galya, is the fourth animal that has had a radio collar attached to it for tracking to die in the past 10 months. All had been in contact with a male tiger suspected of carrying an unidentified disease that impaired the ability to hunt. "We may be witnessing an epidemic in the Amur tiger population," said Dr Dale Miquelle, the Wildlife Conservation Society's (WCS) Russia director.

Galya had recently abandoned a three-week-old litter of cubs and come into the town of Terney looking for an easy meal. Following a series of all-night vigils by researchers, attempts to scare the tigress away failed. She was reported to the Primorsky State Wildlife Department as an official "conflict tiger", and a state wildlife inspector was called in to destroy her earlier this month.

"This tiger had lost its fear of humans – typically Amur tigers will never expose themselves for observation. It was like seeing someone you know turn into a vampire," Miquelle said.

Scientists are attempting to understand what compromised the tigress's ability to capture wild prey, which she had lived upon almost exclusively since birth. Her cubs, which were subsequently found dead at the den, are likely to have had their mother's disease transmitted to them through the placenta. "Initial necropsy results show an empty digestive tract, which is highly unusual. We're still waiting for results of further tests, but the abnormal behaviour suggests disease, possibly neurological," said Miquelle. "We are extremely concerned about the possibility of an epidemic that could be sweeping through this region. Animals we have studied extensively, and known well, have demonstrated radically changed behaviour, which is extremely disconcerting."

Weighing only 91kg at death – down from an estimated 140kg at full health – the tigress's death represents the end of an 11-year lineage of related "study" tigers, and leaves the WCS's Siberian Tiger Project with no radio-collared animals for the first time in 18 years. WCS Russia has tracked more than 60 tigers since inception in 1992.

In March this year, Miquelle raised the prospect of disease as a potential threat to an already endangered Siberian tiger population. The Siberian Tiger Monitoring Program reported in October 2009 a possible 40% decline in numbers since the last full survey in 2005, from 428 to as little as 252 adult tigers. The tiger's range has been reduced to a small pocket in the corner of the country within the region of Primorsky Krai.

Speaking at a conference in Vladivostok, Miquelle said that anything above a 15% mortality rate in adult females could kill off all Amur tigers. With around 150 adult females in the population, any more than 22 deaths of adult females per year may wipe out the species. Poaching accounts for about 75% of all Amur tiger deaths, with 12 to 16 adult females killed annually. "We're in a new era where disease could seriously affect the Amur tiger."

The Russian draft federal tiger conservation strategy has recently been amended to take account of disease, including a section on vaccination against canine distemper, a viral disease which is common in the Russian far east in domestic dogs and cats.

"The addition of disease-related deaths to existing sources of mortality could push this population over a tipping point," said Miquelle.

The federal strategy, which is being designed by a number of scientific groups including WCS Russia, is being prepared for the first global Tiger Summit due to take place in St Petersburg this September. Along with World Bank president Robert Zoellick, Vladimir Putin is due to preside over the conference.

WCS Russia hopes to recommence the capture of study tigers in September. "We aim to change the focus of why we study tigers, with a new emphasis on disease," said Miquelle. "The only consolation in this grisly process is that, for once, a serious threat is not originating from human actions, although even that, for now, is open to debate."

• This article was amended on 24 June 2010 to correct the source of figures on tiger decline from Wildlife Conservation Society, Russia to The Siberian Tiger Monitoring Program.


mystery disease = Чума плотоядных=Canine distempe
ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Чумка_собак
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_distemper

Here is an exact quote

"Группа российских ветеринаров и специалисты из Бронкского зоопарка WCS, проведя генетический и гистологический анализ тканей двух больных тигров из Приморья и Хабаровского края, установили, что они были заражены чумой плотоядных", - сказал представитель WCS.

Source:
www.svprim.ru/tiger/2011_5tiger.shtml

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tiger.sevin-expedition.ru/news/news_68.html

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COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE THORACIC LIMB SKELETON IN THE
LION (PANTHERA LEO) AND IN THE TIGER (PANTHERA TIGRIS)
C. DEZDROBITU, Melania CRIŞAN, Al. GUDEA, A. DAMIAN, Fl. STAN, Ioana CHIRILEAN, Fl. TUNS,
Irina IRIMESCU
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cluj‐Napoca, 3‐5 Calea Mănăştur. 
E‐mail: [e-mail]
ABSTRACT
Our anatomy study was conducted with the purpose of a comparative description of the
bones of the thoracic limb in lions (Phantera Leo) and in tigers (Phantera Tigris). The lion and
the tiger are the biggest felines in existence today (Nowak 1991; Sunquist 2002) and they are
not a part of the Romanian natural habitat. The material used for this research has been
provided by the Turda Zoo, Cluj County, being composed of two lion corpses and two tiger
corpses.The anatomical pieces have been prepared at the Comparative Anatomy Laboratory
of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Cluj‐Napoca. The goal of this study was to record
morphologically distinct elements of the forelimb skeleton in the two aforementioned
species.The forelimb zonoskeleton, the stylopodium and the zeugopodium are the main
regions in which differences between the two species have been detected. We would like to
mention that there are no differences between the two species in the autopodium region
that would influence the functioning of the musculoskeletal system with regard to arthrology
and myology.
INTRODUCTION
This comparative study of the thoracic limb skeleton in the lion and in the tiger aims to complete
current available morphological data on felines, through means of a research which will ease the
process of identifying the two species based on skeletal characteristics and will also provide
correlation between the elements of the bone surface and the muscular mass that inserts itself on
them. Specialized data on large felines is virtually nonexistent in our country, due to the fact that
these species are not part of the natural Romanian habitat and are present only in national
zoological parks.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
The research material, composed of 2 lion corpses and 2 tiger corpses, both males, with an age
range from 8 to 10 years, was provided by the Zoo Park of Turda, Cluj County. The osseous pieces
have been obtained through the removal of the soft tissues (muscles and ligaments), followed by
the isolation of each anatomical region of the thoracic limb. These pieces have been thermically
processed by boiling them in a detergent solution with degreasing substances. The thermal
processing has been accomplished in several stages. During the first stage, the pieces were boiled
for 5 hours, followed by a new mechanical cleaning of the bones. The second stage lasted 3 hours
and consisted in boiling the pieces in a solution of surface active agents. According to the degree
of clarity of the scoured bone surfaces, the thermal processing was repeated when needed. After
these processing stages, the anatomical pieces have forgone a bleaching treatment using
bleaching agents.
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Lucrări Științifice – vol 53 seria Medicină Veterinară
After this treatment, all the anatomical elements of the surface of the bones have been identified,
thus detecting the criteria for the differentiation between the two aforementioned species
considered for this study





CONCLUSIONS
1. The osseous elements of the skeleton of the thoracic limb of the tiger and lion are
extremely important to joint function and muscular biodynamic, taking in consideration
the natural habitats of these two species.
2. The cranial border of the scapula has a concave‐convex shape in the dorso‐ventral
direction in the tiger, and it is fully convex in the lion. This aspect makes the cranial border
of the tiger’s scapula resemble that of the dog’s and the lion’s resemble that of the cat’s. 
3. The scapular spine has a longer acromion in the tiger than in the lion, but the latter has a
better developed processus suprahamatus (paraacromion) than the tiger.
4. In tigers, the coracoid process of the scapula tends to form a hole together with the
border of the glenoid cavity.
5.
In the lion, the greater tubercle of the humerus is better developed than in the tiger,
and in both these species the lesser tubercle is reduced to a mammillary shaped
eminence.
6.
The surface of insertion for the infraspinatus muscle is well delimited in both the tiger
and the lion, a very important aspect for muscular mechanics.
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Universitatea de Științe Agricole și Medicină Veterinară Iași
7.
The deltoid tuberosity and the teres tuberosity are much more prominent in the lion,
but the humeral crest is sharper and more prominent in the tiger.
8.
The bicipital tuberosity of the radius is mammillary shaped in the tiger, but has a wider
base in the lion.
9.
The distal articular surface of the radius is oval in the tiger and rectangular in the lion.
10. The lion has a better developed styloid process of the radius than the tiger, that is also
slightly distanced from the main articular surface, and his styloid process of the ulna is
also bigger than that of the tiger.
11. The coronoid process is very well developed in both species, which concurs with their
ability to make supination movements. In the lion, this process is very incurved and
tends to form a hole with the body of the ulna.
12. Both species have a carpus which is composed of seven bones placed on two rows,
and five metacarpal bones, the first metacarpal bone being much reduced and the
third and the fourth metacarpal bones being the best developed ones.
13. The small sesamoids are missing in both species.
REFERENCES
1.
Andersson, K, 2004, Elbow‐joint morphology as a guide to forearm function and foraging behaviour
in mammalian carnivores,  Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 142, 91 ‐104.
2.
Bertram, J. E. and Biewener, A. A., 1990, Differential scaling of the long bones in the terrestrial
Carnivora and other mammals, J. Morphol. 204, 157 ‐169.
3.
Christiansen, P., 2007, Distinguishing skulls of lions (Panthera leo) and tigers (Panthera Tigris),
Mammalian Biology, Published by Elsevier, doi: 10.1016/j.mambio.2007.08.001.
4.
Coțofan, V., R. Palicica, Valentina Hrițcu, V. Enciu, 1999, The Anatomy of the Domestic animals, vol.
I, The Musculo‐skeletal System, Ed. Orizonturi Universitare, Timişoara.
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Damian, A., N. Popovici, Ioana Chirilean, 2008, Comparative Anatomy ‐ The Musculo‐skeletal system
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Damian A., Crişan M., Dezdrobitu C., Mateaş C., Tuns F., Pop Al., Comparative study of the forelimb
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„Ion Ionescu de la Brad”, Iaşi, 2009.
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Gheție, V., A. Hillebrand, 1971, The Anatomy of the Domestic Animals, vol.I ‐ The Musculo‐skeletal
System, Ed. Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, Bucharest.
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Goldfinger Eliot, 2004, Animal Anatomy for artists ‐ The Elements of Form, Oxford Univ. Press.
9.
Gonyea, W.J., 1976c., Functional implications of felid forelimb anatomy, Paleobiology 2, 332‐342.
10. Kirberger, R. M., W. M. du Plessis, and P. H. Turner, 2005, Radiologic anatomy of the normal
appendicular skeleton of the lion (Panthera leo), Part I: thoracic limb, J. Zoo Wildl. Med 36:21‐28,
BioOne, PubMed.
11. Kirberger, R.M., du Plessis WM, Turner P.H., 2005, Radiologic anatomy of the normal appendicular
skeleton of the lion (Panthera leo), Part 2: pelvic limb, J. Zoo Wildl. Med;36:29‐35.
12. Nowak, R.M., 1991, Walker’s Mammals of the World, I & II, Johns Hopkins University Press,
Baltimore, MD.
13. Smuts, G.L., J.L. Anderson, and J.C. Austin, 1978, Age determination of the African lion (Panthera
leo), J. Zool. Lond 185:115‐146.
14. Sunquist, M., Sunquist, F., 2002, Wild Cats of the World, Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, 452pp.
15. Turner, A., 1997, The big cats and their fossil relatives, Columbia University Press, New York.
16. www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118759676/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0.


www.uaiasi.ro/simpozion_med/Revista/files/vol_53_2010-3.pdf

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Sex, Lies and Pugmarks
For decades, foresters have relied on pugmarks to tell the gender and identity of tigers. But pugs often lie, as they did in Corbett recently. Open tracks a few alpha males with ‘female’ footprints
Six deaths in 10 weeks, terrified villagers and angry mobs, a shrill media and shriller conservationists, harried forest staff and their nervous bosses—even by Corbett’s vintage standards, it was a classic recipe for chaos.

The tug-of-war began three months ago after the first human death on 12 November. Wildlife activists dubbed the first two attacks accidental and blamed the victims for trespassing on the forest. But the kills were partly eaten on both occasions. So when a third victim was consumed on 29 December, it was difficult for the forest authorities to ignore public pressure. The next day, Uttarakhand’s Chief Wildlife Warden, S Chandola, issued shoot-at-sight orders.

The sharpshooters, however, were told to go easy, and trap cages were set up to capture the maneater alive. Barring the second killing, the attacks had taken place within a 6 sq km area adjacent Sunderkhal village where two male and three female tigers roam. By now, rumours were flying thick and fast. Many started blaming a tiger couple for the killings. Otherwise solitary animals, tigers do come together while mating, but it was highly unlikely that they would pair up for two long months and forge a partnership to bring down the unusual prey.

No wonder Ranjan Mishra, field director of Corbett Tiger Reserve, thought the theory deserved some wry humour: “What kind of couple would look for human flesh in the mating season? Is it an aphrodisiac or what?” The tense drama was beginning to border the absurd.

All hell broke loose on 8 January when a male tiger walked into one of the trap cages. UC Tiwari, now warden and an old Corbett hand, had been scanning the sites of the attacks and felt some pugmarks near the kills indicated a tigress at work. It was only a possibility, and not a man to speculate, Tiwari had kept it to himself. But now that a young male tiger faced life imprisonment in Nainital zoo, the warden decided to answer the media.

By the time newspapers confirmed the Sunderkhal maneater as a tigress, on 9 January, the captured male had been tranquillised, and against the pressures of local strongmen, released 40 km inside the reserve in the Dhikala zone. (This was hardly the best option for the male that found itself in another male tiger’s territory. But that is another story.)

The very next day, the maneater struck again near Sunderkhal. By now, the villagers had no patience left for theories. They refused to accept the body and insisted that the tiger be shot when it returned to its kill. Two machans were set up: one overlooking the kill and another a little away on an approach path. The animal showed up in the evening and took a bullet. Surprisingly, the shooters were using .315 rifles—a weapon vastly inferior to the .375 Magnum, the minimum calibre prescribed for shooting a tiger. The injured tiger charged at its adversaries, but broke away when shooters from the other machan fired to cover their men. All that remained was a blood trail and samples for a forensic test.

In the days that followed, the media hammered the forest establishment for leaving an injured maneater tigress at large. Trackers combed the forest in vain. Finally, on 26 January, the maneater made a comeback. On a trip to visit his relatives, 25-year-old Puran stopped his two-wheeler on the highway and stepped a few yards inside the forest to relieve himself. All that was found of him the next day was a piece of leg.

The village turned into a wild mob. Stone pelting and road blockades spurred the gunmen. Within hours, they found a big cat near the spot where Puran’s remains had been found. Desperate, they sprayed bullets from all vantages. It took about 30 rounds to bring down the maneater of Sunderkhal. But when the gunners cautiously retrieved the dead cat, it turned out to be a male!

+++


A tiger’s paw has a pad and four toes. A fifth toe commonly called the dew claw, is placed high on the front limbs only. Front pugs are larger than hind pugs. The pad is three-lobed at the rear end. Pugmark Length or PML is the measurement from the tip of the farthest toe to the base of the pad along the line of walk. Pugmark Breadth or PMB is the measurement between the outer edges of the first and last toe. In a front pug, the forwardmost points of the two middle toes are almost at the same level. In hind paws, the forwardmost points of the two middle toes are distinctly at different levels. In male tigers, the PMB of the front pug is mostly greater than its PML. The pugmark of a male almost fits into a square. In contrast, typically, the pugmark of a female fits into a rectangle. The shape of a male’s toes is more rounded. The shape of a female’s toes is elongated.

(Source: ‘Reading Pugmarks: A guidebook for forest guards’)

+++

News spread fast. On the web, conservationists and activists started wagging fingers. After all, this was not the first time a ‘wrong’ maneater had been shot. In 2007, Tadoba’s maneater of Talodi was supposed to be a tigress but a young male was gunned down. In 2009, a Pilibhit tiger was blamed for a series of attacks on people, but when shot, it turned out to be a female.

A dead tiger on their hands, the Corbett brass rushed to the spot. Among them, Tiwari kept his fingers crossed. It was he who had told the media that going by the pugmarks, the maneater was a tigress.

Reading pugmarks has been the most traditional method of tracking tigers. Nearly eight decades ago, A Somerville noted that a male tiger’s toes were square while a female’s were more rounded and slender. In 1934, JW Nicholson of the Imperial Forest Service used pugmarks to count tigers in Palamau. In the 1960s, Saroj Raj Choudhury developed it into a field technique at Simlipal.

Subsequently, many noted tiger experts, including biologist C McDougal and former Chief of Project Tiger HS Panwar, observed that ‘the whole hind pugmark of a male tiger fits into a square frame whereas that of the female fits into a rectangular frame’. They also noted that ‘a female’s toes were slender and elongated compared to a male’s toes which were oval and more circular’ (see above graphic: Tale of Two Paws).

These thumb rules have been the most widely used (and misused) field method to ascertain a tiger’s gender. As late as in 2003, a paper co-authored by Dr Y Jhala of the Wildlife Institute of India confirmed that pugmarks ‘can be used to acquire sex-ratio data of tiger populations’.

An old-school forester, Tiwari trusted his eyes. Now he was cursing his luck that the gunners had probably got the wrong tiger. Then something struck him.
In 2004, a tiger created panic near Mohan in Corbett. It had attacked people and stalked villages. It had even injured a patrol elephant. Tiwari had had a tough time tracking the tiger and was relieved when it died.

While villagers celebrated, Tiwari recalled, he had spotted something unusual about the dead tiger. Its hind pads were shaped like a female’s. I remember the story. But in 2004, I was more interested in the tiger than its paws. So was Tiwari.

Two months ago, when the Corbett maneater was still on the prowl, Tiwari came across puzzling pugmarks again. He was following a fresh tiger trail on his jeep. Everybody in the team expected a female walking ahead, but when they caught up with the cat, it turned out to be a male. In a moment of intrigue, Tiwari recalled the Mohan tiger, and drove on.

But this time, in Sunderkhal, he went for the dead tiger’s hind paws. Déjà vu.

The next day, Chief Wildlife Warden Chandola explained to the press that the dead male’s hind pads had the characteristics of a female, adding that the bullet of the failed shooting was found lodged in its flesh. Whether the dead male tiger was indeed the maneater will be clear in the coming weeks if the attacks stop. But conservationists, eminent experts among them, have already dismissed the claim of “a male with female pugs”.

To confirm this, I sent a photograph of the Sunderkhal male’s rear pad to Brigadier Ranjit Talwar, an author of many field guidebooks for WWF-India. He wrote back saying he was ‘fairly sure’ it was ‘a hind left pad of a female’.

This cleared the gender confusion. But how rare are such exceptions? Five years after the Mohan incident, I was in Corbett to investigate the deaths of four tigers in the winter of 2009-10 (‘Who’s Killing Corbett’s Tigers’, Open, 13 February 2010). The first casualty occurred near Mota Sal at Dhikala. That dead tiger too had hind pads with female characteristics. I thought at the time it was a freak occurrence, and focused on the bigger story at hand.

Corbett field staff have stopped taking media calls following an order from Chandola. So I called up the boss himself. He resolved another mystery that dates back to 2009. Chandola recalled how he had gone by the female characteristics of its hind pads and reported a dead tiger (killed and partially eaten by another tiger) as a female in March 2009 at Dhela in Corbett. During post-mortem, the penis was found inverted inside the flesh and the animal turned out to be a male.

+++

Do these five instances make a case? Dr Rajesh Gopal, member-secretary, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), thinks they do. “Pugmark reading is not a reliable field tool for individual or gender identification. That is why we have moved on to better technologies. Yes, pugmarks can indicate tiger presence and possibly direction of movements. Demand anything more and we get into the realm of uncertainties.”

But is there a fool-proof way to identify maneaters and deal with them? Dr Gopal recommends camera traps: “Used intensively and at innovative angles, cameras can tell the gender of a tiger. But to be certain that we are eliminating a maneater and not a wrong animal, there is no other option but to target it at a human kill. We must also use the right weapon so that the animal does not escape hurt. We need professionalism in handling such situations.”

Chandola agrees that the right weapon should be used, but defends his field staff’s decision to go ahead with what was available in an emergency. “The first time they tried to shoot the tiger, the operation was carried out at night with the help of searchlights. They had to go ahead with whatever weapon they had. Also, it is not easy to shoot accurately under such conditions,” he explains.

The larger issue, however, is the triggers for such conflict. Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh has already written to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank for speedy rehabilitation of Sunderkhal village to ease pressure on a key forest corridor. Sources in NTCA have claimed that a new tourism policy would soon deal with the walled resorts that block movement of wildlife.

Corbett field staff refuse to comment on village relocation and tourism pressure. Field Director Mishra says there are policy issues involved that are beyond his span of influence.

But will the killing spree stop for now? Can Sunderkhal sleep peacefully before it decides on relocation? Tiwari answers the questions with a deadpan “wait-and-watch”. But the warden has learnt a new field lesson: never again will he take tigers at pug value.
www.openthemagazine.com/article/nation/sex-lies-and-pugmarks

[warsaw]

Karnataka’s conservation fix: To fetch water for tigers or not
Dry summer spells weed out the old and the weak from wild populations. If only our misplaced welfare motive would allow.

FirstPost, 18 Feb, 2013

It is nature versus nurture, with a twist. The green fraternity is engaged in a strange battle in Karnataka over artificially replenishing waterholes in tiger reserves in the dry summer months. While one group has lashed out against the decision of the state forest department to do so, others feel there is nothing wrong with the move as long as tankers do not ferry contaminated water from outside.
Former member of the National Board for Wildlife Praveen Bhargav, wildlife biologist Ullas Karanth and conservationist KM Chinappa are among those opposed to unnecessary interventions that disrupt natural ecological processes. Others claim that drought management has been a common practice that features in the guideline issued by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
Dry summer months test animals in the wild. It is a weeding process that eliminates the old and the weak so that the young and healthy have access to more resources and a better chance to thrive. It ensures that only the best genes remain in circulation and the future generations of animals are born robust.
Yet, conflicting situations, such as the one now playing out in Karnataka, arise because most of us cannot or do not differentiate between conservation and welfare. Put simply, animal welfare is about caring for every single animal. It is relevant for domestic animals because the very act of domestication makes us responsible for our dogs or cattle. It is natural that we feed the house cat daily and take it to a vet when it is sick.
But wildlife conservation has nothing to do with the fate of individual animals. The future of the species does not depend on the survival of a famished or injured tiger. Yet, we are increasingly restless to “help out” wildlife. But every time we treat an injured wild tiger or feed one that cannot hunt, we breach a cardinal rule of conservation by interrupting nature that knows far better.
When it is not pure sentiment, our welfare motive is often an excuse. In 2010, for example, the West Bengal government decided to release some captive-bred spotted deer in Sunderbans to discourage tigers from venturing into human settlements, looking for food. The authorities would have us, and perhaps the tigers, believe that releasing a few dozen cheetals in an area teeming with domestic cattle (more than 400 per square kilometre) would dissuade the big cats from easy takeaway meals.
The move, in fact, was to dump surplus animals in Sunderbans in the garb of a conservation drive after failing to manage deer populations in captivity. Many animals would have carried tuberculosis infection from their squalid enclosures. Bereft of any fear of humans, most were destined to boost Sunderbans’ flourishing venison trade.
But even when our welfare motive is sincere, it often harms the wild. While many want to brand every carnivore that had a chance encounter with humans a maneater, animal welfare groups refuse to accept that a confirmed problem animal must be eliminated as quickly as possible. They first question the ‘problem’ tag. Then, they insist that the animal be taken to a zoo rather than be put down.
Such bargaining often causes delay and, at times, more damage by turning the affected communities against conservation and putting entire species at risk for the welfare of one animal. Ironically, from the perspective of wildlife conservation, it does not matter if a problem tiger is shot dead or taken to some zoo because both mean one tiger less in the wild.
Every time a state forest department wants to cull wild boars or blue bulls where the animals have become pests, the welfare lobby goes up in arms and proposes alternative mitigation methods such as electric fencing around agricultural fields. But it is very difficult to keep animals away using such contraptions. Used locally, electric fencing diverts animals to the next village. Used extensively, it turns forests into fenced zoos. But how does it help the animals?
If we really believe that animals are raiding crops or cattle because there is little food inside forests, denying them access to cropland will eventually bring down their populations. If we are fine with death by starvation far from our sight, why fuss over culling?
Nothing fired our inspiration to help the wild more than the 1966 blockbuster based on Joy Adamson’s Born Free. No wonder so many of us are hooked to the idea of nursing wild animals particularly big cats, in distress. Across the country, we bait and treat old and injured tigers or bring up orphaned cubs to release them in the wild.
In Ranthambhore, tigress Machhli is just one of many wild cats fed by the authorities. In 2010, an orphaned cub raised by the forest staff was killed by a wild tiger and another died of an injury while trying to hunt. In 2011, three villagers were killed by hand-raisedleopards released in the wild by the Mysore royalty and a Bangalore-based NGO.
Replenishing waterholes so that tigers and other wildlife do not go thirsty may not have such extreme consequences – unless the water is contaminated – but it reflects the same selfish welfare motive. We want to return orphaned cubs back to the wild, keep old tigers on food doles, treat injured wildlife or ferry water for them because it makes us feel good. More than the wild, it is our perception of the wild that we really care for and want to pamper.





mazoomdaar.blogspot.com/2013/02/karnatakas-conservation-fix-to-fetch.html

[warsaw]

On the Ecological Separation between Tigers and Leopards
John Seidensticker
Office of Zoological Research, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. 20009, U.S.A.
ABSTRACT
In the Royal Chitawan National Park, Nepal, the tiger (Panthera tigris) and the leopard (Panthera pardm) coexist in
the riverine forest/tall grass vegetation types. These two big cats differ in the size of prey killed, use of vegetation
types, and in activity periods. Although the tiger's weight is four times that of the leopard, coexistence is reportedly
not the general rule. A comparison of the results from Chitawan with Kanha National Park (India), where resident
tigers occur but leopards are only transients, and Wilpattu National Park (Sri Lanka), where there are leopards but
no tigers, indicates that coexistence in Chitawan is facilitated by a large prey biomass, a larger proportion of the un-
gulate biomass in the small size classes, and by the dense vegetation structure. Some consequences of predator size and
the role of interspecific dominance are discussed.

si-pddr.si.edu/jspui/bitstream/10088/9815/1/42c1e927-c53e-40ce-b26a-a3d9bb4a4daa.pdf

[warsaw]

Pride Diaries: Sex, Brain Size and Sociality in the African Lion (Panthera leo) and Cougar (Puma concolor)
Arsznov B.M.a · Sakai S.T.a, b
aDepartment of Psychology, andbNeuroscience Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich., USA
Discussion


The present study utilized CT imaging techniques to create virtual 3-dimensional brain endocasts in two extant species from the family Felidae, the African lion and cougar. Previously, this nondestructive imaging technique has been shown to be useful in creating virtual endocasts in species where preservation of the brain is difficult or impossible, but skull specimens are readily available [Arsznov et al., 2010; Sakai et al., 2011a; Sakai et al., 2011b]. The virtual endocasts show the external morphology of the African lion and cougar brain (fig. 2). We found no sex difference in brain size relative to skull basal length in either African lions or cougars. No sex differences in the relative amounts of anterior cerebrum volume, anterior cerebrum surface area, or anterior subcortical volume were found in cougars where both males and females are primarily solitary. However, we found female African lions possess significantly greater anterior cerebrum volume, including anterior cerebrum surface area, than that found in male African lions. Interestingly, no sex difference was found in the relative amount of anterior cerebrum subcortical volume in lions. Collectively, these findings suggest that the observed sex differences may be due to differences in frontal cortex and thus may be concomitant with differences in the social life histories of African lions. These findings lend support to previous findings that differences in social behaviors may correlate to dimorphisms in the amount of neural tissue devoted to the mediation of social behaviors [Arsznov et al., 2010; Sakai et al., 2011a].

Endocranial Measurements

Virtual endocasts have previously been used to examine sex differences in overall and regional brain volumes in carnivores [Arsznov et al., 2010]. These analyses are greatly informative regarding both encephalization, the relative increase in brain size as a whole, and the ‘principle of proper mass’: the relative importance of a function to a species is related to the amount of neural tissue devoted to that function [Jerison, 1973]. However, in many mammalian species, encephalization is accompanied by an increase in the relative amount of neocortex, known as neocorticalization [Jerison, 2007]. Furthermore, in mammals, as brain size increases, the neocortex increases in surface area and displays a greater degree of neocortical gyrification, a marked increase in gyral and sulcal convolutions [Welker, 1990]. Although our methodology using CT analysis of skulls prevents detailed analysis of brain structures, we address the question of whether differences may be attributed to neocorticalization by including two additional measures: relative neocortical surface area and relative subcortical volume. Here, neocortical surface area was an indicator of neocorticalization based on surface area measures dorsal to the rhinal fissure, a landmark readily identifiable on the virtual endocasts. These measurements allow us to assess whether observed sex differences in the regional brain endocasts are differentially related to neocortex or subcortical structures.

As with any derived measures, these additional measurements are not without their caveats. First, sulci as seen on the virtual endocast do not extend to the full cortical depth as observed in whole brain specimens. Thus, it does not reflect the total neocortical folding that is present in a whole brain specimen. Nevertheless, this measure provides an approximation of neocortical surface area from a virtual endocast when a whole brain specimen is difficult to obtain. Finally, our measure of subcortical volume does not provide information regarding the volume of particular subcortical structures. Instead, it is an approximation of the cerebral hemispheric volume excluding the outer 3 mm dorsal to the rhinal fissure. Despite these drawbacks, these indirect estimates of neocortical surface area and subcortical volume provide important information in making intra- and interspecies brain comparisons using the CT endocast methodology.

Endocranial volumes obtained from our analyses of the CT data provide estimates of brain volume. Since endocranial volume includes meninges, vasculature, cerebrospinal fluid and cranial nerves as well as the brain, this volume overestimates total brain volume. Comparisons of endocranial and brain volumes in humans using CT have reported an average difference of 0.87% with increasing differences as a function of age [Ricard et al., 2010]. In an analysis of 82 bird species, brain mass and endocranial volume did not significantly differ [Iwaniuk and Nelson, 2002]. However, similar studies in carnivores are lacking. Here, MRI analysis revealed endocranial volume exceeds brain volume by 3.65% in a live African lion. While this difference is relatively small in view of the estimated brain shrinkage of 32–58% based on histological tissue section analysis [Stephan et al., 1981; Bush and Allman, 2004], this difference suggests caution in interpreting these volumes as brain measures. At the same time, we suggest that endocranial volume serves as useful and robust estimate of brain volume in comparative analyses.

Comparison of Endocranial Volumes in Males and Females

Cougars
The cougar is primarily solitary, with the exception of mating and periods of juvenile dependence as typical of members of Felidae [Kleiman and Eisenberg, 1973; Ewer, 1976; Sunquist and Sunquist, 2002]. The absence of major differences in the social behavioral repertoires of male and female cougars may suggest that the cognitive demands also do not differ between the sexes. Indeed, the present study found no sex difference in overall endocranial volume relative to skull length in cougars. Furthermore, no sex differences were present in relative anterior cerebrum volume, relative posterior cerebrum volume, relative anterior cerebrum surface area, relative posterior cerebrum surface area, relative anterior subcortical volume, or relative posterior subcortical volume. However, the relative cerebellum plus brain stem volume was significantly greater in male than female cougars. The cerebellum plays an important role in voluntary movement, gait, posture, and motor functions [Ghez and Fahn, 1985]. Cougars display incredible balance and agility, enabling them to effortlessly navigate a variety of difficult mountainous terrains [Busch, 1996]. Since the size of the cerebellum is typically conserved [Finlay and Darlington, 1995], our finding that male cougars possess a greater proportion of cerebellum plus brain stem even after controlling for skull basal length than female cougars is surprising. In primates, cerebellum size has been shown to vary independent of brain size, and species differences in relative cerebellum volume have been correlated with locomotion versatility [Rilling and Insel, 1998]. On average, an adult male cougar is 1.4 times larger in body mass than an adult female. The larger stature and more muscular build of males might require a greater degree of motor coordination than females, particularly in negotiating challenging physical environments. Additionally, male cougars occupy territories up to three times that of females [Logan and Sweanor, 2001]. Thus, it might be that male cougars require greater motor coordination and agility due to difficult physical environments such mountainous terrain while navigating a larger home range than their smaller female counterpart.

African Lions
Comparison of total endocranial volumes relative to skull basal length in female and male African lions also revealed no significant differences. These findings are similar to our previous ones in the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta); total endocranial volume relative to body size did not differ between the sexes [Arsznov et al., 2010]. In humans, males are reported to have a larger brain size compared with females [Rodrigues, 1991; Pakkenberg and Gundersen, 1997; Nopoulos et al., 2000; Allen et al., 2002; Leonard et al., 2008]. However, this sex difference in brain size is small when body size is controlled [Breedlove, 1994; Ellis et al., 2008]. At the same time, sex differences in human social cognitive skills have been linked to observed sexual dimorphisms in brain regions known to mediate social behavior. Females possess proportionately greater orbital frontal cortex [Gur et al., 2002] and ventral frontal cortex [Wood et al., 2008] than males. These results are equivocal since other studies conclude that the ratio of frontal lobe volume to total intracranial volume in humans does not differ between the sexes [Allen et al., 2002; DeCarli et al., 2005; Ellis et al., 2008].

Notably, the present study found that the relative volume and surface area of anterior cerebrum are significantly larger in female than male African lions. Moreover, there was no sex difference in the amount of relative anterior subcortical volume. Thus, our data suggest that frontal cortex may be significantly greater in female than male African lions. A potential explanation for this finding is that sexual differences exist in the neural processing associated with different underlying cognitive demands. This explanation supports the ‘principle of proper mass’: the amount of neural tissue devoted to a function is related to the relative importance of that function [Jerison, 1973]. Therefore, an expansion in a particular brain is indicative of greater behavioral capacity associated with that brain region. The frontal cortex is associated with the mediation of complex social behaviors in humans and other mammals [Adolphs, 2001; Amodio and Frith, 2006], and its relative enlargement may be related to an increase in the cognitive demands of social information processing that differ between the sexes.

Additionally, frontal cortex is related to the inhibition of inappropriate behavior in monkeys [Mishkin, 1964; Iversen and Mishkin, 1970; Fuster, 2002]. Moreover, in humans, impulsive aggression, as evidenced by acts of violence, is associated with reduced frontal lobe functioning [Bufkin and Luttrell, 2005]. Patients suffering damage to the ventral prefrontal cortex show inappropriate social responses and disinhibition in addition to other deficits [Adolphs, 2001]. It is intriguing to speculate that the frontal cortex in the African lion may play a role in the mediation of appropriate social behavior. Indeed, male African lions are not only dominant to females, but are also much more aggressive than females. During the inception of a coalition’s reign, subadult males and those females that have not yet reached sexual maturity will disperse or be killed by the immigrant males [Hanby and Bygott, 1987]. In addition to aggression towards subadult males and females, male lions are highly aggressive and have been observed using lethal aggression towards adult females [Mosser and Packer, 2009]. Conversely, females are philopatric and are typically recruited into the maternal pride [Pusey and Packer, 1987]. Female lions achieve many benefits from group living; they are an interesting example of social structure in carnivores, in that they are egalitarian and lack a formal dominance hierarchy [Packer et al., 2001]. Female lions form symmetrical relationships and have a communal cub rearing system with multiple reproducing females [Packer et al., 2001]. This relationship provides protection for their young against attacks from outside males [Packer et al., 1990]. Thus, it seems plausible that the greater expanse of frontal cortex in female lions may be related to the mediation of appropriate social behaviors in the presence of a dominant male aggressor and not due to social information processing related to immigrating behaviors or navigation of a social hierarchy. While the precise roles of the frontal cortex in the mediation of African lion behavior are, of course, unknown, behavioral studies report previously learned inhibitory responses are disinhibited following lesions of the prefrontal cortex in dogs [Brutkowski and Davrowska, 1963; Brutkowski, 1965] and cats [Warren et al., 1969]. Thus, it is tempting to hypothesize that the larger anterior cerebrum volume and surface area found in female lions reflect their unique social conditions, and resulting need for greater inhibitory control, as they cope with selection pressures imposed by the socially dominant and more aggressive males.

We found that the relative volume of the posterior cerebrum is significantly greater in male than female African lions. The posterior cerebrum volume was delineated in such a manner to include the cortex posterior to the cruciate sulcus and the underlying subcortical regions. However, we also found that the relative amount of posterior neocortical surface area is larger in male than female African lions, while there is no sex difference in the relative amount of posterior subcortical volume. These findings suggest that the observed sex difference in posterior cerebrum in African lions is due to greater posterior neocortex in males than females. Posterior cortex including the posterior parietal area has been implicated in visuospatial processing [Lomber et al., 1996]. It is intriguing to speculate that since male lions occupy and defend larger home range and territory than female lions [Pusey and Packer, 1987], visuospatial demands may be greater in males than female lions. At the same time, the larger posterior cortex may simply be a consequence of smaller frontal cortex found in males.

The African lion provides a unique model where the cognitive demands of life in the social pride appear to differ between the sexes. The sex difference in anterior cerebrum found in the African lion lends support to our previous finding in the spotted hyena [Arsznov et al., 2010]. The data suggests that sex differences in social cognitive demands, marked by the presence of a dominant aggressor, seem to be related to differences in brain morphology, specifically frontal cortex. Additionally, the absence of a sex difference in anterior cerebrum volumes in the cougar, where both males and females are solitary, suggests that this volume difference is related to the degree of sociality and not the sex of the animal. These data provide support for the comparative neurological principle that behavioral specializations, e.g. inhibitory control in the presence of a dominant aggressor, correspond to an expansion of the neural tissue mediating that function, e.g. frontal cortex. Whether other carnivore species in which sex differences in social behavior exist also possess similar sexual dimorphisms in brain morphology awaits further study.
www.wolf-heidegger.com/Article/FullText/338670

[warsaw]

Living tiger subspecies
www.iesmontilivi.net/arees/llengues%20estrangeres/web/m2/tiger3.htm
Table compiled by Peter Jackson, Chairman, Cat Specialist Group, Species Survival Commission, The World Conservation Union (IUCN), from reports by specialists in tiger range countries. Most estimates are educated guesses.

[warsaw]

Monitoring tigers and prey animals of Kaziranga National Park
www.aaranyak.org/reports/Kaziranga_Tiger_Final_Report_2009.pdf
"George Schaller, a world-famous ecologist who had already written best-selling discussions on the gorilla and the African lion, was more nuanced in his discussion of cattle in The Deer and the Tiger, his landmark book based on his research in India. His first mention of cattle, in his introduction, is harsh: 'A great scourge of India's land is the vast numbers of domestic animals which are undernourished, diseased, and unproductive, yet are permitted to exist for religious reasons' (Schaller 1967: 6-7). At the end of his book, though, he is more moderate. Based on his careful study of the tiger's feeding habits, he concluded that livestock grazing within Kanha National Park helped to sustain an abnormally high density of tigers. Specifically, he claimed that tigers killed enough livestock (cattle and buffalo) in the park each year to completely fill the dietary needs of ten tigers (250 head of livestock). 'From the standpoint of tiger conservation', he wrote, 'it makes no difference whether the prey consists of cattle or wildlife' (Schaller 1967: 328).

He was not just interested in tigers, though, and 'from the standpoint of habitat conservation and the maintenance of the park as a sanctuary devoted to the per­petuation of wildlife, the livestock should ideally be eliminated and the wild hoofed animals be permitted to increase' (Schaller 1967: 328-29). Ultimately, therefore, park managers should remove the livestock from within the park. Only then, he concludes his book, will the park be able to fulfil its unique potential as a living museum and natural laboratory. Above all, Kanha National Park is part of India's cultural heritage, a heritage in many ways more important than the Taj Mahal and the temples of Khajuraho, because, unlike these structures formed by the hands of men, once destroyed it can never be replaced (Schaller 1967: 331)."
www.conservationandsociety.org/article.asp?issn=0972-4923;year=2003;volume=1;issue=1;spage=1;epage=21;aulast=Lewis#ft20
MONITORING OF TIGER MOVEMENT INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE RHINO
REINTRODUCTION AREA (RRA):
The RRA is a prime tiger habitat. Tigers were considered as a potential threat to rhino
calves. Tiger movements were regularly monitored and recorded through tracks and
sightings (Figure 3). Location of scats was recorded and information was gathered about
kills. Skulls and jaw bones of killed prey were collected and scats were analyzed to obtain a
picture of predation.
The study indicated that three male tigers had overlapping home ranges along with those of
two females. On three occasions a tiger was sighted within 100 meters of a rhino cow and
calf. On one occasion a tiger chased a rhino cow and calC but the presence of some
patrolling staff distracted the tiger which was made to leave the spot with the help of a
riding elephant. In all probability this was not a serious interaction. In 1988, the three
strand power fence surrounding the RRA was replaced by a 2.70m tall seven strand fence to
obstruct free access of tigers to RRA. The fence did not prove to be a barrier for movement of
tigers. The calves by now are presumably past the serious predation threat posed by tigers.
www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/121/1216651073.pdf

[warsaw]

books.google.pl/books?id=XFIbjBEQolMC&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=panthera%2Btigris%2Bcaptivity%2Bbody%2Bweight%2Bkg&source=bl&ots=9HVfzao006&sig=3H54WQ_IqtFHnBs250WZueZfP_w&hl=pl&sa=X&ei=wNPfUqf9Co6ThQfey4GgBw&ved=0CDMQ6AEwATgU#v=onepage&q=panthera%2Btigris%2Bcaptivity%2Bbody%2Bweight%2Bkg&f=false

[warsaw]

The Tiger: Power and Fragility
by Dr. K. Ullas Karanth
Wildlife Conservation Society - India Program
The following has been excerpted and reproduced from: "In Danger—Habitats, Species and People" Paola Manfredi, ed. (Ranthambhore Foundation, India, 1997) with the permission of the author.

• Evolution and Radiation
• Born to Kill: Physical Adaptation
• Distribution and Biogeography
• Ecology of Predation: Tiger and Prey Numbers
• Hunting Behaviour and Feeding Ecology
• Behaviour: Spatial and Social Needs
• Mortality, Survival and Population Dynamics
• Man and Tiger: the Brutal Encounter
• The First Tiger Rescue: 1970-1990
• Ignorance: the Mother of Complacency
• The Second Tiger Crisis
• Reversing the Tiger's Decline
• Why Save the Tiger?
savingwildtigers.org/savingwildtigers/karanth.html

[warsaw]

On the Ecological Separation between Tigers and Leopards
John Seidensticker
Office of Zoological Research, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. 20009, U.S.A.
ABSTRACT
In the Royal Chitawan National Park, Nepal, the tiger (Panthera tigris) and the leopard (Panthera pardm) coexist in
the riverine forest/tall grass vegetation types. These two big cats differ in the size of prey killed, use of vegetation
types, and in activity periods. Although the tiger's weight is four times that of the leopard, coexistence is reportedly
not the general rule. A comparison of the results from Chitawan with Kanha National Park (India), where resident
tigers occur but leopards are only transients, and Wilpattu National Park (Sri Lanka), where there are leopards but
no tigers, indicates that coexistence in Chitawan is facilitated by a large prey biomass, a larger proportion of the ungulate biomass in the small size classes, and by the dense vegetation structure. Some consequences of predator size and
the role of interspecific dominance are discussed.
si-pddr.si.edu/dspace/bitstream/10088/9815/1/42c1e927-c53e-40ce-b26a-a3d9bb4a4daa.pdf

[warsaw]

Faecal cortisol metabolites in Bengal (Panthera tigris tigris) and Sumatran
tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae)
Edward J. Narayan a,⇑, Tempe Parnell a, Giles Clark c, Patrick Martin-Vegue b, Al Mucci b, Jean-Marc Hero
As with many of the worlds
threatened species, Zoos are playing an increasingly important role
in preventing extinction of tigers through the initiation of captive
breeding programmes (Luo et al., 2008; Szokalski et al., 2012).
For captive facilities to achieve success in the management and
maintenance of tigers, it is important that welfare and health are
the focus of their efforts; which involves minimizing and reducing
stressful stimuli facing tigers in the captive environment. Studies
that use rapid and reliable measures of stress hormones, rather
than relying on behavioural indicators alone, are likely to provide
for a more precise assessment of health and conditioning of tigers
in captivity (Hayward and Busch, 2010). Being able to monitor and
manage stress in captive tigers will allow for a successful and
self-sustainable captive population, as the reduction of stress can
enhance overall physical and psychological wellbeing as well as
improve the reproductive performance in felids (Terio et al.,
1999; Young et al., 2004). To achieve this, stress hormone levels
need to be quantified and measured in a manner that is non-invasive
and also provides reliable measurement of stress hormones.
Over recent years, there has been an increasing demand to focus
efforts on the development of conservation physiology tools that
can quantify stress and reproductive hormones in captive and
managed wildlife populations (Cooke et al., 2013; Narayan,
2013). Non-invasive analysis of the stress hormone cortisol
through faecal samples, has provided a powerful method for
assessing the status of the stress endocrine system, the hypothalamic–
pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, in mammalian species with
respect to management interventions, such as captive husbandry
(Lane, 2006; Schwarzenberger, 2007)

2.1. Experimental design and study animals
We sampled a total of 22 individual tigers from Dreamworld
Theme Park and Australia Zoo, which are two of the largest tiger
captive breeding facilities in Australia. We had access to two subspecies;
the Bengal tiger (P. tigris tigris) and the Sumatran tiger (P.
tigris sumatrae). The Dreamworld Theme Park manages 13 tigers;
seven male and one female individual of the Bengal sub-species;
one male and four female individual of the Sumatran sub-species.
Australia Zoo manages 9 tigers; one male and two female individual
of the Bengal sub-species; three male and three female individual
of the Sumatran sub-species. We highlight the fact that
the sexes were unbalanced in Dreamworld within each sub-species
thus we analysed and interpreted the results with caution.
All intact females were reportedly in oestrous state of their reproductive
cycle during the study. Each Zoos database was used to
obtain information such as sex, birth date, reproductive status
and health condition of each tiger during the sampling period
(see Tables 1 and 2 for summary). Both Zoos have a very similar
management program, enclosure sizes and substrates (general
quality) are fairly similar. At both locations, all of the sampled
individuals were housed alternately between on exhibit areas
(in view of public) and off exhibit (with no public exposure)
which ensures that all tigers were exposed to the same environmental
conditions throughout the duration of the sampling
period.
2.2. Faecal sample collection and storage
Collection of fresh tiger faeces took place daily at each Zoo
over a period of 21 days, commencing in August, 2012. Samples
from known individual tiger were collected early in the morning
at 0600 h during routine husbandry. Faecal samples were
stored in sealed plastic bags, which recorded the collection date
as well as individuals ID and sex (written clearly with permanent
marker on the outside of each bag). Due care was taken
to avoid sampling feces that were contaminated with urine.
Immediately after collection, faecal samples were frozen
(20 C). Samples were processed (extracted and assayed) within
20 days.