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

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04-01-2022, 05:43 PM

Information on Franz Hafner's new documentary on wild Amur tigers.

AMUR TIGER - MASTER OF THE TAIGA

The owner of the Ussuri taiga. Photo courtesy of the film crew.

*This image is copyright of its original author

For thousands of years, mighty tigers have been the masters of the Ussuri taiga. One of the largest wild cats in the world rightfully occupied a dominant position in the animal kingdom of the Far East. However, over time, formidable predators have serious rivals - people.

About two hundred years ago, they began to actively hunt Amur tigers and almost completely destroyed the entire livestock in the wild. The man came to his senses almost at the last moment. Striped beauties were taken under reliable protection and saved from extinction.

The fascinating film "The Amur Tiger - Master of the Taiga" tells about the return of the population of these rare predators to a full life, their present, future, as well as coexistence with people. The premiere of the documentary, filmed by Austrian filmmakers with the grant support of the Russian Geographical Society, will take place on Saturday,

- The filming took place in different places of the Khabarovsk Territory and Primorye - on the Bikin River, in the Sikhote-Alin Mountains, in the Anyui National Park. I name just a few places. This is a story about the successful return of the Amur tiger to the wild, thanks to conservation measures taken by the Russian nature protection agencies and the energetic actions of many people who work in the reserves. We are talking about a completely new situation in the Ussuri taiga. About how it is possible to organize the coexistence of people and big wild cats and how the future of the Amur tiger may look like , - the director of the documentary Franz Hafner shared with the readers of the RGS website.

Directed by Franz Hafner. Photo courtesy of the film crew.

*This image is copyright of its original author

"Amur Tiger - Master of the Taiga" is not the first experience of working in Russia for the Austrian director, journalist and photographer specializing in wildlife projects. In 2012, his team began filming a three-episode film about the Amur, one of the longest and mightiest Russian rivers. The film was released in 2015. Three years later, viewers saw the two-part picture "Wild Sea of Russia" - a declaration of love for nature and people on the coast of the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk.

— The film about the Amur tiger was our third project in Russia. Why is the movie about him? Many years ago, when I was still working at the Institute for the Biology of Wildlife Species in Vienna, my specialization was birds of the grouse tribe. One of our research projects took us to the Russian Far East, to the Amur. There we studied a rare and little-known species - wild grouse. We spent three years next to this charming bird. And more than once we noticed that a male tiger roams around us. The size of his paw prints were very impressive. Since then, I began to be interested in this beast. But to be interested in tigers and plan to make a film about them -it's a big difference that we quickly realized. A thorough knowledge of this species, the help of local scientists and friends, as well as a well-established film crew are needed, Hafner said.

The main character is in the frame. Photo courtesy of the film crew.

*This image is copyright of its original author

The documentary film "The Amur Tiger - Master of the Taiga" was produced with the support of the Russian Geographical Society, the government of the Khabarovsk Territory, the Amur Tiger Center, as well as jointly with the Directorate of Documentary Films of Channel One JSC, the Austrian television and radio company ORF and National Geographic. The project was approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. The main shooting took place on the territory of the Khabarovsk Territory and Primorye, in the National Park "Land of the Leopard", in the Anyui National Park, the Bikin National Park, the Sikhote-Alin Reserve. Film directed by Franz Hafner. Cameramen - Oliver Indra, Oleg Kabalik, Dietrich Heller. Producer: Alexander Bundtzen. The film crew included inspectors, researchers and other employees of Russian nature reserves.

Udege guide Klim. Photo courtesy of the film crew.

*This image is copyright of its original author

According to Hafner, it is very difficult to see a tiger in the taiga, because he always feels the presence of a person. Shooting with a handheld camera is almost impossible - the animals "pose" for no longer than ten seconds, so 60 camera traps came to the aid of the filmmakers. At the same time, you still need to know where predators go, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of their behavior. The group did the first reconnaissance for almost six months. During this time, the authors of the picture evaluated many places and only then decided where they would work. The tigers were also photographed manually at close range, but mostly they worked with camera traps.

— "The Amur tiger - Master of the taiga" is a success story. I hope that our efforts will pay off and the film will find its audience around the world , - admitted Hafner.

The Russian Geographical Society has been supporting the Amur Tiger project since 2010 . Its goal is to study the state of the population of a rare predator, develop scientific foundations for the conservation of this animal, and draw public attention to the problem of its protection in Russia.

https://www.rgo.ru/ru/article/amurskiy-t...0%BB%D0%B0

The Ussuri taiga is a unique region of our planet, one of the last where the pristine nature is still preserved. Typical animals of the northern forests - deer, elk and wolves coexist here with representatives of the subtropical fauna - leopards, Himalayan bears and tigers.

A bizarre combination not found anywhere else in the world. The owners of the Ussuri taiga are considered to be the Amur tigers - the largest representatives of the cat family. They are at the top of the pyramid of the animal world of the Ussuri taiga, and even bears can become their prey.

But most often, tigers prey on large ungulates: wild boars, red deer, elk and roe deer. Preserving the integrity of the taiga ecosystem is of paramount importance for them, so the Amur tigers have become a symbol of the primeval nature of this region.

The dexterity and cunning of tigers from time immemorial aroused the respect of the Udege, one of the indigenous peoples of the Far East. These born hunters have always regarded tigers as sacred animals and have never attacked them first. The tigers, in turn, have learned to be afraid of not so defenseless people and avoid meeting with them. Therefore, tigers and people could live in the same territory and use the same resources. Mutual respect has become a prerequisite for "peaceful coexistence".

Everything changed when the Russians and the Chinese came to the Far East: they began to destroy adult tigers, sell their organs for the needs of Chinese traditional medicine, and catch young animals and transfer them to zoos. Amur tigers are on the verge of extinction: in just 200 years, their population has decreased from several thousand to 40-50 individuals. Literally at the last moment, they managed to stop the uncontrolled shooting of tigers and develop measures to protect them.

These measures have achieved their goal: at present, more than five hundred tigers live in the Far Eastern taiga. A special merit in the conservation of these animals belongs to Russia: in recent decades, vast protected areas have been created, huge funds have been allocated to preserve the living space of tigers, and poaching is being successfully combated.

The restoration of the tiger population and their spread over large areas are forcing people and tigers to re-learn how to live next to each other.

This is not at all easy, especially for people who consider themselves "the crown of creation."

This documentary allows you to learn more about the life of the Amur tigers: see rare footage of tigresses caring for their offspring, males marking their territory, tiger hunting. An integral part of the film is the animals hunted by tigers: spotted deer and gorals, wild boars and bears - without them, tigers would not have survived.

https://www.1tv.ru/doc/stati/amurskiy-ti...film-anons

https://www.vl.ru/tv/cast/3346/8149787/event/2105192796

The Siberian Tiger - Soul of the Russian Wilderness

Powerful, dangerous and charismatic: the Siberian tiger is the largest wild cat in the world.

How did director Franz Hafner come up with the idea for this film?: “When I was in the Far East of Russia for the first time, I came across the fresh track of a tiger in the winter forest. It was incredibly large, the size of a soup plate. My Russian friends then told me about their experiences with tigers, the unique habitat, the cold, the hunting skills. For them, the tiger was the soul of the Russian wilderness, the epitome of wildness and the power of nature. Ever since then I have been fascinated by the big cats and the desire to make a documentary about them arose.”

And Franz Hafner continues: “In the jungle of the Far East, the tiger is the master. It feels strange walking through the forest and knowing an animal nearby that - stronger and equipped with better senses - could kill you at any moment. A story about tigers is also a story about wilderness, about our origins and our future place in nature. As powerful, clever and superior as the tiger is, it will only survive if we humans want it to survive.”