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

[peter]

PANTHERA TIRIS ALTAICA - 2 - CONSERVATION AND PROBLEMS

2a - Interview with Pavel Fomenko (Head of WWF Russia's Rare Species Conservation) and Alexander Korneev (Hunting Inspector of Primorski Krai).

As the interview in the online version (?) of the Telegraph of December 2, 2017, was a bit messy (advertisements all over the place), I decided to print the interview and produce a more, ehh, compact version. Copy and paste, that is. It's way shorter than the original. 

Although Joe Shute, like most journalists, was a bit overenthousiastic regarding the (relative) size of the Amur tiger (" ... up to 10ft long, larger, heavier and stronger than their Asian cousins ... "), the interview is quite interesting.  

2b - A few highlights

- Joe Shute, Pavel Fomenko and Alexander Korneev were tracking tiger 'Vladik', who made headlines when he was seen strolling in his favorite city, Vladivostok, in October 2016. After he had been arrested, rehabilitated and released in May 2017 in the Bikin National Park, 'Vladik' again moved south, covering about 450 miles in six months (...). As he was wearing a collar this time, researchers were able to find his kills. One of these was a Himalayan black bear.

- Vladik was about 22 stone (139,71 kg.) when he was released in May 2017, but at about 3,5-4 years of age he still has some growing to do. Although he almost reached Vladivostok again in December 2017, he moved to the southwest. Visiting relatives in China, I guess.

- Putin is very interested in wildlife in general and tigers in particular. He is the one who put tiger conservation on top of the list some years ago. In spite of his support and the new laws on poaching (discussed some time ago), protecting tigers (and many other animals in the Russian Far East) is far from easy. Researchers estimate that 20-30 Amur tigers are poached every year (...).

- Fomenko and Korneev have spent decades on the front line. Fomenko was targeted on 3 occasions by armed poachers, but survived. A few years ago, Korneev was seriously injured when he was run over by a poacher with a snowmobile. His brigade catches about 120 culprits a year.  

- The Russians use 'watchmen' to spot poachers. The two 'watchmen' interviewed (57 and 65 years of age) live on their own in the forest throughout the winter. One of them met a bear, which resulted in a bad scar. He also lost 14 dogs to tigers. He saw the bear scar as a 'scratch' and agreed that he had to pay rent to the tiger every now and then. Both watchmen consider the tiger as the 'owner of the forest'.

- The Russian Far East has 90 000 hunters. One of them is Fomenko. Although he, like many other hunters (I interviewed a number over here), considers himself a 'true friend of nature', he can't deny that hunters hunt. This means they kill wild animals every now and then. Less wild animals is less opportunities for tigers. This, in combination with the long and severe winters in the RFE, is the reason that tigers, especially in winter, visit villages to collect the rent. Although villagers, like the two watchmen mentioned above, have to oblige, problems can be expected every now and then. All in all, there are about 40 'conflicts' every year. Once every two years, a human is killed.               
  
- Conservationwise, the Russians are doing great. The number of tigers has increased, meaning the situation really has improved. If they want to reach the target set, however, they need to solve two problems: 90 000 hunters and poaching. Poaching will always be a challenge, as the region is extended. I wonder if they thought about drones. They are used in some parts of Africa and the results are encouraging. Solving the 90 000 guns problem won't be easy. The argument used to convince hunters (Amur tigers limit the number of wolves) is valid, but hunters also need to understand that shooting, say, 90 000 wild animals every year (one wild animal for every gun every year) undoubtedly affects tigers. Maybe the tiger target should be discussed again. If they can agree on, say, a 1 000 Amur tigers, they need to limit the number of guns. If impossible, they need to agree on the number of large prey animals shot every year. I know that hunters don't care that much about tourism and the money it will generate, but it can't be denied that hunting estates are quite suited. If no agreement can be reached, the number of permits needs to be limited.    

2c - The article of December 2, 2017        

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

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