Amur Tigers

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Amur Tigers

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#852

04-11-2022, 06:31 PM

(04-05-2022, 05:04 PM)GreenGrolar Wrote: Wandering what others think of this? Regarding the title ‘Master of the Taiga’, there are accounts which give the Amur tiger and the Ussuri brown bear that very title. It seems that both animals are valued in different parts of Far East Russia if not mistaken.

I believe that having that title doesn’t necessarily mean that animal is the strongest. It is like calling a lion the king of the beast yet there are animals stronger than it.

@GreenGrolar

Whether people want to take the term 'Master of the taiga' or 'Lord of the taiga' seriously is up to them, but let me clear this up because some people are confused by this. The brown bear is only called 'Master of the Taiga' or 'Owner of the taiga' etc... only in regions of the Russian taiga which are devoid of tigers. Like in western/central Siberia and Kamchatka, as well as the European taiga forests.

The taiga or boreal forest has been called the world's largest land biome. In North America, it covers most of inland Canada, Alaska, and parts of the northern contiguous United States. In Eurasia, it covers most of Sweden, Finland, much of Russia from Karelia in the west to the Pacific Ocean (including much of Siberia), much of Norway and Estonia, some of the Scottish Highlands, some lowland/coastal areas of Iceland, and areas of northern Kazakhstan, northern Mongolia, and northern Japan (on the island of Hokkaidō).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiga

Remember, various subspecies of brown bears (Ussuri, Eurasian, Siberian, Kamchatka) inhabit most of the taiga regions, whereas the Amur tigers range is limited to the Far East Russian taiga in the Amur-Ussuri regions and Manchurian taiga in Northeast China. Note, in these regions, the brown bear is NOT referred to as the 'King of the taiga' or 'Owner of the taiga' etc... this title is given to the Amur tiger, not only by all the Chinese and Russian natives, but also by the white European Russians, even by all the biologists, zoologists, researchers and so forth.

When bear posters see a source referring to a Russian brown bear as 'Master' or 'Owner' of the taiga, they immediately think that its referring to Ussuri brown bears in the Ussuri taiga. But this is false, there are several subspecies of brown bears in Russia from Ussuri/Amur brown bear, Far Eastern Siberian brown bears and Kamchatka bears. Only the former (Amur brown bear) co-exists with tigers, whereas the two latter species inhabit regions of Siberia and the Far East where tigers are completely non-existent.

Hence why in the regions where brown bears do not co-exist with tigers, the brown bear is called 'Master of the taiga' because its the dominant carnivore in the ecosystem. But in the same forest as the tiger, the brown bear now becomes prey and is displaced from the top position in the food-chain. In the Amur-Ussuri & Manchurian taiga forests, the Siberian tiger is the undisputed top predator at the pinnacle of the food-chain and top of the ecological food pyramid. So in these regions, the brown bear is no longer called 'lord' or 'King of the taiga', this title is now given to the Amur tiger, the Ussuri & Manchurian taiga's dominant predator.

Franz Hafner, in his new documentary also mentions this. He states that in other regions of Russia, where tigers do not exist, bears are apex predators, but in the Ussuri region they are not, because the bears are hunted and killed by tigers.

As a bear enthusiast yourself, have you ever wondered why literally ALL the Russian biologists, zoologists, researchers, naturalists, local hunters etc ....call the Amur tiger the 'King, owner, master, ruler & lord of the Ussuri taiga?? Why do biologists and various experts not give this title to the Ussuri brown bear?? Even Dale Miquelle and Seryodkin called the tiger, the "King of the taiga". Why? I'm interested in your take.

Here's some sources that substantiate my statements: (Remember, these sources are referring to the Ussuri taiga, where tigers and bears co-exist) I have plenty more sources, but I won't post them all here, otherwise the post will be too long. I just posted some good informative ones. I could literally post over 100 sources & articles stating the Amur tiger to be the 'King, owner or lord of the Ussuri taiga.

"The primordial locals perceived him as the owner of the taiga, respected and worshiped him, therefore, historically, the Amur tiger was not an object of aboriginal hunting."