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Amur Tigers
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 (07-02-2019, 03:16 PM)Shadow Wrote: Photo from one article, year 2016. I decided to put here one part from that same article, where Alexander Batalov is interviewed. This is google translation. Anyway a glimpse how Batalov describes social behavior of tigers. "- How many tigers have their nicknames? - Now it's eight. They are constantly in my field of vision, and some I have known for about five years. Most tigers live socially, can not live without communication. Release such a beast in an unfamiliar place, and he will go until he meets the trail of his brother.However, family groups are born of sympathy. On the territory of "Durmin" come individuals from three family groups, that is, three males, and females around them. Ochkarik, for example, has two or three permanent females. But if he meets another female, draws attention to him, and likes him, he will easily go to meet her. This year the density of tigers has increased. On the Khor model site, 15 individuals were counted, six of them were cubs. At the age of one and a half to two years, the cubs become independent and are looking for suitable places for later life. As a rule, they leave their house and go beyond the territory of the model site. Nearby, small females can remain for a while, and non-evil males who can be content with small ones, can make a compromise." Btw, Ochkarik is that tiger, whic is mentioned in thread big cat vocalization. He came to meet tigress Rachelle (which was followed and robbed by that huge brown bear) after she made that odd scream or something like that. Peter wrote name of Rachelle in different way, but these translations give what they give and I don´t actually know what is right way :) http://www.hab.aif.ru/society/durmin_dom_amurskogo_tigra  (07-02-2019, 04:02 PM)Shadow Wrote:(07-02-2019, 03:16 PM)Shadow Wrote: Photo from one article, year 2016. Great photograph and interesting info. Ochkarik, most probably, is the father of the four cubs of tigress 'Rashel', also known as 'Rachelle' or 'Rachel'. I thought she was named after an American tourist or student, but I'm not sure. Anyhow. If you contact Balatov, my guess is he'll be able to tell you more about the giant brown bear who robbed 'Rashel' for a prolonged period of time.
I copied a letter from Alexander Batalov to Yuri Petrovich concerning logging and problems it causes for wildlife and tigers. This is from article published February 2019. Translation by google translation, but seems to be quite ok. This Yuri Petrovich is some high ranking official, not sure what is his position exactly. Anyway this letter is good reminder about it, that everything affects everything.
"Dear Yuri Petrovich! Due to the duty of his work and professional activities, I have to write to you about the current situation in the forests of the Khabarovsk Territory, where Amur tigers live. Over the past six years, in accordance with the state contract concluded between the government of the Khabarovsk Territory and the Forest and Wildlife Management Company Durminskoye LLC, work has continued on monitoring the population of the Red Book predator in model sites in the Yaroslavl region. Lazo, Khabarovsk Territory, launched in 2000. On the 45 permanent record routes with a total length of 631 km, located on an area of 386.9 thousand hectares, we twice a year, December and February, follow the tracks and use photo traps to record the numbers of tigers, their main victims (wild boars, red deer and roe deer ), and register logging sites that change the look of the taiga and the habitat of animals for the worse. The total number of logging sites found on the accounting routes by year is presented in the table (see annex below). If we analyze the dynamics of perennial logging by the number of cutting areas on the accounting routes, we can distinguish three stages of their growth. The first stage of the most intensive deforestation occurred in 2002–2005, the second in 2008–2011, and the third, with a decrease in the number, but a marked increase in 2015–2017. The largest number of cutting areas was taken into account at the first stage in 2004 (202), at the second, in 2009 (188), at the third in 2015 (84). The smallest number of cutting areas was taken into account in 2014, only 25, which was facilitated by increased control from law enforcement agencies and the FSB in the previous three years. However, the following year their number more than tripled. There is an explanation. The main interest in the purchase of roundwood, especially Mongolian oak and Manchurian ash comes from our enterprising neighbors from China, who use all legal and illegal methods to achieve their goals. In the first stage, at the first stage they paid for rare wood with a confidence survey of 300, at the second 400, and at the third stage, when illegal logging sharply decreased, they raised prices to $ 800 per cubic meter. With such a demand, legal and illegal logging has grown into a single interest of a highly profitable business. The CITES Convention, which includes oak and ash in the third annex, does not restrict their legal procurement to legal loggers and residents of taiga villages that have legal procurement rights. This is used by clever people who have connections with forestry workers and customers. As a result of their activities, Chinese dealers often have purchased quotas for the harvesting of oak and ash, and accept the forest harvested by illegal means under their dictated conditions. They willingly go for it, knowing that the timber that has been cleared according to official documents, when crossing the state border immediately goes to auctions, where it has unlimited demand and is sold at a price of up to $ 3,000 per cubic meter. This is a great misfortune and an environmental crime against our country. Moreover, from such a “trade” we have almost nothing and lose precious resources for free. In the present period, the timber base in the tigers' habitats has been severely depleted and continues to deteriorate. Along with the usual coniferous and deciduous species, the last cubic-intensive oak and ash trees are cut down year-round, and with them the undergrowth of various trees and shrubs of the Ussuri taiga. The fruits of ash and especially oak are a very important food source for many animals, which, in turn, serve as food for the Amur tiger. In the autumn of 2017, it would seem, with a good harvest of oak, there was already a shortage of acorns, which are the main food for ungulates, especially boar. The boar, which is the main food of the tiger, has been unable to emerge from the number depression for several years and in many places becomes a rare animal. With an insufficient number of wild boars in the behavior of tigers, changes occur, predators go beyond the limits of their individual sections and move widely in search of the main food. At the beginning of last winter, due to the lack of feed in the native habitats of tigers, there was a mass exit to the settlements in order to find additional feed. This leads to conflict situations between the tiger and man, and is an objective indicator of the unfavorable life in the population of predators, after which a decrease in their numbers may occur. To get out of this situation, it is urgent to prohibit felling of oak and ash in the habitat of the tiger, sort out the situation and, at the legislative level, make the final decision to preserve the habitat of a rare predator. Please do not leave our message without attention! The situation is extremely serious, we are talking about the complete degradation of unique forests, in which, apart from the tiger, live the Himalayan bears and other rare animals of the Ussuri taiga, which are endemics of our country and promising objects of international ecological tourism. A.S. Batalov, director of the LLC “Forest-hunting economy“ Durminskoye ”, honored worker of the hunting economy of the Khabarovsk Territory, responsible executor of tiger monitoring in the Khabarovsk Territory. " http://debri-dv.com/article/21227/polpreda_trutneva_prosyat_v_srochnom_poryadke_zapretit_vyrubku_duba_i_yasenya_v_areale_obitaniya_tig...
I just edited my last posting with letter from Alexander Batalov. I noticed, that by mistake I had only part of it quoted yesterday. Now whole text is there.
Anyone know the latest numbers in the wild btw? Last one I found was 540, based on the WWF website
(07-04-2019, 03:09 PM)slicknick Wrote: Anyone know the latest numbers in the wild btw? Last one I found was 540, based on the WWF website Maybe that is best estimation now. This link is to one report from the end of 2018 concerning Amur tigers and leopards. Interesting information and also making it clear, that problems do exist there despite many positive things. Quote: "According to the 2015 full-range Amur tiger count, about 523-540 Amur tigers are alive today in RFE, compared to 423-502 individuals in 2005. In 2018, Land of the Leopard National Park announced that the population of Amur leopards within its borders has increased to 84 adults and 19 cubs. This is a dramatic increase over the 57 leopards counted in the national park in 2015 and the first time in decades that the Amur leopard population has exceeded 100 animals. The upward trend in the Amur leopard and Amur tiger populations is very encouraging. But despite sustained conservation efforts over recent years and encouraging recent monitoring results, the big cats still remain at risk due to poaching, logging, forest fires, and prey depletion. Every year the wild populations of Amur tigers and Amur leopards officially lose up to ten individuals due to poaching and other reasons, including collisions with vehicles. According to official statistics published by government agencies and trusted sources, in 2018 the population of Amur tigers reportedly lost six individuals. Also, a huge number of skins, bones and derivatives belonging to about 45 Amur tigers that were killed in different years, were seized in 2018. Brief description of these cases can be found in Attachment I. " Source: https://conservewildcats.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/02/PHXFinal-report-2018_Securing-a-Future-for-Amur-Leopards-and-Tigers-in-Russia.pdf
07-05-2019, 02:42 PM
( This post was last modified: 07-05-2019, 07:37 PM by sanjay
Edit Reason: corrected the formating
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(07-05-2019, 01:32 AM)Shadow Wrote:(07-04-2019, 03:09 PM)slicknick Wrote: Anyone know the latest numbers in the wild btw? Last one I found was 540, based on the WWF website Thank you very much for the feedback...As I am new to these forums, or even the concept of wildlife conservation perhaps, could anyone tell me how I, an individual living in Belgium, can contribute to the conservation of the Amur tigers in the wild, to help them keep their habitat, and get to increase their numbers? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated (reliable places to donate included, of course). Thank you very much (07-05-2019, 02:42 PM)slicknick Wrote:(07-05-2019, 01:32 AM)Shadow Wrote:(07-04-2019, 03:09 PM)slicknick Wrote: Anyone know the latest numbers in the wild btw? Last one I found was 540, based on the WWF website One thing that you could do is to spread awareness about the adverse link between the growth of this already large population of ours (close to 8 billion and still counting: https://ourworldindata.org/world-population-growth) and the suffering of wildlife (i.e. habitat destruction and the extinction or endangering of subspecies or species), and consequently the need for people to have less children, as mentioned here (https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-on-the-...s?page=150). If the population of humans keeps on growing, then more resources will be needed to sustain it (and that would mean ruining natural environments to dig up resources or expand urban areas (take this case about Iran, where the Caspian tiger has vanished, and where the Asiatic cheetah's habitat is threatened by activities such as mining: http://www.catsg.org/cheetah/05_library/...n_Iran.pdf), which would mean less space for other creatures such as tigers, which in turn means that either they start disappearing, or they fight back (as in, conflict between wildlife and man, which can result in situations like what has happened in India, such as elephants raiding villages and killing people: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/ma...lage-63032)), or poverty will increase (and sadly, poverty is quite serious today, for instance, 2.1 billion people are estimated to be without safe drinking water at home, with 4.5 billion without safely managed sanitation: https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/12-...sanitation). If however our population decreases, then people will need less resources to sustain them, which at least in theory should mean reverse-urbanisation (like it ironically happens in India due to pollution: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world...65051.html) and lower levels of environmental degradation and poverty, and the good news is that our population is slowing down in growth (https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/), and is expected to decrease (https://johnmccone.com/2018/10/01/urbani...e-by-2050/).
3 maps depicting how far Northern tigers (collectively referring to the Amur and Caspian tigers: https://books.google.com/books?id=4HpxDw...es&f=false) went from their regular habitats:
Vratislav Mazák, page 3: https://web.archive.org/web/201203091255...1-0001.pdf *This image is copyright of its original author Luo et al.: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/articl...ne.0004125 *This image is copyright of its original author Heptner and Sludskiy, page 130: https://archive.org/stream/mammalsofsov2...0/mode/2up *This image is copyright of its original author
While discussing about captive Amur tiger Igor from Odense zoo in "extinction thread", once again one thing crossed my mind. And that is weight changes/fat layer changes what comes to Amur tigers during summer and winter. That is one thing, which isn´t in discussions too often and still it can be in reality quite big factor what comes to weight changes. When talking about weights, often stomach content is mentioned even though it can be actually quite marginal issue unless animal is gorged so, that stomach is like full balloon. I mean if some tiger or lion is 220 or 230 kg, that is quite small difference. But what if a tiger up north can be in early spring like 180 kg and later autumn 220 kg...? How much there really is information about tigers?
When I looked briefly what is said about mammals up north, one feature was common. All gain more fat before winter as nutrition reserve and against cold by gaining fat layer under skin. I didn´t yet see numbers what comes to predators, only mentioned that they all do that. For instance what comes to raindeer, I found one source saying, that in October they can have 19% of body weight fat, then again in April 1%. About Svalbard reindeer was mentioned, that in autumn they can have even 40% of body weight fat and still in spring 10-20%. Those figures just to give some idea about it, that this fat layer change during year can be pretty significant factor also for tiger. And most probably is, it´s quite difficult to imagine how else it could survive winters when temperature can be time to time even -30 degrees Celcius and -15 to -20 is nothing special. For me this is not a question about it, that are there changes, question is how much?
With brief checking easy to find multiple sources mentioning, that Amur tigers get fat layer especially on their flanks and belly, 5-6 cm thick (a bit over 2 inches). Then again more difficult to find more specific information about it, what kind of variation in weight there is normally. From Harbin zoo (China) can be found statement, that their tigers gain about 10% more weight for winter. So there we are easily talking about 18-25 kg (males). But that was now only one place and there we are talking about captive tigers.
(08-08-2019, 10:06 PM)Shadow Wrote: With brief checking easy to find multiple sources mentioning, that Amur tigers get fat layer especially on their flanks and belly, 5-6 cm thick (a bit over 2 inches). Then again more difficult to find more specific information about it, what kind of variation in weight there is normally. From Harbin zoo (China) can be found statement, that their tigers gain about 10% more weight for winter. So there we are easily talking about 18-25 kg (males). But that was now only one place and there we are talking about captive tigers. Surprisingly difficult to find good and clear information about weight changes of Amur tigers during the year. Pretty much all sites, which give overall information about them, give that same basic information about fat layer on belly and flanks as insulation against cold. When knowing, that mammals up north usually gain weight (fat) in autumn in order to survive winter, it is self evident, that tigers have to do the same. That is also confirmed at least by Mammals of the Soviet Union. Quote:"The Amur tiger is quite well adapted to low temperatures; it has a luxuriant, dense pelage and fattens by autumn. Cubs have been recovered which had spent the entire night in the forest at temperature of -40°C, but without apparent ill effects." Another quote: "In connection with the fact that tigers sometimes sustain prolonged hunger, in favorable seasons a large accumulation of fat reserves is found in the abdomen, groins, and body cavities in layers 4.0 to 5.0 cm thick." It feels odd to think, that under skin would be thick layer of fat in summer, but it isn´t easy to find good information about changes in fat layer. One more quote: "Fat layers are also found between the muscles. A young three-year-old male caught on February 16, 1940 in Sikhote-Alin yielded 30 kg fat (Kaplanov, 1948); a female caught on March 30, 1950 on the Pyandzha yielded 10.5 kg fat and the layer in her abdominal cavity was 40 to 50 mm thick (Chemyshev, 1958). Thanks to fat reserves constituting 20% of overall body weight, tigers which have eaten nothing for even five to ten days remain content. Evidently they can withstand even longer periods of starvation." This part then again gives one clear number, 20% of overall body weight. But problem with this is, that last two quotes weren´t related in any clear way only to winter. And fat layer is relevant, not only as insulation against cold, but as nutrition reserve too. So does fat percentage of overall body weight variate for instance between 5-20 % during summer and increase even up to... let´s say 30% in autumn? Or is that 20% like upper limit in wild, difficult to find good information. I think, that it can be considered to be clear, that in autumn healthy Amur tiger, as all other animals up north, gain weight in order to survive winter time and that weight is extra fat. Is that 10% like Harkin zoo (China) representative said in article (when looking at those tigers, first number in mind is 50%  ), or is that maybe more would be interesting to find out. Maybe @tigerluver you have seen some study, which isn´t public?
(08-09-2019, 05:46 AM)Rishi Wrote:(08-09-2019, 12:19 AM)Sanju Wrote: @Rishi @Sanju That reminds me of North Korea, which borders Manchura (Northeast China) and the Russian Far East. According to Rak et al.: http://www.wcsrussia.org/DesktopModules/...attachment "Over 700 km of survey routes were combined with interviews of local people to assess the status of tigers (Panthera tigris altaica), their prey and habitat in 6000 km2 of Lyangan Province, North Korea. This high, mountainous region of North Korea, on the border of Jilin Province, China, and close to the Chinese Biosphere Reserve Changbaishan, was selected for initial surveys because it was believed to contain important tiger habitat. Eight tracks of tigers were reported on survey routes (including 5 accompanying photos) and 24 accounts of tigers came from interviews of local people who reported tracks, livestock depredation, visual sightings, and one attack on a man. One report of two leopards was filed in the southern portion of Lyangan Province. Both survey routes and information from interviews indicated that tigers occurred in all 5 districts of the Province surveyed. Three key areas that contain tigers and suitable tiger habitat were identified, as were two regions where tigers apparently move back and forth across the Chinese border. Reports on prey numbers suggest that the moderate prey densities may be sufficient to support tiger populations. Future collaborative efforts are needed. ... A recent report from China (Shihe et al. 1998) indicates that there are some regions in Jilin Province, China where tigers could possibly travel into North Korea, and reports from Russia (Pikunov et al. 1997, Aramilev et al. 1998) indicate that tigers are found very close to the border of North Korea. Thus, existent information along its borders indicate that there exists the potential for exchange of animals between North Korea and adjacent countries, but whether tigers occur in North Korea, and whether there exists suitable habitat and prey, is unknown. ... Analysis of survey results Based on results of all the surveyed districts it is possible to summarize tiger distribution and habitat, as well as their seasonal patterns of movement (migration) (Figure 4) for the Paektusan area. Of the 6000 km2 of the survey area, nearly 92% (5508 km2) is forest covered. Eight tiger tracks were found on eight separate survey routes in all five districts of the Province, and there were 24 reports of tigers based on interviews of local people (Table 2, Figure 3). Three regions are considered good habitat for tigers in the survey area: 1) The first of these high quality regions for tigers is in the area including the Photesan. Kuanmosan, Chanchonsan and Purunbon Mountains that represents the border zone between 4 of the districts (Samdzhien District, Tdekhondan District, Pkhekam District, and Pochen District) (Figure 4). The area coincides with the Paektusan International Wildlife Biosphere Conservation Park, is almost untouched by man’s activity, and has dense forests, rocky cliffs, fragmented cliffs and caves. High densities of ungulate populations, key prey for tigers, are typical for this area. 2) The second quality tiger habitat is the south part of the mountain range which includes the Kuesanbon, Koesanbon and Mantusan mountains in Pkhekam District (Figure 4). This area is the last part of the Khamken mountain range, which is one of the most important tiger habitats that serves as a link between the Paektusan area and the Chilbosan mountainous country and its reserve for tiger conservation. 3) The third area with suitable tiger habitat is the Nurynbon Amusan mountains in the Chenhanbon area, administratively situated within both Pochen and Unkhyn Districts. All these regions are situated in middle portions of river basins punctuated with high relief. Seasonal tiger movements are observed in Sampkhosan-Sobeksan and Teroynsan-Sambon areas (Figure 4). These movements occur along the frontier because ungulates seasonal migrate back and forth across the border. Tiger movements were also observed in the Tondgomlen area. This area is connected with the Puchonlen Mountain Range by means of a forested mountain range and further with the Ranlim Mountain Range and its Vagalbon Reserve for tiger protection. Tigers of this region probably range widely. In the survey area tigers inhabit areas that range from 800 to 1600 m above sea level, seasonally migrating down in winter then up in the summer. In this elevation range coniferous-broadleaved and subtropical coniferous forests prevail. Prey of the Paektusan area also seasonally migrate. With deep snows in winter roe deer and wild boars inhabiting the Sobeksan, Photesan, Tekhondan, Khantubon and other mountains of Paektu Mountain Range migrate to the feet of these mountains or to their southern slopes. Tigers follow these seasonally migrating ungulates. Moose, deer and roe deer inhabiting the Kanbeksan, Sanpkhosan, Mudubon and Sinmusan mountains migrate to China in winter when the area is totally covered with deep snow, and come back with thawing of the snow in spring. Thus migrations of these ungulates lead to migrations of tigers. 4. CONCLUSIONS Results of this research have elucidated the present distribution and status of the tiger and its preys in the Paektusan area. The survey verified the existence of tigers, and suitable tiger habitat in the area. In spite of the short and late field season (20 days in March), sufficient numbers of tiger tracks were found in the area to conclude that a large number of tigers inhabit this region. Survey results (along with already existing data on prey density) showed an abundance of prey resources for tigers in this area and extensive suitable habitat. Information from interviews suggest that reproduction is occurring. Existing information suggests that tigers move long distances in winter, when they travel into the Chinese frontier zones and make long passages into Sonkhasky Krai, returning in the spring to the Paektusan area." Mount Paektu or Changbai (known in Korean as "Baekdu-San" (백두산), and in Chinese as "Zhǎngbái-Shān" (Simplified Chinese: 长白山, Traditional Chinese: 長白山), on the border of China and Korea, held in esteem by North Koreans especially, even Kim Jong-Un would visit the mountain and be pictured there: https://www.pyongyang-travel.com/north-k...r-17-days/, https://www.nst.com.my/world/2018/09/413...im-jong-un  *This image is copyright of its original author
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