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

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peter

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#249

11-18-2014, 10:30 AM

2 - PANTHERA TIGRIS ALTAICA IN RUSSIA

a - ARSENIEV AND KAPLANOV

Like in China, the Amur tiger was severely hunted in Russia. Arseniev, in 'Dersu, the Trapper', wrote tigers, like all other animals in Primorye, were already severely endangered at the turn of the century. A few decades later, Kaplanov found they were all but gone. Kaplanov was killed by a poacher, but his study became a classic and it had an effect. The Sowjet-Union, as Putin said, was the first country to ban tiger hunting completely.

Although the ban very probably saved the Amur tiger from extinction, genetic diversity was affected. It shows partly in the lack of variation in size in today's tigers. In this respect, they are decidedly different from other subspecies. Amur tigers, therefore, still walk the edge.

Today, there are about 350-450 individuals in Russia and 10-50 in China and North-Korea together. When they have recovered numberwise, they'll spread. When they have established themselves in all former regions, chances are they will start to produce the animal described by reliable observers a century ago. I wouldn't know about the average size back then, but there's enough evidence to state tigers, although similar in length to today's Amur tigers, were a bit heavier.

For example. Of the three tigers captured by the Morden-Graves expedition, one male about average in length was 550 pounds, whereas the tigress, at 368 pounds, was the heaviest I know of. The second male, at 480 pounds, also wasn't a small animal. For comparison. Not one of the adult males measured and weighed in the last two decades even approached 480 pounds and the heaviest tigress, at 287 pounds, also was well below the 368-pound tigress shot in 1930. A very pronounced difference, that is. If we add that today's tigers were compared to three individuals shot in the 1930s only, I would skip 'coincidence' right away. The first words that come to mind are genetics and food.

I wouldn't know about the numbers needed to make a full recovery, but 350-500 animals (cubs and immatures included) apparently isn't enough. Not even close, I think.

b - THE CAPTURE OF CUBS

Although tiger hunting was banned, cubs were captured until well in the sixties of the last century. Based on what I know from conversations with people who work for zoos in Europe, I think the seventies would be more accurate. Here's a few photographs of how it was done in 1939.

2a - Cubs were captured in winter, when they were chased with dogs. They quickly tired in the snow:

*This image is copyright of its original author

2b - The end of freedom:

*This image is copyright of its original author

2c - The photograph, although tragic, doesn't show people motivated by greed or anger. The hunters were skilled and they cared. Some of the cubs shipped to Europe and the US developed into serious giants. I saw two of them myself and heard about others in the US and Mexico. I haven't seen any of that size in the last two decades. Could it be the old hunters, who distinguished between normal tigers and giants, were right after all? Or was it just coincidence, with a few freaks every now and then? If so, why did they disappear?

*This image is copyright of its original author

c - POACHING

Although hunting tigers was strictly off limits for a long time, things changed when the Sowjet-Union collapsed. In the 1990s, many lost their job and some had no other option but to return to the old and trusted forest. Mushrooms, herbs and small animals most of the time in order to survive, but those who hunted deer and porc at times were confronted by the one who suffered most from their actions. The number of tigers also had increased considerably. Some hunters lost their nerve and thought they had to shoot, others really had no option but to defend themselves and still others acted deliberately right from the start.

Male Amur tigers in particular were not going to take it lying down. I've read more than one story about male tigers and humans. Many are true survivors who took their territory the hard way. They will, to quote Vailliant, yield for a greater force at times, like a large bear, but anyone who invades the territory of a male tiger has to be prepared for a war. And it isn't over when you shoot and wound a tiger, as one poacher now knows.

I'm not going to write on what poaching really is. Use your imagination or watch the photographs below.

2d - Male Amur tiger shot in May 1991. The photographs below were first posted by Warsaw on AVA. At first he wrote the tiger was poached, but later he said the tiger was a man-eater. Meaning we don't know. The answer, therefore, is in the photographs. In the way the tiger is transported, I mean. Watch them faces at the end.

*This image is copyright of its original author

2e - Male tiger shot in the 1990s. Russia. I don't know the story, but I assume this tiger was a 'man-eater' too:

*This image is copyright of its original author

2f - This is the famous Sobolonye man-eater who featured in Vailliant's great book 'The Tiger'. The photograph was taken moments after the tiger, just before he got to one of his persuers, was shot. I agree it is a bad photograph, but the atmosphere is completely different when compared to the previous photographs. Different people and different tiger. When you can, buy the book. I read many, but this one is special.