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

[peter]

(06-10-2015, 12:13 AM)'Pckts' Wrote:

(06-10-2015, 12:02 AM)'brotherbear' Wrote: The bear actually appears smaller than the tiger, even though he isn't, because of his compact build. According to the measurements, the bear is slightly longer, but here again, not really so. The bear has a longer neck and a longer muzzle than the tiger. Also, the shoulder hump adds to the bear's shouder height. All-in-all, I would consider these two at roughly size parity. Of course, after many on-line conflicts, I realize that there are many interpretations of size parity. Still in all, I consider these two predators living within the same general location as among the most interesting animal relatuionships in the natural world. And yet so little is known. 
 

What Im really curious about is Wolf numbers where Tigers and Bears co exist?
I would assume that they would not be as successful in areas where they would have to compete with both of these animals at the same time.
 

In 'Rote Wolfe und Weisse Tiger' (Bonn, 1952), German writer, naturalist and hunter Joseph Velter visited an Udege village with his local companion Pau (an Udege). Velter wrote he went to 'school' for some time. At the Udege school, he learned about tracking, the climate, the wind, habits of local animals and the skill of hunting. One of the local specialties was the wolf trap. It was a clever construction made of wood. Took some time to build it, but it was effective. Once a wolf entered the trap, he couldn't get out. Pau, encouraged by Velter, built the trap in a few days and caught 23 wolves in 6 weeks only. A lot of wolves in a region also known for tigers.

Just before the trap was built, two Amur tigers were seen only a day away. The hunter who had seen them said he had seen tracks of other tigers as well. This suggests tigers and wolves lived in close proximity in the eastern part of Sichote-Alin a century ago. In those days, hunters distinguished between two types of wolf. One was the grey timber wolf and the other was a local subspecies with a reddish colour. According to Velter, they didn't mix. Both lived in large family groups. Red wolves in particular were not afraid of humans. Velter was treed by them when he shot one by accident.

One often reads tigers and wolves can't co-exist in eastern Russia. One reason is tigers hunt wolves. Although Velter's observation contradicts this idea, Sysoev, in his story 'Amba', wrote the tiger who featured in his story ambushed, killed and ate a wolf. From the details and the lengthy description, I concluded he might have witnessed the hunt himself. If not, he could have talked to someone who did. 

There is more. This year, a wolf was killed and largely consumed by tigress Ilona. It wasn't the first time a wolf was killed by an Amur tiger (see 'Large Carnivores and the Conservation of Biodiversity', Island Press, 2005, Chapter 10), but 5 incidents in almost half a century suggests it has to be regarded as something out of the ordinary.

What to make of it? Sichote-Alin still has wolves. They are seen every now and then, usually alone or in small groups. The large packs Velter saw a century ago seem to have disappeared. Is it because of the tiger? If so, why? I know tigers hunt wolves occasionally, but this wouldn't explain why wolves live in small groups in Sichote-Alin. If anything, one would expect the opposite. But Sysoev wrote the wolf killed by the tiger lived in a pack. A pack, therefore, doesn't seem to offer protection.    

Maybe wolves are considered a pest in Russia. It's one of the few countries where they occasionally hunt humans. More important, they severely affect the number of ungulates in some regions. Not appreciated in a country where hunting is considered more important than most other things. Maybe wolves suffer from a lack of prey animals in Sichote-Alin? Maybe it takes too much energy to hunt in packs in a region where energy conservation is important?  

Anyhow. This is a photograph of the wolf killed by tigress Ilona:

*This image is copyright of its original author

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