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

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peter

Co-owner of Wildfact

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#1,188

06-01-2017, 04:57 AM

PANTHERA TIGRIS ALTAICA - 1

1a - Introduction

Before starting on a series on Sunda tigers, I propose to visit Russia. After the Tiger Summit in St. Petersburg, the situation has improved in a number of respects. One is that there are more tigers. Two is that Amur tigers now have more room at their disposal than before (about 160 000 square km.). Three is that legislation (referring to poachers) is taken more serious than before. Laws are upheld and the media seem to be paying more attention to research and poaching. Not saying that tigers are headlines, but Russia seems to be more interested in wildlife in general and tigers in particular. Things seem to be looking bright.

One of the reasons, apart from dedicated researchers and rangers, is politics. I'm not saying that Amur tigers and Putin are great friends, but he has a keen interest in wildlife. When you search the internet, you'll find quite a few videos in which Amur leopards and Amur tigers feature. Putin is never far away. This no doubt has an effect on the general public in the long run. Very different from the US.

Russia is one of the few countries in which wildlife is considered important. So far, I'd say well done.

1b - Poaching

More Amur tigers, most unfortunately, also means more opportunities for those interested in money. Amur tigers are rare and rare equals money. This paragraph has a few videos in which poached Amur tigers feature.

This video is from January 2013. It shows a large male tiger. The poachers were arrested and the case featured in a special on a Russian channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z2FvmJXl2c

This video is from 2015. The poachers were arrested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk2nqKqR_7Y

Here's another video from 2015. A young tiger was found dead on a forest road. They found the man who shot him and arrested him. The story made headlines. Watch the man and his weapon. In Russia, some of the young and wealthy consider shooting wild animals from fancy cars as something quite exciting. Not so long ago, also in Russia, a brown bear was killed by a driver of a fancy car. He was encouraged by the others participating (there were 2 cars involved). That story made headlines as well. I don't understand Russian, but those reporting on the case seemed quite upset:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01--CUnwp4o

One more to close this paragraph. It shows a big male tiger shot by a hunter in 2015 in suspicious circumstances. The hunter was brought in for questioning:

http://siberiantimes.com/ecology/others/news/n0476-rare-tiger-shot-dead-by-hunter-who-claims-he-was-attacked-by-the-predator-which-killed-his-dog/

1c - Tigers and wild boars

When you say wild boar, you say tiger. In nearly every region that has wild boars in Asia, tigers are never far away. The connection between both animals is strong. It also seems as if young tigers have a wild boar button that is pushed the moment they see one.

The 3 young Amur tigers recently released into the wild (tiger 'Boris' was one of them), although not much older than 20 months, knew exactly where to find them and how to deal with them. The boars they killed were not small: Boris and the other male both killed and completely consumed a big male wild boar.

Here's a video that shows the moment a tiger attacked a boar. Don't know if the boar was overtaken, but it's a remarkable video. It's only 41 seconds, so watch carefully:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2liQzvISnUA

Tigers, including adult males, have been wounded and killed by wild boars in the Caspian region, India and Russia. This thread has a few pictures of big wild boars from India and Turkey. But Russian wild boars most definitely do not lack in size. In the eastern part of Siberia, boars well exceed 200 kg. at times. Although the picture in this video was distorted as a result of the angle, it's clear that the boar that featured was a big animal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3ngRwSkhCk

1d - Camera trap videos

Wild tigers are elusive animals everywhere. Even researchers seldom see them. Camera traps can assist them in that they document behaviour not well understood. At least, if the tigers do not fear humans. Although tigers are still poached every now and then, Amur tigers have no reason to fear humans.

The video below is from a camera close to a smell tree. It shows a big male tiger rubbing himself against a tree:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdeujCZcCFA

1e - The difference between Indian, Amur and Himalayan tigers

The last video also shows the features typical for many wild Amur tigers. At about similar length (275-295 cm. in total length in a straight line), male Amur tigers usually have less volume than their Indian relatives. Amur tigers, however, have slightly longer skulls and limbwise they most probably outsize all other wild big cats.

When you see a wild Amur tiger, you see exercise. As a result of a lack of large prey animals, Amur tigers need to have large territories. If hills and long winters with deep snow are added, 250 kg. (550 pounds) makes little sense. A wild cat of that size would struggle with energy deficits sooner or later. For an adult male, 160-210 kg. (354-464 pounds) would be just fine in most parts of the year. Although they were a bit heavier a century ago, a professional hunter with a total length of 285 cm. straight and about a kg. per cm. in length still is mighty impressive.

When the situation keeps improving in Russia and China, more males will exceed 500 pounds (226,8 kg.) in the near future. But tigers well over that mark will be rare for the reasons mentioned. Unless they add length in the near future, as this will not effect the ability to walk and engage large prey animals.

Captive Amur tigers exceeding, say, 600 pounds (272,16 kg.) often are significantly longer and taller than smaller Amur tigers. In Amur tigers, size isn't expressed in body volume and mass, but in length, skull size and limbs. Large wild Indian tigers often have very big necks and chests, whereas large Amur tigers often have long and robust legs. Same for skulls: Indian tigers have shorter but more robust skulls, whereas skulls of Amur tigers are a bit longer. Another difference is in the width of the rostrum in that they are wider and more robust in Amur tigers. The reason is longer and bigger canines need more room.

All in all, one could say that Indian tigers adapted to large prey animals and intra-specific pressure in smallish reserves by getting bigger (more robust, especially in the neck, shoulders and chest), whereas Amur tigers adapted to less and smaller prey animals without sacrificing the ability to defend their kills from similar-sized or slightly larger bears. Himalayan tigers generally seem to compare to Amur tigers, but they have plenty of large herbivores close by and didn't need to adapt to scavengers (large bears). This resulted in long and robust cats. It's no surprise that some males exceed 600 pounds at times.

1f - At a glance

1 - Male Amur tigers in late winter/early spring 2013. Although seemingly quite robust on account of the winter coat, they're more long than anything else: