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ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)
ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)
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ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)
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Greatearth says: It would be the same for the Brown bear, Grizzly bear, Kodiak Bear, and Polar bear since elephant and rhino are too big and extremely powerful.
I agree. Unlike the big cats, a bear is not equipped to stalk and attack animals with a massive size advantage. A bear relies more on brute strength and physically overpowering his adversary than does a big cat. Pachyderms are just too big and powerful for any bear species. In fact, in the ancient Roman arena, a grizzly ( European brown bear ) was pitted against a rhinoceros. There was no fight; only a killing.   *This image is copyright of its original author Sumatran Tiger 3 feet at the shoulder 
Russian Boing 747 with tiger shaped features in the airport. The purpose of these flights was to promote protection of Amur tigers.
This was a massive tiger hunted in Jharkhand in eastern India. I know there's a photography trick involved here but still it's huge beast.
 *This image is copyright of its original author I think this tiger looks like he's been skinned and the skin just put over some random objects like rocks?   (01-07-2018, 11:24 AM)Betty Wrote: Perempuan Indocina Tiger, beratnya 120kg. beatifull
Post #1534; looks like people sitting some distance from tiger with camera at near-ground level.
PANTHERA TIGRIS ALTAICA - 1 - NUMBERS
1a - The 2014-2015 census Although it was discussed more than once, I never saw the paper posted in this thread until a few days ago. This was the reason I decided to scan the paper and post the scans. As it's only 10 pages and well written, I decided against a summary. As to the numbers. In March 2015, Russia had 133-136 males, 208-213 females and 98-100 cubs. Prints of 84-91 tigers could not be identified. All in all, Russia had 520-540 tigers, meaby a bit more. Compared to the previous census, the number of tigers significantly increased (15%). This means that the policy adopted had an effect. It also means that every individual is important. Poaching still is a major problem. So is protecting tigers. I'll post an interview with Fomenko soon. 1b - Size Some weeks ago, in another thread, a member suggested that the information on the size of wild Amur tigers could be incorrect. He also suggested that very large prints had been seen during the census. Although the paper has no information on size, I did read that the pad width of males ranged between 10,5-14,0 cm. Most wild male Amur tigers range between 10,5-12,0 cm. This means that some individuals far exceeded the upper limit. In brown bears, pad width is a strong indicator of weight. I'm not sure about Amur tigers, but it most probably is no different. We'll have to wait for more information. 1c - The paper  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
(04-11-2018, 07:20 PM)qstxyz Wrote:(04-11-2018, 04:48 PM)Pckts Wrote:Yeah! Thank you! Truly great new!!!(04-11-2018, 12:39 PM)qstxyz Wrote: Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright @qstxyz what is situation with tigers in Vietnam now? Any developments? If you want you could answer in Indochinese tiger thread: https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-indo-ch...ers?page=5
PANTHERA TIRIS ALTAICA - 2 - CONSERVATION AND PROBLEMS
2a - Interview with Pavel Fomenko (Head of WWF Russia's Rare Species Conservation) and Alexander Korneev (Hunting Inspector of Primorski Krai). As the interview in the online version (?) of the Telegraph of December 2, 2017, was a bit messy (advertisements all over the place), I decided to print the interview and produce a more, ehh, compact version. Copy and paste, that is. It's way shorter than the original. Although Joe Shute, like most journalists, was a bit overenthousiastic regarding the (relative) size of the Amur tiger (" ... up to 10ft long, larger, heavier and stronger than their Asian cousins ... "), the interview is quite interesting. 2b - A few highlights - Joe Shute, Pavel Fomenko and Alexander Korneev were tracking tiger 'Vladik', who made headlines when he was seen strolling in his favorite city, Vladivostok, in October 2016. After he had been arrested, rehabilitated and released in May 2017 in the Bikin National Park, 'Vladik' again moved south, covering about 450 miles in six months (...). As he was wearing a collar this time, researchers were able to find his kills. One of these was a Himalayan black bear. - Vladik was about 22 stone (139,71 kg.) when he was released in May 2017, but at about 3,5-4 years of age he still has some growing to do. Although he almost reached Vladivostok again in December 2017, he moved to the southwest. Visiting relatives in China, I guess. - Putin is very interested in wildlife in general and tigers in particular. He is the one who put tiger conservation on top of the list some years ago. In spite of his support and the new laws on poaching (discussed some time ago), protecting tigers (and many other animals in the Russian Far East) is far from easy. Researchers estimate that 20-30 Amur tigers are poached every year (...). - Fomenko and Korneev have spent decades on the front line. Fomenko was targeted on 3 occasions by armed poachers, but survived. A few years ago, Korneev was seriously injured when he was run over by a poacher with a snowmobile. His brigade catches about 120 culprits a year. - The Russians use 'watchmen' to spot poachers. The two 'watchmen' interviewed (57 and 65 years of age) live on their own in the forest throughout the winter. One of them met a bear, which resulted in a bad scar. He also lost 14 dogs to tigers. He saw the bear scar as a 'scratch' and agreed that he had to pay rent to the tiger every now and then. Both watchmen consider the tiger as the 'owner of the forest'. - The Russian Far East has 90 000 hunters. One of them is Fomenko. Although he, like many other hunters (I interviewed a number over here), considers himself a 'true friend of nature', he can't deny that hunters hunt. This means they kill wild animals every now and then. Less wild animals is less opportunities for tigers. This, in combination with the long and severe winters in the RFE, is the reason that tigers, especially in winter, visit villages to collect the rent. Although villagers, like the two watchmen mentioned above, have to oblige, problems can be expected every now and then. All in all, there are about 40 'conflicts' every year. Once every two years, a human is killed. - Conservationwise, the Russians are doing great. The number of tigers has increased, meaning the situation really has improved. If they want to reach the target set, however, they need to solve two problems: 90 000 hunters and poaching. Poaching will always be a challenge, as the region is extended. I wonder if they thought about drones. They are used in some parts of Africa and the results are encouraging. Solving the 90 000 guns problem won't be easy. The argument used to convince hunters (Amur tigers limit the number of wolves) is valid, but hunters also need to understand that shooting, say, 90 000 wild animals every year (one wild animal for every gun every year) undoubtedly affects tigers. Maybe the tiger target should be discussed again. If they can agree on, say, a 1 000 Amur tigers, they need to limit the number of guns. If impossible, they need to agree on the number of large prey animals shot every year. I know that hunters don't care that much about tourism and the money it will generate, but it can't be denied that hunting estates are quite suited. If no agreement can be reached, the number of permits needs to be limited. 2c - The article of December 2, 2017  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author
DEMOGRAPHICS OF RUSSIA AND ITS IMPACT ON FUTURE OF TIGERS
According to freshly published data birth rate in Russian Federation has decreased by robust 11% during last 2017: http://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/01/30/1...0-year-low Population of Russian Prymorsky region - the main stronghold of Amur tigers has already decreased by 13,3% for the period after colaps of Soviet Union (1990) until 2010 (from 2,258 million to 1,956 mill, see the yellow graphic in the bottom), and that of second stronghold of Siberian tigers - Khabarovsky region by 15,9% (from 1,597 million to 1,343 mill) for the period 1989-2010. https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D1%...0%B0%D0%B9 That means that human presence in the domain of Amur tiger has decreased by 13,3-15,9% for the last 3 decades and that there are 13,3-15,9% LESS HUMANS IN THE TIGER'S AREAL. This situation is INIQUE for the planet for any big cat. And process of depopulation is continuing. By the projects of demographs totall population of Russia is going to decrease by further 18,4% for next tree decades - from current 146 million to 119 mill in 2050. That means that in 2050 in the areal of Amur tiger are going to live with around 1/3 less people than during the late Soviet era. This are bad news for Russian economy but good news for the tigers. DEMOGRAPHICS OF CHINA AND ITS IMPACT ON THE FUTURE OF TIGERS Population in China already increase with quite moddest 0,44% per year - same as in majority of Europe. I dont have detailed data for Chinese Inner Manchuria - former land of Amur tigers but have heard from specialists for China that people in that country tend to migrate in big quantities from internal arias to the economicaly developed coastal arias, from West to East and from North to South. So its quite possible that human pressure on Chinese Amur tigers is also decreasing. CONCLUSIONS Amur tiger is in UNIQUE situation among all big cats in the world. When human population in tropical Asia - land of the tropical tigers is still booming and population of Africa is literally exploding Amur tigers have an opportunity to live in arias where there is no more human pressure on them. I am quite optimistic about the future of Amur tiger. 
04-13-2018, 08:04 PM
( This post was last modified: 04-13-2018, 09:46 PM by qstxyz
Edit Reason: my terrible English
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(04-13-2018, 12:47 AM)Wolverine Wrote:(04-11-2018, 07:20 PM)qstxyz Wrote:(04-11-2018, 04:48 PM)Pckts Wrote:Yeah! Thank you! Truly great new!!!(04-11-2018, 12:39 PM)qstxyz Wrote: Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright Really ashamed, in our country they said so much about the war history, Vietnamese people're so sweet, Vietnam's so beautiful place... but our environment're just destroyed by our people. Sad but true, you know  In the past, my people were so proud of Vietnam' natural resources, they said: "golden-forest, silver-ocean". But there're no more. Now in our country's full with 90 millions people and ZERO wild animals! Our Vietnamese children (like my nephew) just know animal in the zoo right now. For the wild tiger, in 2015 the VN ministry of environmenta resource reported: just 30 wild Indochines Tigers left in our reserves. But nearly all of them just came from Laos and Cambodia (they travel through the boder). And you know, VN is the "famous-black-market" of wild animal's organ (for the Chinese traditional medicine. Chinese bussiness men pay BILLIONS of Vietnam Dong (money units of VN) for this). In our country, arround the Tiger reserve is the country side and people in there still lack the education, so they dont know the living-wild-tigers r much more important and worthy than the death-tigers. Some of my friends travelled to severals VN tiger reserves (not exactly, I'm architect, my friends're engineers, worked at the industrial zone near the forest) and they told me the forest guard and the poachers just were the same! i'm fuckin sick with that! Couple years ago, I read in Nghe An & Thanh Hoa province of VN (the middle of our country, share the border line with Laos and Cambodia) they breed tiger like cattle, and slaugh them to take the organ, much more disgusting than the Tiger-Temple in Thailand. I guess the cubs almost came from Laos by smuggling. Here some articles and a video (the last link): http://vietnamnet.vn/vn/thoi-su/sung-sot...92540.html https://vnexpress.net/tin-tuc/thoi-su/ho...08596.html http://dantri.com.vn/video/dot-nhap-tran...-64409.htm (plz use the google translate, sorry for the inconvenience) And shameful again, they do it with the supported of several local officials as a highly-profitable-industry! Hopeless for Indochinese Tigers and all wild animals in Vietnam now I follow our forums several years and i heard you guy talked about Minh Ha (some topics of Kanha tigers), his full name is LÊ MINH HÀ, he's workin in Australia now, if you contact him (facebook) and ask him some questions about Vietnam Indochinese Tigers, so like i said before, he can tell you our sad story of tigers (Hell yeah, his English much better than me!) If our country've even only 1 real-tiger-reserve where the tigers had real-protections, real chance to live ---> so what do i do here in the topic of India-Tigers instead of going straight to the Vietnam-tigers?????? Simply no chance for VN tiger. God forgive our Vietnamese people, they dont know what they've done... I think you guys all know about the infomation that i provided above, just not something new, so i post here not the Indochinese Tigers topic. At last sorry all you guys for the sad news from VN. Bonus: once upon a time in Vietnam:  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author Story behind this image: http://www.ichiban1.org/html/stories/story_46_tiger.htm (04-13-2018, 08:04 PM)qstxyz Wrote:(04-13-2018, 12:47 AM)Wolverine Wrote: @qstxyz what is situation with tigers in Vietnam now? Any developments? Chaos does that to any country... It'll take time. Vietnam 's Protected area network too seems lacklustre compared to her neighbours'.  *This image is copyright of its original author But on the bright side, it still has most of its forests intact & comperatively low population. Being a long nation, if Laos & Cambodia makes a progress, Vietnam would probably get a share the fruits too... (04-13-2018, 10:05 PM)Rishi Wrote:(04-13-2018, 08:04 PM)qstxyz Wrote:(04-13-2018, 12:47 AM)Wolverine Wrote: @qstxyz what is situation with tigers in Vietnam now? Any developments? Yeah, sure about that. Because Vn Laos and Cambodia make the Indochina-area. Sometimes i thought about crazy idea that: link all the nature reserves of mainland ASEAN (Thailand, Myamar and the 3 countries of Indochina) like you guys did with Project Tiger in India ---> so tigers can travel and increase their biomass, but with all these chaos (security, black markets and the ignorance of people specially Vietnamese people) its just the wildest dreams, link for the wild animals will become the highway-for-the-poachers, what's ironically
PANTHERA TIGRIS ALTAICA - 3 - ON THE EFFECTS OF TOUGH CONDITIONS AND POACHERS
3a - Tough conditions Winters in the Russian Far East are long and severe. In contrast to many other animals, Amur tigers don't hibernate. This means they often face lean periods in winter. These periods can last for months. When a tiger is faced with a problem that affects its condition, there often will be consequences. At times they perish in the snow, but some also visit villages. Although they prefer sheds, anything is possible. In January of this year, an emaciated tigress knocked on the door of a house in a village. After the owner had made some calls, help arrived. The tigress was taken to a rehabilitation center, but they couldn't do what was needed because of her bad condition. Sedation was out of the question, but she did respond to extra food. Her future looks bleak, as she lost her canines. The newspaper report is from February 1, 2018. If you look carefully, you can find two pictures: http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/badly-injured-tiger-seeks-shelter-on-russian-mans-porch/ Here's a picture of the tigress:  *This image is copyright of its original author 3b - Poachers - Not too far from Chabarowsk, truckdrivers informed rangers about a tigress they saw on the road. The rangers found her close to the road a little later. As she could hardly move, it was decided to sedate her and move her to a rehabilitation centre near the coast. As she had been wounded by a bullit, surgery couldn't be avoided. Although in her prime (5-6 years of age), she'll need a few months to recover. This happened in late February of March of this year: https://en.crimerussia.com/gromkie-dela/wwf-another-endangered-amur-tiger-injured/ Here's the injured tigress:  *This image is copyright of its original author 3c - Effects I selected a few newspaper reports only. In the first, a tigress affected by old age or severe conditions featured. She most probably won't be released. In the second, a tigress targeted by a poacher featured. The poachers from the People's Republic of China most probably also shot a tiger. That's 3 Amur tigers in less than 3 months. There are many more reports. As there're 520-540 wild Amur tigers only (including about a 100 cubs), every individual counts. Every casualty has an effect. I wonder if Amur tigers (or their genes) know they still walk the edge. Here's something of interest. It's about the part on low genetic diversity and Amur tigers behaving as if there're only 27-35 of them left: https://www.davidchancellor.com/news/amur-tiger-russias-far-east/ 3d - A few videos To finish the post, a vimeo, two videos and a film. - Some of you might have seen this: https://vimeo.com/117797080 (2014, 10:07) - Here's a video of a large male recently seen in northeastern China: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEwnfTLDVT4 (03:20) - Interview with Pavel Fomenko: https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/06/150611-tigers-amur-siberian-animals-endangered-science-world/ (2015, 03:07) - 'Amur tiger. The path to the sacred mountain' (Moscow International Film Festival, 2016): http://amur-tiger.ru/en/projects/amurskiy_tigr_pyt_k_svyashennoy_gore/ (52:06) |
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