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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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 (12-03-2017, 05:08 PM)Roflcopters Wrote: I got it from Game Animals of the past and present facebook page. feel free to correct them. Greatearth is new and struggles with a few things at times, Copters. His English is quite a bit better than it was, but things still can go wrong. No bad intentions. As to your post on the Korean tiger. You posted a link to an article about tigers in Korea. A long read, but very interesting. Recommended. Many thanks.  
According Peter's recommendation the text is moved here.
Last month an Amur tigress has killed a man gathering a pine cones in the forest: https://ria.ru/incidents/20171129/1509823947.html "IN THE REGION OF HABAROVSK WAS CAPTURED A MANEATING TIGRESS 29 November 2017. RIA news The tigress who has killed a man gathering pine cones was hunted down and captured in Habarovsk region Wednesday night, she was tranquilized and sent to rehabilitation centre inform regional Ministry of natural resources. The body of the pine cone's gatherer was found 30th October in the aria of Bikin. It got clear that the man had not an weapon with himself and he was attacked by "young 2-3 years old tiger". Enquiry was started and the government gave a green light the carnivore to be captured and studied. In the night of 29the November an operative unit of Ministry of natural resourses hunted down a tigress who has killed a citizen of village Boitcovo. Temporary tranquilised animal will be send to rehabilitation centre "Utjos". All necessary bio-samples will be directed for veterinary expertize. Decision should be taken by the Ministry about further fate of the tigress - to be placed in zoo or not." (12-04-2017, 09:22 AM)peter Wrote: [quote pid='47834' dateline='1512204110'] [/quote] Maybe @Diamir2? He is good in computers and probably could be able to enter or "hack" the databases of those museums. (12-04-2017, 10:00 PM)Wolverine Wrote:(12-04-2017, 09:22 AM)peter Wrote: [quote pid='47834' dateline='1512204110'] Maybe @Diamir2? He is good in computers and probably could be able to enter or "hack" the databases of those museums. [/quote] WOLVERINE Excellent idea. As your Russian seems excellent, I would appreciate if you could contact him on my behalf. In order to be clear. What I want is an opportunity to measure and photograph skulls of Amur tigers, Ussuri brown bears and Ussuri wild boars in natural hisatory museums in the Russian Far East. Amur tigers first and foremost. I got my own stuff (referring to scales) and I will sent a copy of the paper I will produce after I finished. Would be the first of its kind regarding skulls of wild Amur tigers. I could add another one on skulls of captive Amur tigers. I need two things. One is proper accomodation close to the museum and two is an assistent to help me out regarding the language. He or she also needs to photograph the skulls from 5 angles. As to the time needed. It depends on the number of skulls and the amount of help. If things go well, I'll do 10-20 skulls a day. I don't work for an organisation. I'm on my own all the way, meaning I don't get paid. Zilch. As to experience. I'm not a biologist, but have a degree in geography. Dr. P van Bree told me how to measure skulls of big cats. When I was in Stuttgart, Dr. Mörike, now retired, told me a few things I much appreciated as well. I've measured and photographed about 400 skulls of big cats (natural history museums and private collections). So far, I didn't publish. In the near future, however, I'll do a series on tigers with Tigerluver. Papers, that is. WildFact Publications. All returns will be invested in the forum.
@Diamir2 , do you have an idea where in Russia is the largest collection of wild Amur's tiger skulls - Habarovsk, Vladivostok, Moscow or St. Petersburg? What is the name of the museum (collection)?
Диамир, можеш сказать Питеру где, в каком городе в России находится крупнейшая коллекция черепов амурских тигров? Как называется этоть музей (коллекция)? Думаеш ли что ему разрешат зайти там и сделат замеры черепов? Спасибо. 
Exerpts from India Today e-magazine..
If the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is to be believed, then the next tiger census due in 2018 is set to show a "significant rise". HIGHLIGHTS
 *This image is copyright of its original author For many tiger lovers wandering across India's 50-odd Tiger Reserves, to get a glimpse of the majestic big cats without success, there is good news. Next opening of the park gates may bring to you a louder roar of the felines. If the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the apex body formulating policies for the conservation of big cats, is to be believed, then the next tiger census due in 2018 is set to show a "significant rise". The last census done in 2014 put the tiger number at 2,226 and this is set to touch 2,600 or more by the 2018 tigers census, says NTCA chief Dr Debabrata Swain. "Going by the estimated annual growth of 6-7 per cent of tigers being added to current population and the same being corroborated by the ongoing field census by our experts and scientists on ground," says Dr Swain, who is also the additional director general of Project Tiger. A top NTCA insider explained the encouraging trend. "We conduct the phase 4 exercise towards the end of every census done once in four years, the last was done in 2014. We have fairly good scientific and tech-enabled evidence gathered from the ongoing study, which started in October 2016, showing a possible significant rise in tiger population and there are certain reserves showing proof of 'sizeable big cats population' by next census due in 2018. The official, requesting anonymity, told Mail Today, "While the Nagarhole, Bandipore and Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) reserves in Karnataka throw ample evidence of many being added to current numbers, some significant rise is expected from Manas in Assam and Pench in Madhya Pradesh. While Pench, which had about 40 tigers at last count will show up 50-odd and in Manas, where it was about 13-14, will show at least 22 to 23, or more by then.'' Maharashtra, for instance, which counted about 190 tigers last will cross 220 in the next census. The NTCA study to complete the census is still on and that is why the estimates at Corbett, Kanha and Bandhavgarh, all very popular in the itinerary of tiger lovers, cannot be made. However, NTCA members say that these reserves will also see rise in numbers. Ranthambhore with almost 65 tigers is at an all time high in its history and Kaziranga has been replaced by Orang as "the reserve with highest tiger density in the world" with a whopping 35.44 tigers per 100 square kilometres. The tiger numbers will also get a boost by artificial reintroduction, with NTCA moving ahead with repeating the success of Panna and Sariska national parks, in at least four national parks - Buxa in West Bengal, Mukundra Hills in Rajasthan, western Part of Rajasthan in Rajaji National Park and Satkosia in Odisha. "We left female and male tigers in the ratio of 3:2 and 5:3 in Sariska and Panna and today we have 14 tigers in Sariska and about 42 in Panna. Both these tiger reserves have shown 'zero' in the census. Now we are going ahead with Buxa in West Bengal first, for which the plan is ready and we will get 2 males and 3 females from Assam's Orang reserve, which has currently the highest density of tigers. We have also finalised for the western part of Rajaji Park, where we also plan to leave tigers in same ratio to breed and add more big cats there. We have about 25 to 30 tigers in the eastern side of Rajaji, but their movement gets obstructed due to Haridwar city in between and disturbances caused by railway line cutting through the two sides," the NTCA officer said. The plan is also to breed tigers in Palamu Tiger Reserve in Jharkhand, newly liberated from Naxal insurgency, where currently there are only about 5 tigers left. However, more big cats also mean more human-tiger conflicts and the latter's killing by villagers and poachers. "Indian tiger reserves cannot hold beyond 3,000 tigers, there have been 59 deaths this year alone and nearly 122 deaths in 2016. Only a few die a natural death, we need to think in future for our big cats," Dr Swain concluded. 
Korean Tigers Exterminated by Japanese
Japanese Man Tells the Tale of Its Extinction in His Book  *This image is copyright of its original author A hunter sits on the dead body of one of the last remaining Korean tigers captured and killed by the Japanese colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula while a group of villagers look on. The tiger is a symbolic animal for Korean folks as the magnificent animal appears in the tale of the Dangun Legend together with a bear. Throughout the centuries Koreans both feared and revered the top predator as the most propitious animal along with the legendary animal of the dragon. It was used as the symbolic emblem of the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics. Tigers still are widely favored as the most symbolic animal for most Koreans. But, sadly it is not clearly know when the tigers became extinct in this land of tigers where the big wile cats roamed by the hundreds freely for hundreds or perhaps thousands of years. Not many Koreans know of when and how the Korean tigers disappeared from the Korean Peninsular at least from South Korea.  *This image is copyright of its original author A Japanese hunter poses for a camera with the last Korean tiger he killed on Mt. Daedeok in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, S. Korea in 1921. It is none other than a Japanese man Mr. Endo Kimio (遠藤公男) who traced the last remnants of the disappearing tigers on the Korean Peninsula. The honorary chairman of the Japanese Wild Birds Association (野鳥會) kept track of the Korean tigers for the last 20 years before he came up with his own book titled "Why Korean Tigers Disappeared?" released in 2009 by Adam Books. In the foreword of his book he made a sincerely apology to Korean folks for the mass killing of the Korean tigers by the Japanese hunters and explorers at the turn of the century and thereafter. "Behind the extinction of Korean tigers are terrible violence and ruthlessness of the Imperial Japanese," he wrote at the start of his volume. "I just want to apology to the Koreans" His book, first released in 1986, tells the tale of Korea's last tigers captured in 1908 in Mt. Bulgap in Yeonggwang in South Jeolla Province and one captured in the same year in Mokpo in the same province. The one caught in Mokpo still remain as a stuffed animal at Yudal Elementary School in port city of Mokpo after undergoing the process of taxidermy. It is the only remailing stuffed tiger in the entire nation. Mr. Endo Kimio also tells of the last Korean tiger captured on Mt. Daedeok in Gyeongju in 1921.  *This image is copyright of its original author Korean Tiger Captured on Jindo Island — Hunters pose in front of the Korean tiger captured by them on the island of Jindo, South Jeolla Province, South Korea. The photo was taken around 1903. Unlike people's conception that the tigers were living in the wooded mountainous areas a number of Korean tigers preferred to live in the swamp areas of Korea's southern provinces including islands for easy preys like water deers. He rummaged through the old documents at Seoul National University library and other libraries to explain about the captures of tigers during the Japanese colonial period of between 1910 and 1945. According to him, the last Korean tiger, subspecies of Siberian or Amur tigers, was shot dead on Mt. Daedeok in Gyeongju in October of 1921. He even met in person and interviewed a villager Kim Yu-Geun who was injured by the tiger and later died of the wounds. He narrates in his book that the villager Kim and a couple of other villagers went to the mountain to make wood just before Chuseok Holidays. The tiger attached Kim on the front and the A-frame on his back saved him from the tiger attack. At the time a Japanese aristocrat from Imperial Japanese Household was touring the ancient city of Gyeongju and heard about the tiger attack.  *This image is copyright of its original author A Japanese official and his Korean aide (hunter) pose in front of the two tigers they captured in 1917, the year Japanese wiped out all the big cats and other wild animals on the Korean Peninsula. He mobilized hundreds of villagers as the tiger chasers and trackers before he and two hired hunters killed the tiger on the ridge of the mountain. The tiger weighed 153 kg and was 2.5 meters. The tiger skin was sent to the Japanese Imperial Family as a gift. To kill the last remaining tiger he had to ask Japanese policemen to join the tiger hunting. According to Mr. Endo Kimio's book during the period hundreds or thousands of wild animals were hunted down or killed every year by the Japanese on the excuse of protecting people from the wild beasts. In one year a total of 24 tigers, 24 leopards, 236 bears, and 228 wolves were hunted down on the Korean Peninsula by the Japanese colonialists. The stuffed tiger at Yudal school was caught by the villagers in 1908. They killed the tiger in trap with bamboo spears before they sold it to a wealthy Japanese merchant who later donated it to the school. For the mass killing of Korean wild animals tends of thousands chasers and trackers were mobilized by the Japanese particularly during the years of 1910s and 1920s. A old Korean record shows that a total of eight Koreans were attacked and killed by the tigers in 1915 alone. This represents how many wild tigers were roaming on the Korean Peninsula, once called the land of tigers.  *This image is copyright of its original author This majestic work of Korean folk art depicts a tiger with a magpie under the old pine tree. Traditionally tigers were revered by Koreans as the propitious animal that brings good luck like magpies in Korean folk tales. The Japanese colonialists came up with a pan-national campaign of killing dangerous animals which was used as an excuse for driving the Korean tigers and other big animals into extinction, experts argue. In 1915 alone 11 tigers, 41 leopards, 261 bears, and 122 wolves were tracked down and killed by the Japanese rulers who mobilized thousands of police and military forces as well as tens of thousands of locaql hunters and chasers. In the following year 13 tigers, 95 leopards, 168 bears, and 106 wolves were wiped out by the Japanese. According to the Japanese Governor General's Office of Korea, a total of six tigers were captured in South Jeolla Province alone in 1924. During the early years of the colonial period, all the major big wild animals including Korean tigers were killed by the Japanese rulers by the hundreds every year. Eight more tigers and 103 more leopards were captured from 1933 and 1942. But it was only North Korea's mountainous areas including North Hamgyeong Province that the tigers and leopards were captured and killed from the period of 1933 and 1942, meaning most tigers were already wiped out from the southtern parts of the Korean Peninsula. What is interesting is that from 1936 and 1942 an occasional tales of tiger victims were reported still in South Korea's southern provinces. Now experts agree that the Korean tigers, the same spices as Amur or Siberian tigers, disappeared completely from the Korean Peninsular particularly from South Korea. "We cannot merely blame Japanese for the extinction of the Korean tigers," an expert argues. "But the Japanese dealt a fatal blow to the extinction of the Korea's most symbolic animals" http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/...?idx=13497 
@Kingtheropod :
About #1359: Once and now, japanese have never respected the wild life, and have always and mercilessly slaughtered it. Above all outside their territory. 
Interesting information @Kingtheropod, however I'm still not sure when tigers disappeared entirely from the Korean peninsula. I have read accounts from UN soldiers in the Korean War that they came across tigers.
 (12-10-2017, 06:20 PM)Richardrli Wrote: Interesting information @Kingtheropod, however I'm still not sure when tigers disappeared entirely from the Korean peninsula. I have read accounts from UN soldiers in the Korean War that they came across tigers. Can you show them to us? (12-10-2017, 12:30 PM)Kingtheropod Wrote: In 1915 alone 11 tigers, 41 leopards, 261 bears, and 122 wolves were tracked down and killed by the Japanese rulers who mobilized thousands of police and military forces as well as tens of thousands of local hunters and chasers. One of such stories showing Japanese military hunting Korean tigers is shown in this Korean movie: https://bmovies.is/film/the-tiger-an-old-hunters-tale.2o19l/jzovw4 There is a lot of fantasy and fiction in the movie, it's gloomy-darkish, but in same is quite interesting, a real achievement of the todays Korean cinema. The movie is called "The Tiger. An Old Hunter's Tale" (2015), 2,20 hrs long. It starts with a scene when a experienced Korean trapper at the beginning of last century hunts a tigress in the mountains of Korea with a very primitive rifle with front loading bullets, a really deadly job in those old days. The movie is recommendable for guys specially interested in Amur tigers. 
About tiger subspecies
1. I have seen some people are in wildfact often saying the Siberian tiger and the Caspian tiger are the same subspecies by mentioning a story of their range maps were connected for a 10000 years or something. However, we don’t really know if this was true after human civilization. It is just a hypothesis after studying some genetic and bones. Unlike other Asian cultures, tiger is not even appearing in culture of Mongolia and native people in Central Asia. Where is absolute evidence of the Siberian/Caspian tiger actually lived together in Central Asia or Siberia after the Quaternary extinction event by just studying their genetic. It might have been a few tigers did across the range map of the Siberian tiger and Caspian tiger. However, It is impossible to know it unless there was a time machine. Even if their range map was connected from each other. There was no way that the Siberian tiger in Southern Korea/Russian Far east and the Caspian tiger in Caucasian mountain area had the same gene to view them as a single subspecies. The Korean tiger and Caspian tiger in Caucasian mountain and Iran had a different gene pool. Distance of Korea and Sikhote-Alinto to Caspian Sea are even further distance than Manchuria to Bengal tiger in India or Malaysian tiger in Malaysia/Singapore. There is no way that the Caspian tiger in westernmost area and the Siberian tiger in southern Korea and Russian Far East could had the same gene to distinguish as the same subspecies. The Siberian tiger in Great Khingan mountains or Lake Baikal areas were probably genetically closer to the Caspian tiger lived in Lake Balkhash and northwards into the southern Altai Mountains, and to southeastern Transbaikal or Western Siberia in the east. So how to define “subspecies”? I do not know the answer. This is what biologists are still debating on "how to define subspecies." I remember my professors were mentioning this story when I was studying genomics and biogeography. 2. About Mainland Asian tiger and Sunda Island tiger subspecies. The Snow leopard is discovered as a 3 subspecies this year. Their range map is smaller than mainland Asian tiger and mainland Asian tiger is single subspecies? There must have been a huge error while analyzing DNA. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28498961 3. The only reason I am so against with this was because of what happened in Korean zoo. South Korea had a pure breed Korean tigers from North Korea. They were captured alive in North Korea in 1991 (I don't remember what year it was and they are already dead now). Today, Korea also have another a pure breed Siberian tiger pair from Russia. Russian president Vladimir Putin gave them as a gift for celebrating Russia–South Korea relations anniversary in 2011. I actually seen their photo before. Yes, the Siberian tigers from North Korea and the Siberian tigers from Russia were a lot different from each other. Korean tiger was not even fluffy or furry compared to the Siberian tigers came from Russia. However, there was a huge problem. The Siberian tigers in the Seoul zoo during 1980s were came from Minnesota zoo or Minnesota Saint Paul Zoo. This stupid zoo in Minnesota actually sent a hybrid of Siberian-Bengal tiger and they lied that these were a pure breed Siberian tiger. This is why one of their offspring was a white tiger. They crossbreed with pure Korean tiger from North Korea. Another problem was that this white tiger was actually sent it to the North Korea. It was probably cross breed with other pure breed Siberin tiger in zoo in North Korean. And some of the Siberian tiger descents in Seoul zoo were sent it to Japan. I don't know if Japanese zoo prevented hybridization. So there is no more distinct Korean tiger which was different from Siberian tiger from Russian Far East. This is why I am strongly against with defining tiger subspecies as 2. And I don’t know why zoo in Minnesota is still involving to researching tiger in Asia. This zoo should not involve to work with wild tiger for their crime. They should just donate money to researching and conserving tiger for ruining the last remaining Korean tiger. I am 100% sure that zoo would crossbreed mainland Asian tiger subspecies and reintroducing them into wild if tiger subspecies are 2. Thus, I believe it is better to distinguish tiger subspecies as 9 unless there was a law to never crossbreed different mainland Asian tiger subspecies in zoo.
1. About the post, article, and newspaper from Kingtheropod and Roflcopters
That newspaper website is no t mentioning entire correct information about the Siberian tiger lived in Korea. I discovered I find bunch of different and wrong information in each blogs and news while I was writing paper of the Korean tiger. Even each of newspapers are mentioning different story of the Korean tiger. It is the same for article posted from Roflcopters. Yongwoo Lee is a professor of the New York University. He is not a Biology professor after I searched his name. Looks like he is something like East Asian Studies Department. No one knows what was the last wild tiger in Korea. However, the most accurate information of the last South Korean tiger was 1924. There were still more records of the tigers in Korea after 1924, but it is impossible to know if it was true. I did read something like a blue tiger was observed by American solider during the Korean War. I don’t know if this story was true, but tiger still survived in North Korea until 2000s. Tiger family was captured alive in North Korea in 1990s just like I mentioned story of zoo in Minnesota ruined it. 2. I absolutely agree with Spalea. Japanese genocide other Asians just like German Nazis genocide other Europeans. Many Russian, American, and Dutch in Asia and Pacific islands were also genocide by jap during World War 2. What can you expect from japanese? They won’t care about wildlife and animal. Today, Japan is very infamous for killing endangered whale. A thing was that Japan was also influenced from Chinese culture. Korea and China educated Japanese for a thousands years. We taught japanese how to build, medical, clothes, and random things for them to survive. Japanese also believed eating tiger would make you stronger in a past just like chinese and vietnamese are still believing today. This is also mentioning in Barclay’s book when he visited in Korea. As Peter mentioned, Manchuria was covered with immense forest 100 years ago. It was a home of many amazing animals like gigantic Manchurian tiger. However, this place was one of dangerous battle ground. Korea and Russia always had a good relationship throughout history. Korea always defeated China every time chinese dynasties invaded Korea (Manchuria was actually part of Korea land until 926 AD), but we were usually good friend. Russia and China always fought each other throughout history and they were the enemy during the cold war. Russia and china are doing good today because of USA. But I don't know what would happen to these 2 countries if USA is going down since Russia and China are still keeping an eye against each other. While japan is always causing conflicts with Russia, Korea, and China. Japan is a loner of these area. Especially, China and Japan are the worst enemy ever. That is why japan is doing anything for USA since they are afraid of china is growing so much faster and stronger today. It means Manchuria was a "ground zero" throughout the history after Russia came to northeastern Asia in 18th century. It was a place that wildlife could be easily eliminated by war after technology revolution. That is what actually happened during last century by war, development, habitat loss, and human population growth. I think building railroad by Japanese and Chinese caused huge negative impact to destroy wildlife 100 years ago. That is why Siberian tiger in Manchuria was dangerous to human due to habitat loss and war. Example like local Chinese and native of Manchuria tied criminals on the tree since they were terrified of tiger from Peter's story. I also think I read something like the Manchurian tiger actually distinguished human. They didn’t hunt native (there are many different tribes in Manchuria and Russian Far East) and European traveller, but they did hunt Korean, Chinese, railroad worker, and hunter. However, I think Korean tiger was different. I remember I read a basic summary of western miners were afraid of walking at night in Korea due to tiger. Each provinces of Korea have a folktales of tiger attacks. The Siberian tiger in Korea was always have been dangerous to any sort of humans and they probably did not generalize any human. In Korea, habitat loss and lack of prey animal were extremely terrible during the japanese occupation. It was impossible for large mammalian carnivores to survive in small Korean peninsula. If japanese just wiped out the the Siberian tiger, the Amur leopard, the brown bear, moon bears, the grey wolf, and the Siberian lynx along with human. Then they were better. Unfortunately, they even destroyed marine environment of northeastern Asia. The biggest Zalophus (sea lion) was also lived in Korea. Korean calling them Dokdo sea lion, but entire world is calling them as japanese sea lion even though japanese wiped them out. The biggest specimen of Dokdo sea lion was a male lived in 1920s ~ 1930s killed by japanese. He was something like 2.9 m long, 310 cm over chest, and more than 700 kg. The biggest Zalophus ever lived far as known. Many different livestock breed of like cow and dog breed were also slaughtered by jap for food and fur. I think Korean biologists are trying to restored them. But it is impossible for the Korean tiger, Korean leopard, grey wolf, and Dokdo sea lion. This is why great United States deserved huge respect for dropped atomic bombs and educated japanese. And it wasn’t just Japanese. Western European countries like british, french, german, and American also destroyed tremendous wildlife in all over the world during 1800s to 1900s. I don’t know how many of poor Bengal tigers in India were murdered by British during British empire. My Indian friend told me British over hunted prey animals like a deer and gaur. That is why there were many man eating tiger in India during that time along with human population growth in India and development in India. We have more serious problem today. The most dangerous problem is overpopulation. My professor is doing research in Indonesia and Malaysia. He told me Indonesia doesn’t control birth due to islam religion. Burning rainforest for palm oil is very famous. Human population growth and burning forest were exactly what happened in Korea since 500 years ago. The Sumatran tiger and other animals of Indonesia are exactly facing what happened in Korea. It is the same for Central and South America country due to their Catholic religion. We all know situation of Africa. One of my professor emeritus in my university (He is like 70s years old and well known great biologist), he said he could still remember how much humans were destroyed the Earth from his memory of travelling during 1970s to 2010s by airplane. The UNICEF estimates that an average of 353,000 babies are born each day around the world. Human is increasing and keep invading animal’s habitat. How should we save animal and nature unless the Earth was big as Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune? I will write more details on the Korean tiger in the future. I don’t have time these days. Greetings to all. |
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