Amur Tiger Father Leads Family Through Snow

First Ever Photos of Adult Male Amur Tiger with Family

A camera trap placed in the bitterly cold Russian forest snapped images of tigers. At first this might not sound so unusual, but captured on the camera were images of an adult male Amur tiger leading what is thought to be his family, a female and three cubs, through the snow. These images  are the first ever documenting a father Amur tiger with a mother and cubs.

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Russia Program, in partnership with the Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve and Udegeiskaya Legenda National Park, released the camera trap slideshow of the family of Amur tigers in the wild showing an adult male with family.  Scientists note this is a first in terms of photographing this behavior, as adult male tigers are usually solitary.  The series of images show the entire family as they walked past the  camera trap over a period of two minutes.

According to Dale Miquelle, the Russia Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS),George Schaller documented Bengal tiger familial groups of Bengal tiger as early as the 1960’s but these images are the first time this behavior has been photographed for wild Amur tigers. These images allow a small vignette of social interactions of Amur tigers and a glimpse of life in the wild for these amazing secretive animals.

Hundreds of photos have been taken over the years, but this is the first time scientists have recorded a family together.  These images confirm that male Amur tigers do participate in family life, at least occasionally. The camera traps that took these remarkable images were set up by Svetlana Soutyrina, the Deputy Director for Scientific Programs at the Sikhote-Alin Bioshpere Reserve.

Rare Amur Tiger Family Captured on Camera  WCS

Amur Tiger Back From Brink of Extinction

In the mid-Twentieth Century, Amur tigers were on the brink of extinction with only an estimated 20 surviving in the wild.  Fear that the largest subspecies of tiger would follow the Javan, Bali and Caspian into extinction, conservationists began an aggressive plan to save the Amur tiger.  In 2005, scientists estimated 430-500 wild tigers in the Russian Far East forests with a few showing up in neighboring China.  Last month, tiger experts conducted another decadal survey to see how the tiger is faring and will publish their findings this summer.

The WCS Russia Program plays a critical role in monitoring tigers and their prey species in the Russian Far East and minimizing potential conflicts between tigers and human communities. WCS works to save tiger populations and their remaining habitat in nine range countries across Asia.

This program has been supported by the Liz Claiborne and Art Ortenberg Foundation, the Columbus Zoo Conservation Fund* the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Rhinoceros & Tiger Conservation Fund, the AZA Tiger Species Survival Plan’s Tiger Conservation Campaign, and the US Forest Service International Programs.

 The Tiniest Tiger’s Conservation Cub Club is a contributor to the Columbus Zoo Conservation Fund.