Amur Tiger Seeks Help from Humans
In the Russian Far East Primorye, a young Amur tiger left the forest with an illegal poachers trap grasping his paw. The weakened tiger was crying out from the pain as he entered the village. The tiger appeared to be asking for help as he walked from place to place and didn’t seem interested in returning to the forest.
Paw Caught in a Trap
Local hunters, came to the aid of the young male, thought to be about one year of age, by calling on the police and forest rangers for their assistance. The tiger was humanely captured and the trap was successfully removed from his paw. Local experts think the tiger accidentally got caught in a trap set for a much smaller animal. The lure of the bait in the trap was too hard for the tiger to resist.
Get Well Soon!
Veterinarians at the wildlife rehabilitation center in Usurisk, stated that the tiger sustained no serious injuries from the trap and will soon recover. In the meantime, he will remain at the center, until he will be returned to the forest.
We wish him well!
The Amur Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica)
The Amur Tiger is the largest subspecies, of the largest feline species on earth. This tiger subspecies, more commonly known as the Siberian tiger, once roamed throughout the entire Russian Far East, northeastern China and the entire Korean peninsula (Santagelo, 2005). Today, their diminished habitat starts at the Chinese border just southwest of Vladivostok and runs 600 miles north to the Amur River. To the east, the tiger runs the slopes of the Sikhote-Alin coastal mountain range, down to the Sea of Japan, and to the west until they reach the Ussuri River (Conniff, 2009).
Currently only 10% of the Amur tiger’s range is protected within the Sikhot-Alin Zapovednik. This reserve is located in the taiga forests of the Primorski and southern Khabarovski Krias, a region in the far east of the Russian Federation beside the Amur River basin in the Sikhote-Alin mountains. This is the home of the last genetically viable population of the Amur tiger in the wild (Santagelo, 2005).
Conniff, R. (2009). Can China Save the Amur Tiger? environment YALE , Fall.
Santagelo, J. (2005). Evading Extinction: A 21st Century Survey of the Legal Challenges to Wild Siberian Tiger Conservation. Journal of Animal Law , 1, 109-127.
I am SO glad the people called for help rather than going for an unnecessary kill!
What an interesting situation with what sounds like a positive resolution.
I am so glad they were able to help that tiger. I love tigers. They are so beautiful.
Thanks Gracey, I ALWAYS enjoy reading about your studies! 🙂