Land of the Leopard scientists are conducting snow track surveys of tigers and leopards in the national park. This is an efficient method of collecting information about the cats’ behaviour, diet and competitive interaction.

Scientists use snow tracking to study animals in the wild and record all types of their activity while on the move.

“Unlike photo monitoring, tracking provides detailed information on predators’ behaviour and movements. It also helps to identify their sex and age, as well as the physical state of their victims. On this basis, we can describe their hunting habits and compare data pertaining to tigers and leopards,” Dina Matyukhina, senior researcher at Land of the Leopard, says. “Preliminary results of years of tracking show that tigers prefer to hunt boars, as confirmed by the analysis of their faeces. Leopards more often hunt sika deer and roe deer. Also, we have not recorded a single case of a tiger engaging in a persistent and long chase after a leopard.”

So far, scientists have not recorded any negative impacts of tiger presence on Far Eastern leopard numbers. Tigers more often prowl in river valleys, whereas leopards prefer steep cliffs and rocks.

The tiger and leopard populations are growing simultaneously in the national park. According to specialists, this proves that competition causes no harm to spotted predators.