THE AMUR TIGER PROGRAMME

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The programme to research the Amur tiger in Russia’s Far East is an independent project which is carried out as part of the research being done by the expedition of the Russian Academy of Sciences on animals that have been placed on the Russian Federation’s Red List of Threatened Species and other particularly important species of animals in Russia

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The Amur Tiger Programme aims to develop a scientific platform for the conservation of Amur tigers living in Russia’s Far East

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The programme’s objective is to study the distribution range of Amur tiger populations and the number and migration routes of these big cats in Russia

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Scientists are researching the tigers’ reproductive biology, habitat, feeding patterns and food resources

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In order to gain a more detailed insight into the tigers’ ability to adapt to the modern environment, scientists need to research their habitat structure and analyse the long-term dynamics of forest ecosystems in Russia’s Far East

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One of the programme’s objectives is to research the populations of the tigers’ main rivals and the specifics and the implications of inter-population interaction between two species of big cats, namely, the Amur tiger and the Far Eastern leopard

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In the near future, scientists plan to set up a state-run information centre to collect all the information about the condition of tiger populations and other rare species of animals

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The Amur tiger is the largest member of a subspecies of tigers. It can be as long as two metres. The adult tiger usually weighs up to 300 kilogrammes

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The tiger’s coat is beautifully coloured: it has dark horizontal stripes against an orange-brown background on its back and both sides. It is commonly believed that the striped pattern is unique for each tiger

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The tiger is a top carnivore in the food chain living in a unique ecosystem, the Ussuri taiga. The condition of tiger populations is an indicator of the state of the environment in the entire Far East

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The tigers greet one another with special sounds that they make by vigorously exhaling air through the nose and mouth

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Friendly behavior for the tigers may also be marked by the animals touching their heads or faces or rubbing their sides

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Tigers are polygamous: one male tiger can have one to three females living with it on its territory. The appearance of a rival on its territory may end in fighting

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The tiger is a solitary territorial predator, which is typical for the majority of big cats. The adult tiger usually stays within a particular range of land which it guards from intruders

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The Amur tiger is a predator who feeds exclusively on animals, primarily larger prey

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The tiger is a quiet animal. Some zoologists who have studied the animal for many years have not heard the tiger roar even once

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When contended, the tiger purrs like an ordinary house cat

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If the tiger is irritated, it growls hoarsely; when it is angry, it makes a characteristic “cough”

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Tigers spend most of the time hunting as only one in ten attempts to catch prey is successful

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Amur tigers not only hunt but also catch fish: they catch fish in the shallow waters of highland rivers during spawning season

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The tiger can eat up to 30 kilogrammes of food in one sitting and its daily ration is nine to ten kilogrammes of meat

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The tiger marks its territory in a special way. It usually does this with scent marks: the tiger splashes urine on trees or rocks. Sometimes it scratches the ground in places that it has marked

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When food is plentiful, tigers quickly get fat, with their hypodermic fat often growing five or six centimetres thick. Because of this, tigers can easily go without food for a week and even more between successful hunts

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The tiger scratches bark on trees with the claws of its front paws: such scratches can be found two to two and a half metres above the ground and are indicative of the size of the animal that has left them