During the three spring months, experts will be processing data from the Amur tiger count, which was collected during the coordinated effort in February to measure the Amur tiger population and monitor it during the entire winter season.  Vladimir Aramilev, the programme’s research director and coordinator in the Lazo, Olgino and Kavalerovo districts, spoke with us about the tiger count and its expected results. Dr Aramilev holds a PhD in geography and is the chief research adviser at the Pacific Institute of Geography at the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Question: Vladimir, what is your role in this year’s tiger count? What does the research director do?

Vladimir Aramilev: The research director ensures that the guidelines related to the tiger count are followed. They were adopted by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources in 2005. I am also engaged in preparing instructions and information files for the tiger count, holding meetings and instructional seminars for coordinators and data collectors, and facilitating interaction between various services.

Question: You took part in the 2005 tiger count. What has changed since?

Vladimir Aramilev: In 2005, I worked as a coordinator, took part in the development of counting guidelines and prepared the subsequent publications. A lot has changed in 10 years in the hunting system in the south of the Russian Far East. Game reserves have become better stocked, most of them have significantly higher numbers of ungulates. Some positive changes have happened in the hunting oversight services of the Primorye and Khabarovsk territories and the Amur and Jewish autonomous regions. Thanks to intensive logging, the development of hunting tourism and recreation, there is now a well-maintained network of roads, which makes it possible to monitor a large part of the Amur tiger’s habitat.

Question: How do you think this year’s count went? Was it successful?

Vladimir Aramilev: For the first time ever, the effort to measure the Amur tiger population was supported by the state. The hunting oversight service led the count and coordinated hunting providers. The coordinators held seminars on how to collect data, and regional gamekeepers took an active part in them. Centralised funding made it possible to conduct the full range of work within the target timeframe.

Question: How did the count go in nature reserves and national parks?

Vladimir Aramilev: The Amur tiger monitoring has been conducted annually in nature reserves and national parks for many years. The personnel of protected natural areas is well trained and has all the necessary equipment. Moreover, the Ministry of Natural Resources has provided protected natural areas with additional funding. The count was conducted in full and according to schedule. We have installed motion-sensor cameras in almost all areas.

Question: Are there any results of the count yet?

Vladimir Aramilev: We are seeing a redistribution of the tigers in the entire area. The pine nut harvest has affected the movements of the tigers: they followed wild hogs who had moved around in the hard-to-reach parts of pine forests. Due to the deep snow and the rich food supplies, hogs had to move around less and so did the tigers.

Question: Are there any concrete numbers yet?

Vladimir Aramilev: No numbers yet; field data is currently being processed. The first stage consists of an expert estimate, that is, the processing of all journals, mapping the data, counting the number of tigers in an area using a certain algorithm. This painstaking work has been completed. Now, we are in the second, computerised stage. Data is being processed using a special computer programme. It is ready now, and currently the journal data is being digitised.

Question: What are your expectations for the count?

Vladimir Aramilev: It is too soon to make predictions yet. We are working hard to obtain verified data on the number and location of tigers in accordance with the guidelines approved by the ministry.

Question: How long have you been engaged in Amur tiger population research?

Vladimir Aramilev: Studying the Amur tiger does not only include the environment of the predator. To protect the species, we need to know its diet, habitat, and the human impact on it. I have been researching this for 33 years now.

Question: What, in your opinion, needs to be done to preserve the tiger population?

Vladimir Aramilev: For the long-term conservation of the Amur tiger population, it is necessary to increase the number of ungulates and maintain this number at the necessary level. This is only something that game reserves can do, and is almost impossible without state support. Also measures should be taken to preserve the habitat of the tiger. To this end, we need to develop a balanced programme for timber use and processing, which would provide for a large stock of forage for wood eating ungulates, and a good harvest of acorns and pine nuts for hogs and deer.

Question: Have any of the data collectors actually encountered a tiger in the taiga?

Vladimir Aramilev: One of them brought me a video of a freshly killed spotted deer. The collector’s ATV scared the tiger off. He did not see the tiger, but its paw prints and the deer’s blood were fresh.

Question: Have you seen a tiger in the wild?

Vladimir Aramilev: I’ve encountered tigers 16 times under various circumstances: sometimes I saw them from the car, sometimes while on foot, or when observing the animals on black alkaline soils. Once I lured a tiger that was hunting an elk during mating season. The tiger heard my call and even replied in a husky voice. When I turned on the flashlight, I saw him standing 20 metres from me. The light caused the tiger to quickly back up about 15 metres, and then he sauntered off.