About 300 tonnes of fodder, two times more than last year, will be procured for deer, roe deer and wild pigs in the Amur tiger habitats. The need for extra fodder stems from the poor yields of pine nuts and acorns in the majority of the habitats.

“We are aware that an ecological disaster like heavy snowfalls and a lack of food will inevitably have a negative impact on the population of hoofed animals. It's clear that, faced with such a critical situation, we won’t be able to save all of them, so the main task will be to save the breeding stock capable of giving birth to a new generation next year. What’s more, fodder will be distributed only among those keepers of hunting reserves, who conduct bio-technical work, and thus we will be helping them in their effort to increase the number of hoofed animals,” said Sergei Aramilev, director of the Primorye branch of the Amur Tiger Centre.

Fodder will be spread out only after the hunting season is over and under strict monitoring, including by veterinary experts. In addition, vaccination of wild pigs against classical swine fever will be carried out. “We are planning to vaccinate as many as 2,000 animals,” Mr Aramilev added.

The cost of the fodder will be covered by the Amur Tiger Centre and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in cooperation with the Primorye government.