For the first time in the past 50 years, forest service aerial observers have discovered the tracks of a tiger in Yakutia, Viktor Nikiforov, conservation director at the Tigrus Project, told TASS.

“Tiger tracks were found on the bank of the right tributary of the Aldan River. This is the southeastern part of Yakutia. For Yakutia, tiger visits are rare. A hundred years ago, a tiger entered the Ust-Maisky District, only to be hunted, stuffed and placed in a museum in Yakutsk,” Nikiforov said.

He also noted that it is difficult for a tiger to settle in this region of Yakutia, since there are no deciduous forests and wild boars, which make up a significant part of the tiger's diet. However, the fact that tigers are exploring their ancestral hunting grounds suggests that the number of the northernmost tigers is not a cause for concern.

“If the population was in decline, then tigers would not go for walks in neighbouring regions,” Nikiforov explained. He recalled that there are over 600 tigers in the Russian Far East.

According to the expert, the tiger entered Yakutia as a result of the Northern Tiger project in the Khabarovsk Territory.