The indigenous Udege people of the Russian Far East know the tiger as "Amba" meaning "great sovereign," and they believe the tiger to be guardian of the forest's ginseng, a powerful medicinal plant. They revere Amba and peacefuly share the forest.
Tigers have the reputation of being man-eaters! This is not true of Siberian tigers! They are very shy and are actually afraid of man. It is the lucky hiker who actually catches a glimpse of a Siberian tiger while walking in the forest. Tigers will usually run away from people.
Some people think that Siberian tigers are white because they live in the snow. But that is not true. Siberian tigers are orange with black stripes. White tigers are a genetic rarity that occurs in India.
Tigers are the only wild cats that have stripes. These stripes help camouflage the tiger, making it hard for people or other animals to see them in the forest, and making it easier for the tiger to get very close to the animals it is stalking for food.
The Siberian tiger is an endangered sub-species. It is estimated that there are no more than 300 left in the wild. There are many more in captivity than there are roaming free.
Historically, eight closely related sub-species of tigers lived extensively in Russia, China, Korea, Southeast Asia, India, and Nepal. Presently, only five sub-species remain and are found primarily in tropical environments in Southeast Asia, India, and Nepal. Siberian tigers, the largest of the sub-species and the largest cats in the world, are found only in the Russian Far East and Northeast China.
Siberian tigers differ form other tigers in a number of ways. Most importantly, they are the only tigers that live in cold weather. They live in the "taiga" or boreal forests of the Russian Far East where winter temperatures often fall below zero degrees. To help keep warm, their light yellow hair coat is long and thick, and their feet are heavily furred to help them walk on the snow. Tigers that live in warmer climates have darker, much thinner hair coats.
It is believed that the ancestors of all tigers originated in Central Asia, not far from the present distribution of Siberian tigers. From there, they divided into present day sub-species and migrated over time to more tropical settings.
Tiers are the only cats found in the wild that have stripes. Although they share a number of behaviors with our own domestic cats, tigers cannot purr. They can only roar.
The Siberian Tiger Project
The Siberian Tiger Project (tm) is a joint effort by scientists from the United States and Russia, developed and directed by the Homocker Wildlife Research Institute (HWR) in the United States. It is an intense study of the ecology and conservation needs of the Siberian Tiger in the Russian Far East.
The project works directly with Russian Zapovednik (national park system) scientists, with the goal of utilizing the scientific information to help save the tigers from extinction. Tigers are very secretive, so to gather the information needed a technique called radio-telemetry is used. Scientists capture and tranquilize tigers, fit them with special "radio-transmitter" collars, then release them back into the forest. The scientists then spend years following each individual tiger's radio signal, learning everything they can about them.
The first capture of a Siberian tiger in the wild was in February, 1992. Workers put a radio collar on Tiger #1, nicknamed "Olga", and they have been following her since by tracking the signal from the transmitter in her collar. In addition to Olga, they have captured and radio-colllared 11 other tigers. Two of these have died, and one of the radio-collars has stopped working, but the other 8 are giving valuable information that is necessary to help save this magnificent animal.
The Homocker Wildlife Research Institute was established in 1985 by Dr. Maurice Homocker. The Institute is designed to conduct intensive, long-term research with special emphasis on threatened and endangered species and their wild environments. It is dedicated to the idea that good wildlife conservation is based on solid, scientifically collected research information. Most of the time radio-telemetry techniques are used to gather scientific information. This information, if applied correctly, can make a lasting contribution to the knowledge of the natural world around us.
Friends of Princeton Lacrosse is a proud sponsor of the Siberian Tiger Project. To join and for further information, contact:
Homocker Wildlife Research Institute, Inc.
P. O. Box 3246
Moscow, ID 83843
(203) 255-1112
