March Upon the Snowfield

Here is Tatiana (Amur/Siberian tiger) at Jungle Cat World during a patrol around her snowy enclosure. It their native home in the Russian far east, tigers will traverse vast expanses of territories and home ranges, protecting them from intruders and securing mates and food resources. These territories can be up to 1000km2 (about 600 square miles) for males, which may overlap the home ranges of several females. One of the reasons for this is because prey is so scarce, given the limited solar inputs needed for plant growth; therefore, to have enough to eat, they have to have large areas that can support a sufficient prey base. In more southern areas like India, Thailand or Sumatra, there are higher densities of prey; thus, tigers have less land to traverse. This highlights the interconnectedness of all creatures in a given ecosystem and how much Siberian/Amur tigers have to patrol.

It is a tough life being a Siberian tiger!

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Tigers are the largest of the big cats and are exclusively found in Asia from India to Vietnam, from Indonesia to the Russian Far East. The tiger can be divided into 9 subspecies: 4 are currently critically endangered and 3 are already extinct. Though estimations of tiger populations only a few years ago was 5,500-6,000, today populations are likely closer to 3,500 and are still declining. Dramatic declines of the tiger in India, thought to host the majority of the world's tigers, have fallen to less than 1,411. Overall, the past decade has seen a 40% reduction in tiger habitat, which now represents a mere 7% of its historic range. Poaching is a significant problem throughout the tiger's range, the demand for its body parts in traditional medicines, tonics, and exotic dishes driving a lucrative trade that is wiping out entire populations. Long-term threats include habitat fragmentation and prey depletion, which is accelerating the tiger's demise and subsequently reducing the long-term genetic viability of many populations.

If you want to help, the best for you to do is to educate yourself ([link]), never buy products made from tigers or endangered species ([link]), and tell others. Contact me for more information.