Scientific Name: Panthera tigris altaica

Habitat: Boreal forest

Location: Far eastern Asia

Population: 360 to 406 individuals
Background
Amur Tiger

The Amur tiger, the world’s largest cat, appears to be making a comeback.
© WWF-Canon / Hartmut Jungiu

In the 1940s the Amur tiger was on the brink of extinction, with no more than 40 tigers remaining in the wild. Thanks to vigorous antipoaching and other conservation efforts by the Russians with support from many partners, including WWF, the Amur tiger population recovered and has remained stable throughout the last decade or so.

But poaching of tigers and its prey, increased logging and construction of roads, forest fires and inadequate law enforcement are threats that affect the survival of the species.

WWF, in partnership with Russian authorities and other NGOs, is helping establish an ecological network of protected areas to secure well-connected habitat for the Amur tiger, funds antipoaching patrols in the Russian Far East and supports an ungulate recovery program. WWF is collaborating with the Russian authorities and other partners in the recent survey of Amur tigers.
Physical Description

A typical male Amur tiger, the largest of the tiger subspecies, may weigh more than 500 pounds and measure nearly nine feet from nose to tip of the tail.

Size
Individuals weigh between 400 and 600 pounds.

Color
The upper part of the animal ranges from reddish orange to ochre, and the under parts are whitish. The body has a series of black striations of black to dark grey color.
Habitat

Major habitat type
Boreal forest

Biogeographic realm
Palearctic

Range States
China, North Korea, Russia

Geographical Location
Far eastern Asia

Ecological Region
Russian Far East Broadleaf and Conifer Forests

My life’s mission, religion, passion and all the work that I do is associated with wild tigers, even my home is around tiger habitat and my companions are animals that live in tiger country, in short my profession is Tiger conservation.
I was born in a small Indian village, education brought me to the big cities, always loved animals as well as the natural sciences and my first professional education began in a prime medical college at New Delhi , India . This formal education lasted only but two years as my passion & involvement for wildlife conservation soon took over.
My first big job when I was in my twenties moved me to Kanha and then Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserves as a head of a conservation project funded by CIDA & implemented by WCWC, time flew and the project was completed in 1999. I needed monies to run conservation projects and luckily in late 1999 I was invited to the Netherlands by Artists for Nature Foundation (ANF International) to give a few field lectures on tiger conservation & their habitat on the occasion of their book release “Tigers”. This resulted in my appointment as Director of ANF, India for tiger conservation.
11 years ago when I came to Bandhavgarh & Kanha passion forced me to observe tigers in their natural habitat and go into the forest. It was expensive. I needed funds to continue my work with local communities living around tiger reserves and tiger habitat conservation. I began guiding visitors into the parks and within two years I was thrilled to be guiding Discovery, BBC and their famous professionals into tiger country. Today, thanks to my exchanges with these professionals, well know conservationists, well wishers and the local villagers I act as a common point/catalyst in their interaction with tigers and the related conservation efforts. Being given the status of a NGI (Non Government Individual) of Bandhavgarh NP in the year 2000 has no doubt helped this process and I now spend most of my time in conserving the great cat and its habitat. Photographing the majestic and graceful Royal Bengal’s has always been an obsession and I do hope some of my images will help create an impression amongst others so that they come forward and help protect these charismatic animals in their natural habitat.

I would like to convey a very special thanks to all my guests, conservation professionals, photographers and film crew members that I have worked with. In these interactions I have been able to exchange views on tiger conservation with a global audience. All of them have helped me stay in touch with Tigers for the last eleven years and has helped me build my resolve to stay with them for the rest of my life.
The opportunities I have had to witness wild tigers at close quarters have been a very humbling experience, this has lead to an unshakable resolve – I must continue to research, observe, photograph and help conserve the Royal Bengal.
I promise to my experiences with you with same excitement, passion and commitment.
On 4 th May, 2006 while photographing a mother and her four cubs I fell from an elephant and experienced my closest encounter with 5 tigers. For a photo essay on the encounter, click on ‘encounters with tigers’ at www.tigergallery.org.