Wild Conservation – A Houston Zoo Blog

We thought we would catch you up on the 6 living Tiger species over the next week so check back daily for a new Tiger Blog.

Siberian (Amur) Tiger, Panthera tigris altaica

Also known today as Amur Tigers, this species can be found in the Southeast corner of Russia in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range east of the Amur River. Their former range included northeastern China and the Korean Peninsula, and as far west as Mongolia. Amurs are the largest living species of Tiger weighing in between 500 and 600+ lbs.

Critically Endangered, this is a population in decline: It is believed that only 320-400 Amur Tigers exist today in the wild, mostly in Russia with perhaps 10-20 in China. There are close to 450 Amur Tigers in accreditated zoos today including North America’s Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquariua (EAZA)

In the early 1900′s, this population had dropped below 50 individuals as hunting (for sport as well as due to human-wildlife confilct) took a toll on this population until the 1940′s when the Soviet Union banned hunting of the species. Poaching still continues to this day due as Tiger’s are marketed for purported medicinal purposes.

For a more detailed account on this species:

1) http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/15956/0

2) http://www.savethetigerfund.org

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