Tuesday, May 30 2023
All Cities
Choose Your City
'What has enabled Russia to rise among the great powers of the world…has been the conquest of Siberia'
W.Bruce Lincoln

Tigress who came out of the woods to seek help can be a pet who escaped owners or was thrown out

By Svetlana Skarbo, Olga Gertcyk
27 May 2020

The rare predator was caught after weeks of wandering into a village in Russian Far East.

The rescued Amur tiger cub is 9 to 10 months old. Picture from a trail camera courtesy PRNCO 'Tiger Center'

The young Amur tigress was seen walking close to houses and resting for long hours in back yards of Gornovodnoye village in Primorsky district, and on a side of a motorway. 

The big cat showed no aggression, and no pets or livestock were missing, but the tiger’s presence around humans for nearly three weeks was unnerving for the residents and signalled serious health issues with the animal. The endangered animal was also an easy target for poachers. 

Experts from the regional Hunting Surveillance department hoped that mother tiger would appear, but after two weeks of air and land monitoring they concluded that the cub was orphaned and needed help. 

Amur tigress who came out to people to seek help might be a pet who escaped owners or was thrown out 


Amur tigress who came out to people to seek help might be a pet who escaped owners or was thrown out 


Amur tigress who came out to people to seek help might be a pet who escaped owners or was thrown out 


Amur tigress who came out to people to seek help might be a pet who escaped owners or was thrown out 
The rare predator was caught after weeks of wandering into a village in Russian Far East. Pictures: PRNCO 'Tiger Center'


The tigress was caught on 16 May and delivered to ‘Centre Tiger’ for medical  observation and temporary stay. First checkups showed that the cub had no wounds. Her complete blood count was normal, results of separate virus tests are yet to arrive. 

The cub’s weight is 54 kilogram and despite her looking quite well-fed experts believe she is quite malnourished due to issues with feeding. Her teeth hasn’t changed from milky yet and are in good condition except for two broken incisors. 

The cub’s age was identified as nine to ten months, which is half a year younger than the experts thought earlier. 

What puzzles the Centre Tiger's team is the tigress’s behaviour which continues to be nowhere near as aggressive as it should be with an Amur tiger.  

‘It’s rare to see orphaned tiger cubs in May as normally mothers don’t give up on cubs of that age. Quite likely the tigress was killed by a poacher or died from a natural cause, though it is not impossible that the cub was kept by people before it escaped or was thrown out.

'Certain strange traits in the tigress’s behaviour allow us to think that the cub could have stayed with humans’, said Sergey Aramilev, director of Amur Tiger Centre in the Far East of Russia. 

Amur tigress who came out to people to seek help might be a pet who escaped owners or was thrown out 


Amur tigress who came out to people to seek help might be a pet who escaped owners or was thrown out 


Amur tigress who came out to people to seek help might be a pet who escaped owners or was thrown out 


Amur tigress who came out to people to seek help might be a pet who escaped owners or was thrown out 


PRNCO 'Tiger Center'
The tigress spends most of her time sleeping, the rehabilitation centre team's said. Pictures: Anna Blidchenko/PRNCO 'Tiger Center'


The latest update on the tigress’s health was received on 26 May and suggests that the she is beginning to feel better. The cub still doesn’t drink water and prefers meat broth, her digestive system seems to be working fine, but her behaviour remains unusually calm. 

‘She doesn’t even attempt to get out of the enclosure and spends her days mostly sleeping’, the Centre Tiger team said. 

After the rare cat completes all medical tests, the rehabilitation centre’s team will concentrate on her re-introduction to the wild. 

It will be possible if the tigress will show that her hunting instincts are intact and that her attitude to humans is back to being a lot more cautious. 

ORPHANED AMUR TIGRESS, videos PRNCO 'Tiger Center'


The Amur tiger is the largest of the world’s big cats. About 600 grown up animals - 95% of the world population - live in Primorsky Krai, Khabarovsk regions, Amur region and the Jewish Autonomous region in the Far East of Russia. 

Some Amur tigers live in China and in North Korea. 

Next tiger census in Russia will be held in winter 2021-2022. 

SUPPORT THE TEAM THAT HELPS ENDANGERED AMUR TIGERS IN RUSSIA AND SUCCESSFULLY REINTRODUCES THEM BACK TO NATURE  

Team of  PRNCO 'Tiger Center' have rehabilitated 7 tigers and 1 African lion.

Of them, 6 tigers were released into their natural habitat. Five of them became fully adapted to life in the wild.

The first female Zolushka (Cinderella), which had passed the full course of rehabilitation, was observed with two cubs in December 2015. The tigers Svetlaya (Bright) and Boris, released in 2014, formed a couple. 

The Centre was founded September 19, 2012.

Comments (135)

Kudos to all hard workers at the Centre Tiger! She is beyond-GORGEOUS, but looks too accustomed and relaxed around humans to be rehabilitated. God bless your work - so hope that she can be indeed returned to the wild!
Svetlana-Valerie Morozova, Canada
14/11/2020 10:40
0
0
She is just like Malayan Tiger of Malaysia. Thaks to the team of Tiger Centre. Hopefully she can return to the wild soonest possible.
Ismail Awang Senik, Kuantan , Malaysia
28/05/2020 19:45
0
0
Who ever left this magnificently beautiful animal is a moron....an if thats offensive then so be it....im not a cat person at all but to have a tiger as a pet would b the most beautiful thing in the world..... thanks for keeping these beautiful animals away from retarded people like the person who left this beauty out or even kicked him out
Benny Blanco, United States
28/05/2020 06:11
0
0
She is beautiful - I hope she stays safe and healthy - thankyou to all who are caring for her
Tania, Australia
28/05/2020 06:03
0
0
What a Beautiful Baby! I'm so glad that she was handled by CARING humans before poachers got her. Now, I trust that she'll have a happy, long life! God Bless U!
Bill, Clearwater FL, USA
28/05/2020 04:38
0
0
So beautiful, so rare ,many thanks to those who are caring for her. Please don't put her in wild if she can't hunt .love to all involved.
Raymond Pohl, Australia
28/05/2020 04:38
0
0
What a Beautiful Baby! I'm so glad that she was handled by CARING humans before poachers got her. Now, I trust that she'll have a happy, long life! God Bless U!
Bill, Clearwater FL, USA
28/05/2020 04:28
0
0
Glad you were able to get her. I hope she rehabs soon. But it is SAD that people think they have the right to make pets out of these cats. If you want a pet... Adopt a dog or cat... NOT a wild animal... They deserve to stay free!
Kathy, USA
28/05/2020 04:27
0
0
Majestic Sentient Being. Thank you for taking care of her for us We salute You
Maria Jeetoo, United Kingdom
28/05/2020 04:25
0
0
A very precious baby girl. thank you so very much for helping her, and all the work you do
AMBER JORDAN, United States
28/05/2020 04:24
0
0
She seems sad, as if missing family or connection to others. And she certainly does seem awfully tame around humans!?/((-- Godspeed and bless you for your efforts and input!!??-)) I hope she has only a beautiful, wonderful and 'Safe 'Future'!!-))//--THANK YOU'!!-AGAIN'!!!- for all of your efforts!! You do blessed work'!!-)))!!-
C. Mickelsen, United States
28/05/2020 04:22
0
0
Good work. They are beautiful animals I would love to have one as a pet but I can't
Greg, United States
28/05/2020 04:19
0
0
Amazing beautiful animal , this brought tears to my eyes...truly wonderful work that you do....keep it up.
donna, United states
28/05/2020 04:11
0
0
What a beautiful creature. So happy that she was saved from an unknown fate. Hopefully she can be released back to her natural habitat safely.
Lynda, Iowa. USA
28/05/2020 04:10
0
0
What wonderful photos. Thank you for everything you do in looking after the Amur Tiger population, they are indeed the most stunning animals, and need all the help we can give them.
Helen, England
28/05/2020 03:41
0
0

Add your comment

We welcome a healthy debate, but do not accept offensive or abusive comments. Please also read 'Siberian Times' Privacy Policy

Name

Town/Country

Add your comments

The views expressed in the comments above are those of our readers. 'Siberian Times' reserves the right to pre-moderate some comments.

Control code*

Type the code

* obligatory


Features

Business

The Bank of Russia official exchange rates of foreign currencies
EUR85.90USD80.06GBP98.92Other...