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Amur Tiger
Amazing predator back from the brink - but for how long?
Scientific Name: Panthera tigris altaica
Habitat: Boreal forest
Location: Far eastern Asia
Background
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
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