The 2005 Amur Tiger Survey

The 2005 Amur Tiger Survey
In the winter of 1995-1996, WCS staff participated in organizing and implementing a survey of the Amur tigers across its entire range in the Russian Far East. This survey arose largely out of concern over the status of the population after the early 1990s poaching crises. Results showed 330-371 adult tigers and some 100 young remained in the Russian Far East. Immediately following this work WCS conducted surveys in nearby China and DPR Korea, where it was found that very few tigers remain. Therefore, the Russian Far East retains the last viable Amur tiger population. Major changes in the Russian Far East have occurred since that survey 10 years ago. A full survey of the existing range of the Amur tiger is the only way to get a complete picture of the present status of the population, its distribution and an assessment of population dynamics. This survey will be designed to provide an assessment of prey abundance across tiger range.

The Human Aspect
During the last full-range survey in 1996, the Russian economy was experiencing the destabilizing effects from dissolution of the Soviet Union. But today the country is experiencing an economic boom, derived largely from extraction of natural resources. While the presence of newfound wealth is evident everywhere in the larger cities of Vladivostok and Khabarovsk, villagers still face difficult challenges in making ends meet. These impacts of these changes on the tiger population are difficult to assess. Results of a WCS monitoring program indicate that tiger track densities and litter production have been decreasing.

Threats
Primary threats to tigers are of three types: 1) habitat loss from intensive logging and development; 2) depletion of the prey base; and, 3) poaching of tigers. Unfortunately, protected areas have been severely under-funded since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and most forestlands within the range of tigers have been subjected to intensive legal and illegal logging operations.  There is also evidence that ungulate numbers have decreased regionally, thus exacerbating conflicts between the hunters and tigers.      

WCS Activities
Dale Miquelle, director of the WCS Russia Program, lobbied and helped pave the way for a tiger survey in 2003. Working with governmental agencies and other NGOs, a strong and effective alliance to ensure implementation of a survey, WCS contributed and simultaneously guarantee its support and approval by the Russian government. Such approval will be key to implementing conservation recommendations arising from the survey results.  Since initiating this project in 2003, WCS has:
- secured Russian government support for a survey
- developed an alliance of governmental, non-governmental, and research agencies to conduct the field work
- secured funding for this massive operation.
- developed methodologies and survey protocols
- implemented survey data collection
- and organized and implemented database management.
Since the first snows of December 2004, biologists, hunters, and fieldworkers have been gathering data on the location of tiger tracks across the province of Primorski and southern Khabarovski Krais. This preliminary work has allowed biologists to determine how best to allocate efforts during a “simultaneous survey” between February 10-15, 2005, which will seek to identify locations of individual tigers during a single “sweep” of their forested habitat. Fieldworkers will traverse about 1000 routes, totaling approximately 10,000 km, to report the exact location of tiger tracks.  Measurements of those tracks will allow biologists to estimate the total number of animals remaining in the Russian Far East.  Since tigers often travel 10 km or more in a single day, it is possible for one tiger to traverse any number of transects that will be covered by fieldworkers.  By conducting the survey simultaneously, biologists hope to reduce the chances of one tiger being counted multiple times by various fieldworkers. Not only will tigers be counted, but their prey base will be assessed as well.  Because of the great concern of hunters across the Russian Far East regarding the impact of tigers on ungulates, this aspect is a focus of the present survey, and special routes have been designed to better estimate prey abundance across the range of tigers.

Important Next Steps
With data collection nearly complete, the next phase of this project is underway– development of a comprehensive spatially explicit database that will ensure long-term maintenance of the data and related materials.  Analysis of this data is just getting underway.  We expect initial results on tiger numbers in Russia to be available in early summer 2005.  Please visit www.wcs.org/Russia for updates, and a full and final report will be available at the end of 2005.