Surrounded by the turbulent waters of a river flowing through the remote forests of the Russian Far East, a man paddles his kayak through the deep woods, searching for the remains of Oksana, a Siberian tiger. After hours of paddling downstream he finally beaches the kayak and sets out on foot to follow the radio-collar’s stationary, inactive signal. He already knows that she is dead. Less than 400 Siberian tigers exist today in the wild and the loss of one individual is devastating. WCS field scientist John Goodrich has dedicated his life to saving Siberian tigers from extinction, and studying and tracking them is a crucial part of this work.
Two years ago, in the extremely harsh winter of 2001 a young Oksana, weak and desperate from starvation after losing two toes in a steel trap, was rescued and cared for until she was ready to be returned to the wild. Before her release Oksana was given a complete medical exam and fitted with a radio-collar so that she could be monitored. In the months following her release Oksana secured her territory and hunted productively. She survived that next winter successfully on her own. The only thing left for Oksana to do to fulfill all the criteria for a successfully released tiger was to reproduce. Oksana was able to live in her native habitat for less than 2 years before she was killed by poachers. She never had the chance to breed and bear a litter. 
Oksana may be gone, but with your help, there can be a future for tigers in Asia. Your donation will help purchase the radio collars and camera traps that are vital to WCS’s tiger conservation work.
