March 10, 2023, 5:02 am | Read time: 4 minutes

Only about 500 Siberian tigers now roam the far eastern regions of Russia, as well as small areas of North Korea and China. This makes the big cat not only one of the rarest in the world but also the largest cat inhabiting our planet. PETBOOK introduces this graceful animal.

Habitat of the Siberian Tiger

The Siberian tiger is also known as the Amur tiger, as its range is limited westward by the Russian-Chinese Amur River. Other tiger species, such as the Bengal tiger or the Sumatran tiger, prefer warm to tropical habitats. Only the Siberian tiger primarily inhabits areas that reach double-digit negative temperatures. It occupies both forests and mountainous regions, with dense underbrush being crucial for stealth. The Amur tiger claims large territories, with male territories covering up to 3,000 square kilometers. Typically, the territories of one male and two females overlap.

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Prey of the Siberian Tiger

More important than the habitat itself is the density of prey. Due to its size and high energy needs, the Siberian tiger requires up to ten kilograms of meat per day. It prefers to eat elk, red deer, wild boar, or even smaller bears. The big cat is mostly active at night, but it also silently stalks its prey during the day, capturing it with a precise leap. A bite to the neck holds and eventually kills the prey. However, only one in ten hunting attempts is successful, so the Siberian tiger spends most of the day searching for new prey. It can travel up to 20 kilometers a day to meet its high energy demands.

Reproduction and Rearing of the Young

Females mark trees with urine and leave noticeable scratch marks to signal to males from surrounding territories that they are ready to mate. Once a pair is formed, they stay together during the mating period and then go their separate ways. The female raises the young alone, and they remain with her until they are four years old and sexually mature. However, by the age of one, the tiger cubs begin hunting on their own to learn the craft as early as possible.

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Threats to the Siberian Tiger

Due to its large territorial needs, the Siberian tiger requires nearly endless landscapes to roam undisturbed. Agricultural land threatens these untouched habitats. Additionally, the tiger is heavily dependent on a high prey density in its territory. Not only is its habitat being increasingly restricted by humans, but so is that of its prey. Many poorer communities also hunt in the forests to meet their meat needs with wild animals, competing with the tigers for prey.

The tiger itself is also frequently hunted by poachers. Both its fur and bones are sought-after trophies. In China, tiger bones and teeth are traditionally used in Chinese medicine, and since 2018, the trade in these has been officially allowed again. The bones of the Siberian tiger are thus a lucrative source of income for poachers, endangering the population of these big cats.

Finally, the Siberian tiger is also threatened by forest fires. Fires are deliberately set to make land agriculturally usable, endangering both the Siberian tiger and its preferred prey.

Climate change also makes it more difficult for the Siberian tiger in its range. Weather extremes, such as extremely cold and snowy winters, make hunting difficult for the big cat and further reduce the prey population. Various conservation programs have been trying for decades to monitor the tiger population and maintain it at a higher level. However, efforts to combat poaching are limited, especially since the vast habitats of the Siberian tiger are difficult to monitor.