Tane a small town and Far East Russia
This is no longer a place of Exile
But today's Siberians must eke out a hard living trapping fishing and logging
They live on one of the last frontiers
Surrounded by a vast and largely untamed wilderness
Still out there somewhere a legend lives
a creature of fearful power and stunning beauty
It is the biggest cat on earth the Siberian tiger
Today wildlife biologists seek to study the tiger and perhaps to save it
About 300 Siberian tigers survive in the wild and they are perilously close to extinction
These Russian and American scientists must get close to one of the most dangerous animals in the world
But while some seek the elusive tigers in the wild
One Russian scientist is studying them in captivity meeting and hunting
Named for Siberia this splendid cat can spread across the snows at fifty miles an hour
Magnificent
mysterious
highly dangerous and highly endangered
This is the great Siberian the Tigers of the snow
The coasts of eastern Siberia
The Siberian tiger once ranged across much of the Asian continent
Once they numbered in the thousands
Now only some 300 survive in a narrow band of mountains on the Sea of Japan
The sigiriya legend is a frozen wastelands
in fact parts of the forest temperate even
subtropical
Here Russian and American scientists are seeking to study wild Siberian tigers in a last-ditch effort to save them
Dr. Morris cornica, an American big cat authority has brought desperately needed technology to this crucial effort
In the past Russian scientists could study the Tigers only in winter when their tracks could be followed in the snow
Now with radio tracking devices the elusive cats can be studied sight unseen and year-round
My first work with cats with mountain lions in North America in Idaho
Everyone said it couldn't be done. I've always liked a challenge
We've fused the tiger population as target species, but we've studied the entire ecosystem
Because of the immense area that the tiger needs to exist
defines entire watersheds entire systems that the prey must also utilize
So he can literally define an entire ecosystem by studying a big cat
The scientists pick up a radio signal from a tiger somewhere in the thick forest below
In fact it's a number of tigers and incredibly they're out in the open
Siberian tigers are so rare and elusive that even a feeding glimpse like this is a landmark event for the scientists
when we saw that female and those Cubs on this lakeshore wide open view first time that a female
Siberian tiger cubs had ever been observed and photographed from the air. It was one of the most thrilling events in my professional career
Hanukkah's team has tracked some dozen Tigers by radio trying to determine such essential facts as their range and distribution
This is at the fuel and of the horn occur
Wildlife Institute's Maurice is briefed by Dale Hill who's been coordinating the field study for the past three years
Five females that we've got good information on their home ranges
We've got all the force first female we captured who's now in the home range that only includes a little piece of the reserve actually
when they were in fact gather with their Russian colleagues
They need to quickly establish a management plan for the Tigers
Things interesting about all this is that all these animals travel outside the boundaries of the reserve
So even though the reserve is vast it's not large enough to maintain these females in their entire home range
Time is running out
Even now logging roads skirt the reserve where only some 20 Tigers roam over 1,300 square miles
The researchers received word that a tiger has been caught in one of their snares a
Chance to add a new animal to their study group
March flyer and dr. Honaker prepared to sedate the tiger
There is no way of knowing how securely the tiger is trapped
He could suddenly pull free and then they would have only a few seconds to save themselves
a
Tranquilizer dart should quiet the tiger down
Still the dosage required is always in doubt
Too much in dangers the Tigers too little the researchers
It's a three-year-old male when fully grown at about age six it weighs 600 pounds or more
But even now he's an armful
They carry the tiger to better ground
His eyes must be artificially lubricated since the blink response is sedated
These massive jaws can crack the spine of a wild boar over the single bite
Its feet are like thickly padded snowshoes with retractable claws
The radio collar allows them to track the tiger and help answer some crucial
Questions are much territory - the Tigers require a many elk and deer and boar
How do they react to human encroachment?
Suddenly the tiger is having trouble breathing
They desperately try to revive him
Yeah, but his breaths are real oh yeah
Mr. Rossi
That colors cut Morris that dollars cut yeah because we might have a cat that comes up real quick
The tiger must be given a stimulant
Slowly he resumed his normal breathing rate
Yeah, he's breathing
Yeah, the biologist must now take their samples hastily before the great beast fully awakens
They're reluctant to lose sight of him before he's safely on his feet but also eager not to be in his way
Now at a safe distance the team receives a signal from the radio color
The tiger is up and about and on the prowl again
In another part of the reserve the team is concerned about the signal from a tigress named Olga
She was the very first colored with a radio
All great appears has remained in the same area for a long time a sign that she may be dead
Or that she's found a den and given birth
Jeanne Smirnoff Russian Tiger specialist determines that Olga is in fact moving about her den site
The researchers decide they'll attempt to enter the den to earmark the cubs
They'll need to wait until night when the tigress should be out hunting
Hopefully far from home
The fading radio signal indicates that Olga has left her den
But if she returns she would probably attack instantly
They test flares they hope would drive all go off
Protecting a dim is one of the rare circumstances when a Siberian will turn Mankiller
Night is the time when Tigers are most alert and aggressive their night vision is far superior to humans
The signal from Olga once faint is getting louder the team must quickly be in and out of the den
Yeah, this is it that for
Ya, yeah. We got the spot
Yeah
Love soaked with Tiger urine are worn so the mother will not detect their intrusion and reject her cubs
It's a healthy male two months old
the cub already weighs about 13 pounds
Yeah, I'm still getting a signal and it's nearly not that weak right now. We're gonna have to hurry if you can't
Unlike other cats tiger kittens never learned to purr
An ear tag is inserted for future identification
They christened the cub Sasha
I'm getting a signal we're going after her she's back. She's coming back over the ridge
Their daring has set a new precedent
For the first time ever scientists have examined and returned to come to a den in the wild
In towns and villages throughout coastal Siberia people have learned to live with the idea of tigers
but attacks have happened and some are afraid of
Guy varam, however, one man is happy to have tigers in his own backyard
Morris Honaker and Howard quickly are working with a Russian biologist who has two orphan Cubs in captivity
Has raised the Cubs from infancy
The author of a definitive natural history of the Russian wolf
but he soon learned that culture of the tiger a
New Yorker the tigress
different animals indeed
Post an epidemic but almost
No Gaston ability study tigers in captivity
Is absolutely necessary because many of their biological traits cannot be learned in the wild
The results of the tiger studies that were done in captivity and in the wild
to develop the methods of how to preserve the tiger as a species in reserves like
The young Tigers have outgrown their cages
And so with the support of the Honaker wildlife Institute an enclosure is built in the adjacent wards
Though a far cry from the hundreds of square miles
the tiger in the wild would roam these six acres will provide the young captives with the opportunity to run and hunt and
Hopefully even mate and have Cubs
But there are neighbors in the area
Victor knows the importance of keeping them well informed
especially now when the Tigers will
Enter the enclosure
So he brings local schoolchildren to the compound
just a pre-christmas receive Rafi and prepares to
Since it's so different from life in the wild
Which in justice Bradley
Charity graviton Valley area I explained to them that there are limitations to what we can and cannot learn from observing
Tigers the way we do in the wild
They don't provide
Any posters
When people realize that it's not just for fun, that is serious work
They look at me and admiration cos if I were a Superman I guess
The day has come when for the first time the Tigers will step into the natural world they were intended to rule
No one knows how they react to their new enclosure
Victor it's an especially anxious moment for he hopes the enclosure will be home to these Tigers for the rest of their lives
The mail Kuchar has steps boldly out
For the first time the light through the trees
the smell of grass and leaf
the feel of the soft earth
Mirka of the females unsure of all this and even tries to close the gate
but some
curiosity overcomes caution
The human surprise culture begins to feel a little frisky and tries to meet
But Niko will have no part of it a her the time has not yet. Come
Exhilarated by their freedom they soon vanish into their little private forest
To feed his feline charges doctor you can collect some roadkill
Victor feels he knows the mood of his Tigers. So well, he can risk entering the enclosure
In the wild most attacks on humans occur when they invade a tiger's territory or when Cubs are threatened
unlike Bengal tigers
Siberians have never been known to hunt man
As the Tigers settled into their enclosure
Dr. Uten begins his observations and controlled experiments
He hopes to learn which behaviors are innate and which would need to be taught to captive Tigers
Before they could be released into the wild
Tigers live in a world of feast or famine still culture must wait his turn
Dr. You notices it's the female who feeds first?
With the coming of fall the first risk winds blow in from the Siberian Arctic
As if designed for these autumn colors the Tigers blend with a landscape
In the wild their coloration becomes lighter as winter approaches
anticipating snow
Dr. Udin confronts one more problem that makes the study of Tiger behavior so difficult
The tiger is largely a creature of the dark
With their extraordinary night-vision culture and New Yorker come fully alive only after sunset
Recently they began to roam restlessly in the dark
Victor wonders if night has awakened an instinctive urge to hunt
When he releases a small rabbit in the enclosure, he quickly learns the answer
After several weeks the Tigers have established their territory in the enclosure to
Another of their own species
Set up an experiment involving a full-sized model tiger
Tigers in the wild are solitary animals and fiercely territorial
Is this behavior innate or learned? And if innate how soon does it develop?
The reaction to an intruder by the captive raised Tigers may help provide an answer
The scale-model is covered with Tiger urine the scent that establishes territory
Recordings of tiger calls will be played under the enclosure the stage is set
Culture the male is curious. He spends hours observing this strange creature
But by light of day Kuchar keeps his distance
It's only overnight that the researchers discovered the Tigers real attitude towards the intruder
Every shred of color has been ripped from the models skin
Only when the model no longer looked like a tiger did Kuchar and leave it alone
The defense of his territory is already a powerful instinct
It was the long Siberian winter that created the Tigers of the snow
demanding robust size padded paws and thick fur
But it is also winter when they are hunted when they are most easily seen this time by a scientist
We've had to develop and evolve all our techniques here
No
one had ever worked with Siberian tigers before so we utilize its foot snaring to capture the tiger and it's worked very
Successfully but some of them are becoming very trap shy some of them have become
very
difficult to capture
So in order to maintain the continuity of our data collection in order to keep track of certain individuals
We've had to utilize helicopters
The hump begins - we color certain Tigers
The information the collars provide is critical to understanding the boundaries required for the Tigers survival
Their territories are extensive
Females may range up to 200 square miles
males laps
500
Losing contact for the study animal is their greatest fear
Each one is precious to the scientists
The collars were put on animals last about two to two and a half years and then the batteries lithium batteries run out
So they simply need to be replaced
Once we've invested two years in an animal and gathering information that animal becomes very valuable to us because it has a history
And the longer we maintain contact with an animal the more we learn about its life history patterns
How often it has young how long they live its whole life history
The pilot spots something below
It's a wild boar running for its life
And in pursuit of Tiger
Tigers miss most of their prey this time the helicopter provides the distraction saving the boar
The tiger is not amused
Eventually, they'll pick up the strong signal of another familiar tiger
It is Olga mother of the cub found in the den
The helicopter quickly searches the area hoping to spot her cubs, Sasha
And Sasha, is there no longer a small cub are thriving well
The young are raised by the mother alone
Sasha will stay with her for 18 to 20 months until it's time to establish his own home range
Not long after they spot a tigress named Mary vana
She is very aggressive and even climbs a tree to attack the helicopter
She only provides a better target for bar flier
a
Single-dose sedates the Tigris quickly
The old cour is measured against the new one which is given an extra notch for growth
They carefully monitor her heart rate and respiration
Mission accomplished the new color will provide crucial data for at least another two years
Not far from the cold forbidding wild to success at the venture is celebrated Russian style
It's also Bart's Flyers birthday
It's a Colorado reborn of years of feared dangers and shared dreams
Atlee to humans compound winter has transformed the enclosure
The Siberian winter seems to invigorate the captive Tigers
This is truly the season that the Tigers of the snow
As Victorine observes culture the male continues to stake out his territory spraying the trees with his scent
In what is called a flamin the female tests the air for his scent?
Then its cultures turned a detective his mate is in heat
And she is New Yorker the female initiates the coupling and so the mating period begins
He's written a modest apology to show melodic cigarette if we succeed in getting young car
Develop the best methods for returning the young Tigers back into the wild
You try to bring them up in the natural conditions
So they will more easily adapt to joining the wild tiger population here in the reserve
As far as successful mating all dr. Newton can do is hope for results
Victor's wife Lina has a special relationship with the Tigers. She's nurtured them since they were Cubs
they must be brought in at night because of the dangers of
Condition that new car
Over the next few days the Tigers breed often
Sometimes dozens of times a day
At last the breeding ends and Mirka moves into her den
She should give birth in about a hundred days
Springtime in Siberia. Dr. Honaker receives word from Viktor uten that New Yorker has given birth
But something's wrong
Victus observed that the mother is not taking care of her cubs
This is not uncommon when big cats give birth and captivity
This is a Viktor think she's fed them at all, but you're still not sure Camila
Not lewiston yet, then we'd better go in and look
They isolate the mother New Yorker so they can safely approach the den
One of the cubs is up and about but looks hungry and unkempt
The other cub is barely moving and Viktor is clearly concerned
It's no easy
Suddenly the cup stops breathing
Victor rushes it inside where he will try to revive it
It appears the mother has neither grooved non nursed her cubs, and this one is near death
With infinite patience Victor massages the heart hoping against all odds to bring the car back to life
The mortality rate of Siberian tiger cubs can be up to 30%
With so few born in the wild the survival of captive cubs is critical to the species
One cub is lost but her brother under Victor's tender nursing recuperates quickly
He's named the cub Globus for a world that cares about him. Even if his own mother hasn't learned to
Eventually globus will be brought to the United States as part of a captive breeding program
When he is he'll be following other Cubs orphaned in Siberia and sent by dr. Honaker - the snows of Omaha, Nebraska
They're now part of the world's most successful breeding program for large predators
The Tigers are bred here with the goal of returning the Cubs back to the wild
But what kind of environment will await them
Back in Russia, dr. Honaker strives to educate Siberia's future caretakers
If we're to save these big carnivores as the world population
Increases we must convince the younger generation that it's worthwhile
Conserving them it's always so rewarding to me and gratifying to see how children
Accept this they really love these big animals
They want to save them and if we can convince them that's in their best interest, then it's to their advantage and to ours
So much of this magnificent forest the Siberian tigers last domain
May be cut down for a world hungry for lumber
But the years of difficult and dangerous study have given birth to a plan to save the forest
By saving the tiger in the wild
Selecting the tiger is the umbrella species to be saved means that the forest surrounding the reserve must also be protected
But there are no guarantees
Poised on the edge of extinction
the tiger of the snow evokes an old Russian proverb
hope
Is the last to die?
