Over 100 Russian and international biologists and conservationists gathered for an international conference co-hosted by WCS, “The Amur Tiger in Northeast Asia: Planning for the 21^st Century”, held in Vladivostok from March 16-18. The goals of the conference were two-fold: to report the most recent scientific information on Amur tiger ecology, and to discuss key conservation challenges and solutions for the coming century. Most importantly, the meeting provided an opportunity to review and critique the newly drafted revision of the Russian Federal Tiger Conservation Strategy, which must be ready for implementation prior to the International Tiger Summit to be held in Vladivostok in September 2010.

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There probably isn’t a single person in Southern Primorye who hasn’t felt some degree of discomfort due to the great volume of snow that fell this winter. The nuisances brought about by the December snowfall in Vladivostok are still fresh in people’s memories. We all wished for city administration to somehow improve our level of comfort, and no one wanted to leave their house unless absolutely necessary, as going outside was not only uncomfortable, but also very dangerous. With that in mind, imagine what it must be like in the forest, where there are no snowplows and no clean up crew. How must it feel for the forest dwellers?

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In the course of our ongoing scientific research, on November 7, 2009 we have captured two 1.5-year old tiger sub-adults at the Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve, whom we named Anya and Valera- a brother and sister. Anya received a GPS collar, while her brother was fitted with a regular radiocollar.