For the first time ever, tiger numbers in the Russian Far East were estimated using remote cameras set in the forest to “capture” tigers automatically on film. Because the stripes of each tiger are unique, it is possible to differentiate and count tigers based on photographic evidence. Camera-trapping studies conducted in Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Zapovednik (SABZ) from 2006 to 2008 provided the basis for providing the most statistically robust estimates of tiger densities ever derived for the Amur tiger.

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We often hear the statistics of how many tigers are lost to poachers each year. But what the statistics don’t tell us is the story behind each event, the life that each tiger lived up to that tragic moment when a poacher ended its life. Nor do we hear of the impact of that loss on those people who live close to and care most about these magnificent animals.  In 2001, Svetlana Soutyrina came to the village of Terney (base for the Siberian Tiger Project) from Siberia, and was instantly captivated by the region and its tigers. Over that past 8 years, she has worked for the WCS Siberian Tiger Project, and dedicated her life to the tigers she studies each day. Below is her personal account of the life and death of one such animal.

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