The Ecology of the Amur Tiger based on Long-Term Winter Observations
in 1970-1973 in the Western Sector of the Central Sikhote-Alin Mountains
By Anatoliy Grigorievitch Yudakov and Igor Georgievitch Nikolaev.
Institute of Biology and Soil Science
Far-Eastern Scientific Center
Academy of Sciences of the USSR
Translated to English by Katharine Lofdahl and
Alexander Shevlakov (co-translator), 2004.
Copyright, A. G. Yudakov and I. G. Nikolaev
Copyright, K. Lofdahl, A. Shevlakov, English translation, 2004.
Published in Russian in 1987 in Moscow by Nauka Publishers.
Editor-in-Chief: E. N Matyushkin
Abstract
This monograph reports the results of field studies of the ecology and
behavior of the Amur tiger--a rare subspecies that is under threat of extinction
and that is included in the Red Data Books of the International Union for
the Conservation of Nature, of the USSR, and of the Russian Soviet Federal
Socialist Republic.
For the first time, the movements of tigers are characterized in detail
based on long-term winter tracking of tiger footprints in a permanent study
site in the Central Sikhote-Alin Mountains for tigers that varied in sex,
in age, and in the types and structures of their territories. The spatial
structure of the population of this species in the area under investigation
was clarified. The role of snow cover in the life of the tiger and other
problems of its winter ecology are clarified. Information is also provided
on the behavior of tigers when they encounter people.
This book is intended for zoologists, specialists in nature conservation
and wildlife management, and also for a broad spectrum of readers.
Table of Contents:
Preface
From the Author
Chapter 1: Tasks
and Methods for Field Studies.
Nature of the Resulting Data.
Chapter 2: Distribution
and Population Size of Tigers in
Primorskii Krai at the Beginning of the 1970s.
Selection of an Area for Long-Term Research
Chapter 3: A Physiographic
Characterization of the
Study Region and the Nature of its Economic Development
Chapter 4: Populations of Ungulates and Predatory Mammals
at the Long-Term Study Site
Chapter 5: Grouping of Tigers in the Long-Term Study
Site in the Past and During the Period of our Investigations
Chapter 6: Characteristics of the Tigers' Movements.
Size and Structure of their Territories
Chapter 7: Spatial Distribution of Territories
Chapter 8: Daily Travel Distance and 24-Hour Activity Rhythm
Chapter 9: Tigers' Routes, Their Dependence on Natural and
Anthropogenic Factors
Chapter 10: Long-Term Resting Sites and Lairs of the Tigers
Chapter 11: Marking Behavior: Forms and Frequency
of Appearance in Different Contexts
Chapter 12: Hunting Behavior and Success of the
Tigers' Hunts
Chapter 13: General Features of Diet. Influence on Prey Populations.
Competitors and Scavengers
Chapter 14: Behavior of Tigers in Relation to Humans
Conclusion
References