Tiger attacks on livestock have become more frequent in the Primorsky Territory. Specialists from the Amur Tiger Center are confident that the problem is not related to a lack of food, but to the negligence and carelessness of local residents. In their opinion, people themselves create favorable conditions for attacks by predators. But in any case, the center provides compensation to the owners of animals that died from the paws of a tiger.
Tiger tracks, Partizansky district, Primorsky Krai
Tigers often attack cows that are grazing on their own in the predator’s habitat. For example, in one case, a herd was walking in the Land of the Leopard national park. As a result, the tiger attacked two cows.
“Everything happened on the territory of the Land of the Leopard National Park. Winter, cows grazing in the forest on the territory of a federal protected area where large predators live. All that remains is to throw up your hands. Victims must contact the national park administration to fill out the necessary documents. The situation is under control,” explained the Amur Tiger.
The other day, a predator ran over a dog that was sitting on a leash near a house. As it turned out, the house was used by the owners periodically as a summer house. And the dog sat here for a long time alone. Thus, ideal conditions were created for the tiger to attack. Moreover, such dogs sitting on a leash near houses complicate the capture of “conflict” tigers. Another incident occurred in the village of Yakonovka, where a tiger killed a foal.
– The predator could have been attracted by the smell from the ditch near the pig farm in the neighboring village of Krounovka, into which the carcasses of dead animals are dumped. Of course, such bait aroused the interest of the tabby cat,- the center said.
At the beginning of December 2023, a school and kindergarten were closed because of a tiger walking around the village of Serafimovka in the Primorsky Territory. “Information about the “invasion of tigers” in the villages of the Olginsky district is being spread on social networks. There have been videos calling for action, as well as reports of schools being canceled and fire trucks with sirens being deployed to deter predators.”
At the end of November, a video of a tiger near the highway spread online; the footage also shows large footprints in the snow along the road with residential buildings. Earlier, on November 14, it was reported that a tiger met a man in the Kirovsky district of Primorsky Krai. The victim was hospitalized after being attacked by a predator. A tiger attacked the caretaker of a local apiary. The owner of the apiary, who was nearby in time, reacted quickly – he pulled out a gun and fired in the direction of the wild animal.
Today, in Russian regions there are programs in which farmers are compensated for losses from tiger attacks on livestock. This is necessary so that local residents do not destroy rare predators. For example, recently the Amur Tiger Center donated two horses, two cows and a little over two thousand kilograms of food to three affected farms in return for animals eaten by tigers.
— With a resident of the Kavalerovsky district, who, as a result of the forced actions of a tiger, lost three heads of cattle in August 2023 and was treating three more cows, we agreed on compensation for the dead animals with an adult heifer. To compensate for the costs of treating the animals, 2,050 kg of food were donated,- they told about one of the cases at the Amur Tiger.
Compensation programs cover not only tigers, but also other rare animals. Thus, in Altai and Tyva, pastoralists are given new sheep to replace those that are eaten by snow leopards. Inspectors go to the site to confirm that it was the snow leopard that was attacking, and not a wolf or other predator. If confirmed, the victims will be compensated for the damage. The first such compensation in Tyva was received last spring.
— In one of the farms in the Bai-Taiginsky district, inspectors confirmed the death of 26 sheep, 9 goats and 12 lambs from an attack by a female snow leopard with kittens. The owner of the herd received 47 sheep as compensation,- according to Vedomosti.
Bears cause no less concern in the Primorsky Territory. In September 2023, a bear killed a watchman near Dalnegorsk, Primorsky Krai, and the predator was killed, a representative of the regional Ministry of Forestry told RIA Novosti. Earlier, social networks reported that a watchman had disappeared near Dalnegorsk. It was assumed that a wild animal might have attacked him.
“A male brown bear was killed while trying to attack inspectors… He set up an ambush near the body of the deceased, and when the inspectors approached, he tried to attack them,” Sergei Aramilev, general director of the Amur Tiger Center, told RIA Novosti. According to him, the bear had a broken limb, which had healed but was causing concern. “Perhaps the fracture was caused by a gunshot wound, which predetermined the behavior of the animal,” the agency’s interlocutor added.
In the Chuguevsky district on October 28, a Primorsky resident went fishing. By evening he had not returned, and his relatives raised the alarm. Soon the search team discovered the man’s body in the forest. As Sergei Aramilev, general director of the Amur Tiger Center, clarified in a conversation with a correspondent of RBC Primorye, the man was attacked by a brown bear. The incident happened near a populated area.
“The preliminary information is as follows. A female brown bear attacked and killed a man about 1 km from the village. The beast was well-fed and ready for winter. Therefore, it is clear that the reason for the attack is not hunger. Brown bears rarely attack humans, especially in Primorye. One version is that the bear was wounded by someone earlier, before meeting the person. We are waiting for an examination of the bear’s corpse to understand the reasons. We express our condolences to the family and relatives of the deceased,” said Sergei Aramilev.
In total, according to the Ministry of Forestry, about 7 thousand brown and Himalayan bears live in the Primorsky Territory. The ministry recalled that this animal is considered more dangerous to humans than the tiger. When meeting a bear, you should not run away or panic. Also, do not shoot at the beast – this can only anger him. You can scare away the animal with a flare-torch.
In the Arkhangelsk region, bears also liked to come out to people. In the Onega Pomorie National Park in the Arkhangelsk Region, genetic studies of brown bears will be carried out, which will help to understand why they come out to people. In the future, measures will be developed to resolve conflicts, and rules of conduct when encountering wild animals will be prepared for local residents.
According to the press service of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources, during expeditions scientists will collect genetic material of individuals, data from camera traps and conduct analysis. This will help to obtain current data on the distribution of bears in natural areas and learn to predict their behavior. Specialists will have not only general information about the population size, but also personal information – dimensions, coloring, paw sizes, and so on.
— After research, most of the bears will be identified. And this will make it possible to understand which bears are bothering people – females or males, young or adults, large or small. In addition, it will be clear which bears are not afraid to come into contact with humans and why they do this,- the national park said. Onega Pomorye noted that the experience of other protected areas does not apply here, since bears in the Arkhangelsk region are very different from bears, for example, in Kamchatka. Animals have different diets, different daily routines, and different behaviors. Even within the region there are noticeable differences.
