VLADIVOSTOK, February 22 (RIA Novosti) – Environmentalists in the Primorye Territory in Russia’s Far East rescued an orphaned Amur tiger cub, the local administration said on Friday.
The six-month-old male cub was trying to hunt in the taiga, but was doomed due to his young age and weakness, Vladimir Vasilyev, the Primorye wildlife protection department chief, said.
“The tiger cub is very active and put up a fight,” Vasilyev said, adding that specialists tracked the animal for three days before they caught it.
The cub will be examined by veterinarians and then sent to a rehabilitation center, he said.
According to the Primorye administration, the cub could be a brother of a six-month-old tigress, which was rescued from a trap about ten days ago not far from the place where the cub was found.
The Amur tiger was put on the list of endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) . The population of the Amur tigers, one of six tiger subspecies found only in Russia’s Far East and in some areas of Northern China, currently numbers some 450 animals. Experts estimate that from 30 to 50 Amur tigers are killed by poachers and irresponsible hunters every year.
