Dreams are calling and forging ahead on a new journey —— On the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of the Republic of China
Life newspaper May 19 th The wild Siberian tiger was first discovered in China on May 20 last year, and it has been occupied by Raohe County and surrounding forest farms for a whole year. Experts say that in its mind, this area is its territory. It used to be just a transit, and there is no sign of leaving this year. The natural environment in our province is improving, which provides a broad living space for the Northeast Tiger. Moreover, this Northeast Tiger is a "foodie". According to the statistics so far, it has eaten five roe deer, two wild boars and a cow.
According to Sun Chengfu, director of the Wildlife Protection Office of Raohe Forestry Bureau, after follow-up research, DNA identification and behavioral research, it has been confirmed that this tiger has settled in our province, but it is not the only one that is hard to say, because there are reports of activities of the Northeast Tiger in other forest areas.
What did you do this year?
1. A large number of claw marks were found on the trunk of contiguous forest land.
"This tiger has formed a fixed territorial scope, showing a specific demarcation behavior of wild animals." Sun Chengfu said. The territory of the wild Siberian tiger is about 1000 square kilometers for males. The contiguous forest land here is suitable for the Siberian tiger to settle down, and its forest area is close to 1000 square kilometers.
"When the Northeast Tiger takes a fancy to a place, it will leave paw marks on the tree and mark the boundary with urine. If there are these marks, other tigers will not invade without authorization." Sun Chengfu said that they found a lot of claw marks on the thick trunk of the territory boundary, which is called "hanging claws", and urine was collected in winter.
It has been found to have eaten five roe deer, two wild boars and a cow.
On December 12 last year, Sun Chengfu and his colleagues took more than 100 photos of the Northeast Tiger eating cattle with a far-infrared camera, which is quite precious. On the same day, they received a report from the villagers that his old cow might have been attacked by the Northeast Tiger. Sun Chengfu rushed to the scene and found that the cow was eaten by a third of the tiger. More than 200 kilograms of adult cattle, the Siberian tiger killed it effortlessly, and dragged the body for hundreds of meters, hiding it in a deep ditch on the edge of the corn field. Sun Chengfu judged that the tiger would come back if the beef was not finished, so he arranged the shooting equipment nearby. Sure enough, the next day, the Siberian tiger returned to the scene and moved the beef to eat again.
Sun Chengfu said: "From the photos, this Siberian tiger is strong and well-nourished, indicating that there is enough food. According to statistics so far, it has eaten five roe deer, two wild boars and one cow. "
I went back to Russia to "find someone" and came back two months later.
This tiger went back to Russia once, and Sun Chengfu speculated that it was going back to "find an object". In the middle of December last year, during the patrol, Sun Chengfu found that the tiger trail extended to the Sino-Russian border. He tracked it for more than 20 kilometers and found that the tiger trail crossed the center line of the main channel of the Wusuli River and disappeared on the Russian side.
Two months later, the Northeast Tiger returned to the territory of Raohe County. Sun Chengfu said: "After mating, the Northeast tiger went back to its territory, and this tiger returned to China, which once again proved that it had settled in our province."
4. I once strolled to the human activity area, 10 meters away from the fishing room.
"Leave as soon as possible in case of the remains left by tigers. Maybe the Northeast Tiger is not far away." According to reports, this Siberian tiger is not afraid of people, and it has been recorded in the vicinity of human activities. The last time it was 10 meters away from the fishing house by the river. On the 16th, Raohe Forestry Bureau issued an announcement to remind the general public, "Don’t enter the mountain at will for personal safety". According to reports, local residents generally walk together in the mountains, carrying firecrackers with them, driving tigers away with firecrackers, and trying to stay away from the Northeast Tiger activity area.
First discovery: May 20th last year.
A five-or six-year-old male adult tiger left a trail of footprints in farmland.
Raohe County is located in the northeastern border of our province, with a border line of 128 kilometers and a forest coverage rate of 51%. This area is one of the important corridors and activity areas for Siberian tigers to enter China from Russia. In recent years, many Siberian tigers have been active in the forestry application area here.
"This Siberian tiger was first discovered on May 20 last year. From this day, it has been here for one year." Sun Chengfu said.
Last year, a series of footprints left by the Northeast Tiger in the farmland exposed its whereabouts. "At that time, experts from the Cat Research Center of Northeast Forestry University happened to be investigating in Raohe River. After discovering the paw prints, the experts unanimously concluded that it was the footprints of the Northeast Tiger. Through the size and depth, the experts thought it was a male adult tiger, and the tiger was five or six years old." Sun Chengfu said.
Goodbye tiger trail: March 1 this year
The feces of Amur tiger collected again are the same as before.
The local animal protection staff conducted a follow-up study. In addition to taking photos and infrared cameras, they also collected the feces of Siberian tigers many times. On March 1, 2018, the tiger trail was found again in Shiye District of Tonghe Forest Farm. After 7 days of tracking, the wildlife department of Forestry Bureau collected the feces of the Northeast Tiger again and sent it to Northeast Forestry University for DNA identification. Compared with the previous feces, it was judged to be the same tiger.
Video tiger: April 23 this year
20 pairs of far-infrared devices captured 3 seconds of video.
Sun Chengfu said that 20 pairs of far-infrared camera equipment have been put into the territory of the Northeast Tiger, each pair of equipment includes a camera and a video camera, 10 warning signs have been set up in key activity areas, and 14 patrolmen are responsible for the protection and investigation of the Northeast Tiger. At 3 o’clock in the morning of April 23 this year, infrared camera equipment captured a 3-second video of the Northeast Tiger. The video shows that this Siberian tiger walked deep into the jungle through the forest road. This is the only video of this Siberian tiger.
Recent trail: May 10th this year.
I enjoyed another wild boar more than a week ago.
Sun Chengfu said that on May 10 this year, it was the last time they photographed the trail of this wild Siberian tiger. A wild boar killed by it had been hollowed out. "The pork hasn’t had time to eat, which means it may be not far away, so I only took a photo at that time and immediately evacuated."