According to the latest data obtained with the help of a collar equipped with a GPS module, the tiger left the borders of the Anyuisk National Park and is located in the territory of the Komsomolsky District of the Khabarovsk Krai. Apparently, Uporny is still looking for its habitat. An important task of specialists is to keep the movements of the predator under control.
Almost five months have passed since the release into the wild of a tiger named Uporny. For a long time, the predator was located within and on the border of the Anyuisk National Park. This is evidenced not only by the coordinates coming from the tiger's collar, but also by field checks.
“Recently, we visited one of the ridges on the territory of Anyuisk National Park. During the survey of three points, we found the remains of a large male boar, which suggests that Uporny was good at hunting. The size of his victims, the remains of which were discovered during field verification, suggest that he easily catches large ungulates,” - said Alexey Kostyrya, senior researcher at the Biology and Soil Institute of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The collar continues to send steady signals, which show that the tiger still avoids settlements and large highways. Nevertheless, the staff of the Committee for Hunting and the Service for the Protection of the Animal World and the protected areas of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Khabarovsk Krai are in constant readiness. They are ready to leave immediately if the tiger approaches the settlements or roads in order to prevent a conflict situation and ensure the protection of the tiger.
“The animal that has been in the hands of a man remains potentially conflicting, and in the first months it was very important to understand how the released tiger behaves,” commented Oleg Gunin, deputy chairman of the hunting economy committee of the Khabarovsk Krai. “Therefore, once every two weeks, a special group using the ground routes method checks the locations obtained from the satellite and determines how and how the beast feeds.”
As of October 21, the tiger is located on the territory of the Komsomolsk District and is moving to the north of the Khabarovsk Krai. In total, since its release, he has covered about 700 kilometers.
“For now, the tiger behaves the way a wild tiger should behave. He carefully avoids roads and settlements and approaches linear objects only to cross them. Very pleased with the lack of information about his attack on livestock and dogs. The only concern is that Uporny has not yet found its site, and in what territory winter will find it, is unknown to us. It is quite possible that there may not be enough ungulates in sufficient quantities, and this will serve as a provoking factor towards access to settlements. It should be noted that males of large mammals, including tigers, are characterized by long movements with separation from the main range. Scientists are still arguing about their exact nature, but, according to one version, in this way the population sends "pioneers" to explore and develop new territories. We very much hope that “Uporny” is not a pioneer, and everything will be fine with him,” says Sergey Aramilev, director of the Amur Tiger Center Primorsky branch.
By the way, Uporny is still alone, at least, experts have not found evidence that the young male has got a girlfriend. Winter has to show how successful Rehabilitation has passed. Experts are wary of waiting for the cold, which will confirm or deny fears about its adaptability to independent living.
“The scientific data obtained during the tracing give unique material. We get a huge amount of experience, which allows us to simulate the situation in order to avoid problems with the tiger when the need for conflict predators is re-released,” said Pavel Fomenko. - “So far everything is going fine, but the main test is winter. After it, it will be possible to make a decision about the automatic reset of the collar and the release of the Uporny in “free swimming”.
Recall, tiger hard was released in the tract "Tiger house", which is on the border with the national Park Anyuisk, May 28, 2015 the Government of Khabarovsk Krai with the support of the Amur tiger Center, Far Eastern branch of Russian Academy of Sciences. Previously male underwent rehabilitation in the center "Cliff" in Khabarovsk Krai. There he was once left to the people, and began to attack domestic dogs. For not wanting to leave the transport cage was nicknamed Uporny.