Amur tiger camera-trapping in Lazovsky Nature Reserve in The Russian Far East
Linda Kerley and her husband Misha Borisenko have been involved in Amur tiger and leopard research for many years. In 2007 they received a 1 year grant from Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Save the Tiger Fund and Wildlife Conservation Society and started a new project; monitoring tigers using camera-traps on Lazovsky National Reserve in The Russian Far East. Now, thanks to ZSL and Bio-Resources Inc., they will continue this project into the future because good conservation is based on long term dedication and monitoring.
The Lazovsky National Reserve and the surrounding unprotected area cover a key habitat for Amur tigers in the Russian Far East. We are monitoring the survival of individual tigers who frequently leave the protection of the Reserve and wonder into the unprotected areas.
We monitor tigers using camera-traps that autmatically "capture" a tiger on film as it walks past, setting off a heat and motion sensor. Here Misha Borisenk anchors a camera-trap to a tree at the correct height to detect a tiger.
Similar to human finger prints, each tiger has it's own unique stripe pattern that biologists use to recognize individuals. Once we have a collection of photographs from across our study site we can count how many different tigers we have "captured" on film.
For best results we set camera-traps in areas where tigers are most likely to be found. Here biologist Dr. Linda Kerley and wildlife vet Dr. Misha Goncharuk set a camera-trap on a trail in Lazovosky State Nature Reserve near a scent mark tree.
We know the best places to for tigers because we've been snow tracking them for years.
Tigers urinate on specific trees (called scent mark trees) to mark their territory and to advertise their reproductive status. Here Linda is shown smelling a mark tree for the scent of fresh urine; one sign that tigers are active in an area.
This tigress is smelling a scent mark on a birch tree.
This big male visits a scent mark tree searching for evidence of females.
Here a biologist measures a tiger's tracks found in the vicinity of our camera-traps. Track size is a good indication of a tiger's sex and age. Using a combination of camera-traps and snow-tracking enhances our ability to study this elusive big cat.
Other species, such and this male brown bear, visit scent mark trees. Bears and tigers arch rivals often stealing each others kills. Some tigers even kill and eat bears.
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