An Endangered Amur Tiger

Oct. 1, 2003 — The famed Amur, or Siberian, tigers of the Russian Far East, prized by poachers for their hides, could disappear in 20 to 30 years, ecologists warned in Moscow Tuesday.

"The risk of extinction for the species has not been averted," despite protection measures, Yury Dunichenko, a Russian researcher, told a news conference in the Russian capital.

The Amur tiger population has stabilized around 400 to 450, according to the most recent census conducted by Russian and U.S. researchers working in the area, he said.

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But the number of babies among the population has dropped from 28.6 percent in 1997 to 9.5 percent in 2003, Dunichenko said.

"This number of baby tigers is insufficient for a stable reproduction of the species," Dunichenko said.

The number of mother tigers has also decreased, from 14.3 percent of the total population in 1997, to 4.8 percent in 2003, he said.

The Amur tigers are a favorite target of poachers in the Russian Far East, where much of the population is impoverished, and a single hide can reportedly fetch up to $20,000 on the black market.

The tigers' habitat is also shrinking because of deforestation. The roaming felines are today crowded onto 3.8 million hectares (9.5 million acres) in the Khabarovsk region, Dunichenko said.

Only 10 percent of the territory is under protection, he said.