| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | MAMMALIA | CARNIVORA | FELIDAE |
| Scientific Name: | Panthera tigris ssp. altaica | ||||||
| Infra-specific Authority: | Temminck, 1844 | ||||||
Common Name/s:
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| Taxonomic Notes: | Subspecies recognition of P. t. altaica was affirmed on the basis of molecular markers. This subspecies has a low level of genetic variation, probably due to past and recent population declines (Luo et al. 2004, Russello et al. 2004). | ||||||
| Red List Category & Criteria: | Endangered D ver 3.1 | ||||||
| Year Assessed: | 2008 | ||||||
| Assessor/s | Miquelle, D., Darman, Y. & Seryodkin, I | ||||||
| Evaluator/s: | Nowell, K., Breitenmoser-Wursten, C., Breitenmoser, U. (Cat Red List Authority) & Schipper, J. (Global Mammal Assessment Team) | ||||||
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Justification: The Amur tiger now occurs primarily in Russia, where it has made a spectacular comeback since the 1930s, when the population fell as low as 20-30 animals (Kaplanov 1948). According to a comprehensive 2005 population census (Miquelle et al. 2007), there are 331-393 adult-subadult Amur tigers in the Russian Far East, with fewer than 100 likely to be sub-adults >20-<36 months of age (D. Miquelle pers. comm. 2008). The number of Amur tigers in China is estimated at 18-22 (Govt of China 2007, GTF 2007), and it is not known if any still survive in North Korea. Effective population size for tigers (the percentage of the population which successfully reproduces itself) is estimated at 40% of the total population (Smith and McDougal 1991). This concords with low documented cub survivorship to independence in the Russian Far East (Kerley et al. 2003). The number of adult reproductively successful Amur tigers is thus likely less than 250 (Criteria D). The population is considered stable, comparing the 2005 results with the previous Russian census in 1996, which used a similar methodology and estimated 330-371 adult/subadult tigers. However, poaching, human-tiger conflict and prey base depletion continue, with the potential to easily alter the hard-won conservation gains for the Amur tiger (Miquelle et al. 2005, 2007). Due to the stability of the population, the Amur tiger is downgraded from Critically Endangered to Endangered. Should the population again start to decline, due to the numerous threats and intensive efforts needed for conservation, this rare subspecies would qualify for uplisting to Critically Endangered under Criteria C2(a)(ii). Over 90% of Amur tigers are found in one large subpopulation in Russia, the Sikhote Alin. A separate second small subpopulation occurs along the southernmost coast, isolated from the main population by the urban area of Vladivostok, but adjoining China's tiger population in the Changbai mountains. The Changbai subpopulation meets the criteria for Critically Endangered (criterion D). |
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| History: |
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| Range Map: |
(click map to view full version)
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| Population Trend: |
Stable
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| Systems: | Terrestrial |
| Citations: |
Global Tiger Forum. 2007. Tiger Update by Global Tiger Forum (GTF) - May 2007. CITES COP14 Inf. 19. Government of China. 2007. Introduction to Tiger Conservation in China. Presentation to the 4th International Tiger Symposium. State Forest Administration, Kathmandu, Nepal. Kaplanov, L. G. 1948. Tigers in Sikhote-Alin. Tiger, red deer, and Moose, pp. 18-49. Kerley, L. L., Goodrich, J. M., Miquelle, D. G., Quigley, H. B., Hornocker, M. G. and Smirnov, E. N. 2003. Reproductive parameters of wild female Amur (Siberian) tigers (Panthera tigris altaica). Journal of Mammalogy 84: 288-298. Luo, S. J., Kim, J. H., Johnson, W. E., Van Der Walt, J., Martenson, J., Yuhki, N., Miquelle, D. G., Uphyrkina, O., Goodrich, J. M., Quigley, H., Tilson, R., Brady, G., Martelli, P., Subramaniam, V., Mcdougal, C., Hean, S., Huang, S. Q., Pan, W., Karanth, U. K., Sunquist, M., Smith, J. L. D. and O'Brien, S. J. 2004. Phylogeography and genetic ancestry of tigers (Panthera tigris). PLoS Biology 2: 2275-2293. Miquelle, D. G., Nikolaev, I. J. Goodrich, G., Litvinov, B., Smirnov, E. N. and Suvorov, E. 2005. Searching for the Co-Existence Recipe: A Case Study Of Conflicts Between People And Tigers In The Russian Far East. In: R. Woodruffe and S. Thirgood (eds), People and wildlife: conflict or co-existence?, pp. 305-322. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Miquelle, D. G., Pikunov, D. G., Dunishenko, Y. M., Aramilev, V. V., Nikolaev, I. G., Abramov, V. K., Smirnov, E. N., Salkina, G. P., Seryodkin, I. V., Gaponov, V. V., Fomenko, P. V., Litvinov, M. N., Kostyria, A. V., Yudin, V. G., Korkishko, V. G. and Murzin, A. A. 2007. 2005 Amur Tiger Census. Cat News 46: 14-16. Russello, M. A., Gladyshev, E., Miquelle, D. and Caccone, A. 2004. Potential genetic consequences of a recent bottleneck in the Amur tiger of the Russian far east. Conservation Genetics 5(5): 707. Smith, J. L. D. and Mcdougal, C. W. 1991. The Contribution of Variance in Lifetime Reproduction to Effective Population Size in Tigers. Conservation Biology 5(4): 484. |
| Citation: | Miquelle, D., Darman, Y. & Seryodkin, I 2008. Panthera tigris ssp. altaica. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 09 February 2010. |
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