NORTHERN TIGER PROJECT January November 2013 1
ECOLOGICAL EDUCATION ACTIVITIES Anyuisky National Park Department on Ecological Education Over the first half year over... Took part in the activities on environmental education in Nanaisky District. Among the main events were: - a Week of the Nanai people' s culture - a Day of Environmental Knowledge - working out a game for the district schools "Saving forests from fires" - cleaning up of the local rivers and lakes - "The Far Eastern taiga" exhibition compiled of the best kids' works - planting Korean pine seedlings 2
In August two weeks long expeditions was held in the Park s territory for 20 kids. The visitors center and ethno village were actively used by the expedition participants. TIGER PARADE IN ANYISKY NATIONAL PARK Over 120 kids and grownups have marched the street of Troitskoye village, the center of Nanai District of Khabarovsky Province this is how the World Environment Day was celebrated in Anyuisky National Park. The Park s staff, teachers and kids were among those who celebrated the holiday. Some kids groups have invented special costumes, composed rhymed cadences. They carried banners showing animals, birds and appeals to save northern tigers together. 3
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AMUR TIGER MONITORING The monitoring was conducted on the model plot called "Tiger house located in Anyuisky National Park and outside. Besides, the Park's specialists registered tigers tracks during the winter route census. Over two stages of the field work (December 20-23, 2012, and February 13-17, 2013) in the model plot 10 tigers were registered (compared to 2 tigers in 2012): among them 4 males, 1 female with a cub, 4 tiger of undefined sex. Such significant growth is explained by a mass concentration of wild boar due to a rich harvest of the main forage. According to the monitoring data received in the Park and the adjacent territories 17 tigers were registered over two stages of the field work (December 14-25, 2012, and February 14-20, 2013). Among them 5 males, 3 females with one cub each, 2 females without cubs, 4 tigers of undefined sex. The Amur tiger is being researched with the help of camera traps. The first tiger was captured in the Park on March 22, 2013. In late May the Park' s Department on Science summed up the results: in total 21 camera traps were working on four model plots. It was defined that the cameras have registered a grown male and a female that received special passports:http://wwf.ru/resources/news/article/eng/11359 5
Passport Individual identification code TG1 Sex: Male Tracks dimensions: front right paw Track width Track length Palmar corn (heel) width Palmar corn (heel) length 13.0 cm 10.5 cm 11.0 cm 7.5 cm Body identification zones Right body side: Left body side: Forehead: 6
Miscellaneous: Unfortunately, the catastrophic flood in the Amur this summer and fall hindered the Park s administration from completing tiger monitoring activities. Not only wild ungulates have suffered from the flood. On September 17, a dead adult tiger (aged 6 years) was found on the left bank of the Amur River. Its death was caused by drowning. In December 2013 the first stage of the planned tiger monitoring will take place in the Park and the adjacent territories. The second stage will be completed in spring 2014 allowing the Park s administration to get data on tiger number over three years of the project implementation. 7
Auto- road connecting Khabarovsk and the village of Troitskoye ANTI POACHING ACTIVITIES The area of the Northern Tiger project is protected from poaching by three organizations: Anyuisky National Park, Hunting Department of Khabarovsky Province and Khabarovsky Province State Directorate for Wildlife Protection and Protected Areas. Anyuisky Park Department of Protection (Stepan Kirillin is the Department's chief) is in charge of controlling the roads, feeding fields for ungulates and watching in the check points. This activities allow protecting the Park' territory from poachers. In total, 175 protocols were issued 8
in the Park. 10 protocols out of them were on illegal hunt. 6 fire arms were confiscated and delivered to the Police. 7 cases were brought to court. In 2013 (01 January- 15 November), specialists of the Hunting Department of Khabarovsky Province (Director Alexander Ermolin) and Khabarovsky Province State Directorate for Wildlife Protection and Protected Areas (Director Yury Kolpak) revealed and suppressed 94 violations of hunting regulations in Khoso Nature Park and adjacent areas. 101 patrolling raids were conducted, 11 fire arms were confiscated.. On 3-5 October 2013, on the territory of «Orlinoye» state hunting estate, WWF Russia jointly with the Wildlife and Hunting Management Department of Primorsky province, together with veterinarians of Primorsky State Agricultural Academy, conducted a training seminar for staff of conflict groups of Hunting Departments of Primorsky and Khabarovsky provinces on how to use the equipment for animal immobilization. Participants of the workshop had not an easy task: to ensure the transportation of two Himalayan bears from one place to another, situated at a considerable distance. Moreover, to provide veterinary care for the Himalayan bear which was injured after a fight with another bear. WAR AGAINST POACHERS On March 4, 2013 two snow mobiles were stopped by Khabarovsky Province State Directorate for Wildlife Protection and Protected Areas in Nanaisky District. The snow mobiles with no registration plates were driven by three men with rifles. When checking the attached sledge three illegally hunted bears and one roe deer were revealed. The rifles and the animals ' meat were confiscated and the cases were brought to court. 9
Pictures presented by Khabarovsky Province Hunting Department On August 201, Hunting Department inspectors stopped a motor boat on the Ulika River with poachers, confiscated fire arms and several sacks with a red deer meat. Seminar for the staff of Hunting Departments specialized groups on conflict resolution 10
NEW EQUIPMENT FOR RANGERS. Tents, GPS navigators, boats Rotan, solar accumulator stations, and spare parts for off-roaders were purchased PROJECT S INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH 11
In May 2013, a group of experts of WWF Sweden and Northern Ark Fund visited the Park to get acquainted with the project's results and to discuss its perspectives for the second stage to be run in 2014-2017. In late September 2013, two Park s specialists, deputy Director for Science and Wildlife Management Andrey Subbotin, and senior ranger Anton Pushkaryov, paid a visit to Finland and Sweden to learn the experience of the hunting estates on supplementary feeding of ungulates and ecotourism development. They also visited the Nordens Ark Zoo, one of the project s partners, and discussed the future of the project and meet the staff of the Scientific Department. A group of experts from WWF Sweden and Nordens Ark are coming to the Park in March 2014 to evaluate the results of the project over three years. The report prepared by Viktor Nikiforov with support of Pavel Fomenko, Andrei Subbotin, Sergei Aramiliev, Aleksandr Samarin, Marina Ridel, Yulia Fomenko, Yuri Kolpak 25/11/2013 12