Population viability of the Siberian Tiger in a changing landscape: Going, going and gone?

Does prey density limit Amur tiger Panthera tigris altaica recovery in northeastern China?

“…A population viability analysis has indicated that the Amur tiger is highly sensitive to prey scarcity (Tian et al 2011 We have made assumptions that must temper our conclusions. One assumption is that the deer and tiger populations at the 15 sites used for the regression analysis were all at equilibrium, but poaching of both ungulates (Jathanna et al 2003) and tigers (Gopal et al 2010), and the presence of competing carnivores such as the leopard (Karanth et al 2004) means that the relationship between the tigers and the ungulates are confounded, and without human predation, prey density and carrying capacity for tigers would likely be greater (Karanth et al 2004).…”

Amur tigers and leopards returning to China: direct evidence and a landscape conservation plan

“…The majority of forests have been logged, and many lowelevation forests have been converted to secondary deciduous forests during the past decades ). Ungulate species that are potential tiger and leopard prey include the Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygarus), the sika deer (Cervus nippon) and wild boar (Sus scrofa) (Tian et al 2011;Xiao et al 2014). Other predators, including the Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) and the sable (Martes zibellina), coexist with the two big felids in our study area.…”

“…This region is considered the highest priority Tiger Conservation Area in China because it has the largest network of habitat patches which is connected with tiger and leopard source populations in Russia (Hebblewhite et al 2012). It is a mountainous landscape and has a rugged terrain with elevation varying from 5 to 1477 m. The major vegetation types include Korean pine Pinus koraiensis forests, deciduous birch and oak forests, coniferous forests, natural shrublands, and agricultural areas (Tian et al 2011;Hebblewhite et al 2012). The majority of forests have been logged, and many lowelevation forests have been converted to secondary deciduous forests during the past decades ).…”

“…Due mainly to habitat loss, landscape fragmentation, prey depletion, and poaching, the tiger population declined from more than 3000 to about 500 during the past century Miquelle et al 2010b;Tian et al 2011;Tian et al 2014), while the leopard population reportedly had only about 30 individuals (Pikunov et al 2009;Hebblewhite et al 2011). Once roaming over a region of 1.85 million km 2 , the Amur tiger is now confined to two separate areas: the Sikhote-Alin Mountains of Russia, with a population of 415-490 individuals Tian et al 2009), and the southwest Primorskii Krai of Russia-Hunchun of China region, with fewer than 20 individuals (Pikunov et al 2003;Miquelle et al 2006;Henry et al 2009;Sugimoto et al 2012).…”

“…During the past two decades, the endangered status of the two felids has prompted increasing research interests and conservation efforts in China (Zhou et al 2008;Tian et al 2009Tian et al , 2011Hebblewhite et al 2012). China's new environmental policies, especially ''The Natural Forests Protection Program'' initiated in 1998, have led to substantial improvements in the quantity and quality of forests in Northeast China (Wei et al 2014), which is concurrent with a major tiger conservation effort on the Russian side.…”