Siberian, or Amur tiger Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) are the largest and (to me) the most impressive of all the wild cats, with large males approaching 300 kg (650 pounds) and females to perhaps 180 kg. As their name implies, they are native to north-eastern Asia; formerly they had a wide range but now are confined to the Russian side of the eastern Russian-Chinese border region, along the Amur River (with perhaps a handful hanging on in North China and North Korea). The wild population (maybe 350-450 animals) is in serious trouble from poaching and habitat destruction; this is a little ironic since they were rescued from near-oblivion by strict protection imposed during the Stalinist days of the former Soviet Union. They breed readily in zoos and today there are probably a lot more Siberians in captivity than in the wild; this
captive tiger, a young male, was photographed in a large, wooded enclosure at the Anchorage Zoo.
Image copyright by Mark A. Chappell
