Siberian tiger travels 190km to reunite with childhood mate
In a touching love story straight out of a Disney movie, a Siberian tiger trekked a straight line through 190km of snowy Russian forests to find his beloved mate.
According to the Smithsonian Magazine, the two tigers were part of repopulation efforts by scientists.
Nothing will stand between their love
The two tigers, Boris and Svetlaya, first met at a conservation programme. The two joined the conservation efforts in 2014 when they were only a few months old, after they were orphaned.
Both tigers were then raised with minimal human contact, so that they can eventually be reintroduced into the wild in an effort to repopulate the Sikhote-Alin mountains with Siberian tigers.
Once they turned 18 months old, scientists released the two tigers back into the wild.
And although they were released nearly 200km apart, Boris trekked the distance “almost in a straight line” to reunite with his love.
Source: Smithsonian Magazine
The reason for the distance was to increase the range of the species within the Russian eastern coast.
Six months later, the two gave birth to a litter of cubs that will soon be raised in the wild.
Raised with minimal human contact
To ensure that the tigers were ready to live in the wild, scientists made sure the tigers weren’t dependent on human caretakers.
Source: Smithsonian Magazine
In the conservation programme, cubs are fed only wild game. Once they are old enough, researchers let the tigers hunt for food on their own within the enclosures.
The tiger cubs begin by hunting domestic rabbits and pheasants before moving up to wild boars and sika deer.
The scientists’ efforts in getting the cubs to learn how to hunt effectively seem to have worked.
“Basically, the data demonstrated that orphaned cubs, raised in captivity and released, were just as good as wild tigers at hunting, targeting the same types of wild prey, and very rarely killing livestock,” said the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society in Russia.
Of the six tigers reintroduced to the wild, only one failed at hunting in the wild. That particular tiger crossed the border into China and began feeding on domesticated goats.
Scientists recaptured the tiger once it made its way back into Russia. The tiger is now part of a breeding programme in a zoo.
Also read: Tiger cub at Thai safari has netizens clamouring over its cute eyes
Tiger cub at Thai safari has netizens clamouring over its cute eyes
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Featured image adapted from Smithsonian Magazine.Â
