John Goodrich/Wildlife Conservation Society How do you release a 400-pound Siberian tiger? Very carefully. Early this month two Russian students hiking in a forest reserve about 120 miles northeast of Vladivostok found a tiger caught in a snare, roaring in distress. The students notified forest guards, who brought in a team of scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society, based in New York, and from Russia's Ministry of Natural Resources. The tiger was anesthetized, observed for a while to make sure it had not been injured, fitted with a radio collar so its movements could be tracked, and let go. It waited a minute after the door to its cage was opened, then leapt out and headed for the woods. About 400 Siberian tigers remain in the wild, according to the conservation society. Poachers kill them to sell the skin and other body parts. Link cool image, huh? it's sad there are only 400 of those tigers in the wild.
I saw one once at the Colorado Springs zoo that had to be more than twice that size (the largest on record is over half a ton). I swear, that thing's paw was bigger than my head. It was HUGE! It is too bad they're wiping them out, but they're definitely an apex predator. If they could get the poaching under control, I wonder if they'd have enough natural habitat to promote a comeback?
umm...mommy! Poachers should recieve the severest (sp?) of the penalties. To be slowly wiping out an entire species is freakin messed up.
