Russian Nature Press
Information Service

AMUR TIGER

This is believed to be the first general introduction to the Amur tiger in English, and is largely derived from Russian sources. The main text is intended for the interested non-specialist with no prior knowledge of tigers or the Russian Far East. Chapters can be read in any order. They are divided into even-number chapters - stories about tigers translated from the Russian literature - and odd-number chapters, which present information about the tiger and its natural and human environment. The final chapter considers conservation and the Amur tiger's prospects. Technical information is given in Notes and Appendices. To see some scanned pages of the book, click on Google, go to Advanced Book Search, and enter 'russian nature press' under 'Publisher'. CONTENTS Publisher's, Translator's and Author's Notes 1. Introduction: the Caspian tiger; Arsenev 2. Arsenev "Amba" 3. Russian Tiger Country: geography and climate; vegetation; human history; zapovedniks 4. Arsenev "Attack" 5. Native Peoples, Settlers, Tigers: Chinese and Korean settlers; Russians and tigers 6. Arsenev "Makha" 7. Kaplanov: Siberian taiga (1933-36); Sikhote-Alin Mts (1936-41); tracking tigers; Moscow (1941); Sudzukhe (1941-43) 8. Arsenev "Mionu and the Meka Rocks" 9. Taxonomy, Range, Habitat: distinctiveness of the Amur tiger; range; China and Korea; tiger conservation in China; Russian Far East; habitat 10. Baykov "Tiger Nights" 11. Life Cycle, Predation, Competitors: family life; territories and marking; trails and lairs; hunting; prey; natural competitors 12. Zhidenkov "Capturing Tigers" 13. Population, People, Poaching: felling forest; forest fires; tigers and people; trade in tiger parts; poaching 14. Smirnov "Tiger Monitoring"; with Supplement (update on monitoring methods) 15. Prospects: captivity; problem tigers; protected areas; politics and economics; Russian and foreign NGOs; the future Appendices 1. species mentioned in the book 2. the different kinds of tiger 3. NGOs mentioned in the book 4. where to see Amur tigers (UK zoos) References; Notes; Index

David Prynn BSc (Econ., London), MA (Sheffield) has been involved in Russian and Chinese studies since 1969. Before retirement he was a Lecturer in History at Suffolk College in Ipswich, and an Associate Lecturer for the Open University. An enthusiasm for the wild regions of the Russian Far East and Northern China - which David visited in 1992 and 2001 - was stimulated by the Russian explorers and naturalists Arsenev and Baykov. He continued his research on the Amur tiger at the University of East Anglia, and was awarded an MPhil for his work in July 2003. David is a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London and a Trustee of AMUR - an Anglo-Russian charity devoted to the conservation of the Amur tiger and leopard.