Tiger Cubs on the Move

By Linda Zajac
Photos courtesy of Dr. John Goodrich
Map by Map Resources Premier International

This team tracks Siberian cats.

In a secret spot on a hillside in eastern Russia, a tigress named Galia rose to her feet. Leaving was risky, but she was mighty hungry.

Galia fiercely guarded this pile of rocks. Under a hazel bush, she had hidden her new cubs—tiny balls of striped cinnamon-colored fluff. Bears and other adult tigers will try to eat tiger cubs. Despite the risks, Galia stalked off in search of meat.

Like some of the other tigers in the Sikhote-Alin Reserve, Galia wore a radio collar that helped scientists keep track of her.

The signal from the mother's radio collar faded. She had left.

Nearby, four researchers were setting up camp and checking their equipment. They were willing to wait for Galia to leave, but they got lucky. The signal from Galia’s radio collar faded.

“We could tell she left the den to go hunting,” said Dr. John Goodrich. He is the leader of the Siberian Tiger Project for the Wildlife Conservation Society.

This was their chance to put radio collars on Galia’s cubs.

Can They Save the Cubs?
Collaring the cubs meant a lot to these researchers, even if it was a dangerous mission. At roughly five weeks old, the cubs would be the smallest wild tigers ever to wear radio collars.

“About half of Siberian tiger cubs die before they reach one year of age,” said Goodrich. Without radio collars to track tiger cubs, researchers had no way of knowing how they died. “If we can learn why, perhaps we can do something to help.”

	Her cubs were hiding among the rocks.

A month earlier, after Galia had walked away from a meal, the team had searched for what was left of her prey. When they found it, they discovered a surprise—Galia’s den. Before returning a second time, they made certain Galia was gone.

They spread out and searched for tiger cubs among rocks and dense brush. Fifteen minutes later, they spotted a cub ducking under a rock.

“The cubs were not in a ‘den,’ so to speak, but hidden in a brushy area with lots of nooks and crannies—rocks where the cubs could hide,” said Goodrich.

They didn't want to come out.

Galia would have been furious if she had caught the researchers touching her cubs. For the research team, Galia’s return would have been nothing short of terrifying.

“One person listened to her signal continuously,” Goodrich said. “If it seemed she was coming back, we would have left the area immediately.”

When the group approached the hazel bush, three playful cubs were hiding. “They were too young to run away, so catching them was easy,” said Goodrich.

First, the researchers attached tiny radio collars. The collars were specially designed, using elastic. They would not choke the cubs as the animals grew. Instead, the collars would expand and finally fall off.

	Researchers recorded their weights and fitted them with radio collars.

Next, the team weighed each cub. They took blood samples and tested the cubs for disease. Then they took hair samples. Later, they would use DNA from the roots of the hairs to identify the cubs’ father.

Four Survivors!
In the wild, the researchers couldn’t do much to protect the cubs. To get information, they put radio collars on the tiny cats and followed them for one year.

The researchers feared they would lose at least one cub. But if a collared cub died, they might find out what happened to it.

“Fortunately, we learned absolutely nothing about how cubs die, because they all survived!” said Goodrich.

A small blood sample tells a lot about a cub’s health.

The researchers did learn that a hunting tigress must often leave her cubs alone for several days. She returns to guide them to dinner. Is the death rate high because cubs spend so much time unprotected? The researchers aren’t sure.

To save tiger cubs, researchers on the Siberian Tiger Project need more information. “We’ll try to collar every litter born,” said Goodrich.

In two years, they’ve put radio collars on six Siberian tiger cubs at Sikhote-Alin Reserve. Four adult tigresses have radio collars, too. Eventually, the adults will have cubs. When they do, the researchers will be waiting.