National Geographic: Tigers of the Snow Page #3

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How would they react to another

of their own species?

Yudin and Hornocker set up

an experiment

involving a full-sized model tiger.

"Okay. A little more."

"I'm interested to see

what you think of this, Victor.

Is that as big as Kuchur?"

"Yes..."

"These will match right up

on the right side.

You got that back there?"

"Yeah, it's good."

"Yeah, that's a good fit.

Okay, let's see what it looks like

standing up."

Victor's dogs are convinced.

They immediately recognize

an arch enemy.

Tigers in the wild are solitary

animals and fiercely territorial.

Is this behavior innate or learned?

And, if innate,

how soon does it develop?

The reaction to an intruder

by the captive-raised tigers

may help provide an answer.

The scale model is covered

with tiger urine,

the scent that establishes territory.

Recordings of tiger calls will be

played into the enclosure.

The stage is set.

Kuchur, the male, is curious.

He spends hours observing

this strange creature.

But by light of day,

Kuchur keeps his distance.

It's only overnight

that the researchers discover

the tigers' real attitude

towards the intruder.

Every shred of color has been ripped

from the model's skin.

Only when the model

no longer looked like a tiger,

did Kuchur leave it alone.

The defense of his territory

is already a powerful instinct.

It was the long Siberian winter

that created the tigers of the snow,

demanding robust size,

padded paws and thick fur.

But it is also winter

when they are hunted,

when they are most easily seen...

this time by a scientist.

"We've had to develop and

evolve all our techniques here.

No one had ever worked

with Siberian tigers before.

So, we utilized foot-snaring

to capture the tiger

and it's worked very successfully.

But, some of them are becoming

very trap-shy,

some of them have become very,

uh, difficult to capture...

So in order to maintain the

continuity of our data collection,

in order to keep track

of certain individuals

we've had to utilize helicopters."

The hunt begins to re-collar

certain tigers.

The information the collars provide

is critical

to understanding the boundaries

required for the tiger's survival.

Their territories are extensive.

Females may range up to

two hundred square miles,

males perhaps five hundred.

Losing contact with a study animal

is their greatest fear.

Each one is precious

to the scientists.

"The collars we put on animals last

about two to two-and-a-half years

and then the batteries,

lithium batteries run out,

so they simply need to be replaced.

Once we've invested two years in

an animal gathering information,

that animal becomes very valuable

to us because it has a history.

And the longer we can maintain

contact with an animal,

the more we learn about

its life-history patterns:

how often it has young,

how long they live,

its whole life history."

The pilot spots something below.

It's a wild boar

running for its life.

And in pursuit a tiger.

Tigers miss most of their prey.

This time the helicopter provides

a distraction, saving the boar.

The tiger is not amused.

Eventually they pick up the strong

signal of another familiar tiger.

It is Olga, mother of the cub

found in the den.

The helicopter quickly searches the

area hoping to spot her cub, Sasha.

And Sasha is there - no longer

a small cub, but thriving well.

The young are raised

by the mother alone.

Sasha will stay with her

for eighteen to twenty months

until it's time to establish

his own home range.

The search continues for Kouza

a young male who has outgrown

his radio collar.

Kouza is just beginning

to mark off his territory

and it's difficult to know

the extent of his range.

Tranquilizing a Siberian tiger

is not an exact science.

The size of the tiger, its mood -

and the placement of the dart can

influence the drug's effectiveness.

Always, out of concern for the tiger,

the team tries to inject

a minimal amount.

After long hours

and much precious fuel,

the tiger is spotted.

In pursuit, the helicopter must fly

very low over dense forest -

a dangerous maneuver.

It's a far cry from hunting

on foot for Bart Schleyer.

"There's usually just a real

narrow opportunity to dart

and sometimes there's a limb

in the way

and there's been a number of times

when I probably could have gotten

a dart into an animal,

but I'm too worried about

a deflection of the dart

and having the, the dart deflect into

a improper placement in the animal

which would injure it,

which we don't want.

So, I'm real, real stressed by trying

to get a proper hit on an animal."

As the tiger moves deeper

into the forest,

the helicopter follows so closely

it almost touches the tree tops.

"The pilots we're using,

I'm real confident in the pilots

because you are operating

real close to tree level

and you just hope that the pilots

can see what's going on,

around behind them particularly

with their back rotor

and particularly the other day when

we were in close on one of the tigers,

there was a conifer tree

that was actually almost butted

right up against the helicopter."

The first shot is a clean hit.

They hover patiently waiting for

the tranquilizer to take effect.

But they can't wait too long -

for they're running low on fuel.

Bart fires another dart

into the tiger.

Most big cats need two doses.

And the second one appears to

take effect.

Bart and Rybin Nikolai

must quickly be landed.

This too is a dangerous maneuver.

But they can't leave the tiger

sedated for long.

The pilot is very concerned now.

They must refuel.

He radios Bart to abort the mission.

But Bart insists -

for the tiger's well being -

they must remain below

and finish the job now.

The helicopter races back to refuel.

As they slowly approach the tiger,

their worst fears are realized.

The tiger is up and moving.

The dosage was insufficient.

Still, they must get a closer look

to make sure he's all right.

They proceed with caution

knowing they are intruding

in a fierce young tiger's newly

claimed territory.

Kouza appears groggy

but otherwise all right.

But he's much too dangerous

to follow.

Now they can only await

the helicopter's return.

And hope the young tiger has seen

enough of them.

For now, the tiger has eluded them,

but at least they know

where he can be found.

Eventually, he'll be located

and fitted with a new collar.

At last, they are brought aboard -

to the relative safety of a

helicopter hovering in the tree-tops.

Not long after, they spot a tigress

named Marivana.

She is very aggressive -

and even climbs a tree

to attack the helicopter.

She only provides a better target

for Bart Schleyer.

Unlike the larger male, a single dose

sedates the tigress quickly.

"Let's take blood

and that's about it..."

The old collar is measured

against the new one -

which is given an extra notch

for growth.

They carefully monitor

her heart rate and respiration.

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