Post by sarus on Sept 9, 2012 17:03:22 GMT -9
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Russian tigers to take their stripes to Iran
Published: 28 February, 2012
In their toughest fight for survival, two pairs of Russian Amur Tigers will have
to change citizenship. The animals will soon be sent to Iran to help local
zoologists repopulate the country with the world's biggest cats.
Iran’s Caspian tiger population has been all but wiped out by hunters, so
local preservation specialists chose the Amur tiger as a replacement as it is
genetically close to the domestic big cat.
There are only a few hundred Amur tigers left in Russia. According to international
law, the purchase and sale of rare animals is forbidden, but gifts are welcome.
The Amur tigers will have their new home at Iran's Miankaleh wildlife reserve on
the Caspian Sea coast, where they are scheduled to arrive later this year.
It’s not the first time Siberian tigers are being sent to Iran. In 2010, two tigers
from Russia were housed at a zoo in Tehran for a multimillion breeding program
to repopulate northern Iran with the animals.
One of the pair died soon after arriving in Iran however, having developed a
deadly respiratory infection. Some local officials said the tiger was already sick
when it arrived, but Russian officials and members of the World Wildlife Foundation
strongly rejected the claim.
Russia has heavily invested in preserving its tiger population, with Prime Minister
Putin famously endorsing an international protection campaigns alongside Hollywood
celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio.
The Russian Far East is the world’s biggest tiger habitat, accounting for about
11 per cent of the planet’s tiger population. However, poachers and a loss of habitat
continue to drive Amur tigers towards extinction.
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► rt.com/art-and-culture/news/tiger-caspian-amur-cat-367/
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.
Russian tigers to take their stripes to Iran
Published: 28 February, 2012
In their toughest fight for survival, two pairs of Russian Amur Tigers will have
to change citizenship. The animals will soon be sent to Iran to help local
zoologists repopulate the country with the world's biggest cats.
Iran’s Caspian tiger population has been all but wiped out by hunters, so
local preservation specialists chose the Amur tiger as a replacement as it is
genetically close to the domestic big cat.
There are only a few hundred Amur tigers left in Russia. According to international
law, the purchase and sale of rare animals is forbidden, but gifts are welcome.
The Amur tigers will have their new home at Iran's Miankaleh wildlife reserve on
the Caspian Sea coast, where they are scheduled to arrive later this year.
It’s not the first time Siberian tigers are being sent to Iran. In 2010, two tigers
from Russia were housed at a zoo in Tehran for a multimillion breeding program
to repopulate northern Iran with the animals.
One of the pair died soon after arriving in Iran however, having developed a
deadly respiratory infection. Some local officials said the tiger was already sick
when it arrived, but Russian officials and members of the World Wildlife Foundation
strongly rejected the claim.
Russia has heavily invested in preserving its tiger population, with Prime Minister
Putin famously endorsing an international protection campaigns alongside Hollywood
celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio.
The Russian Far East is the world’s biggest tiger habitat, accounting for about
11 per cent of the planet’s tiger population. However, poachers and a loss of habitat
continue to drive Amur tigers towards extinction.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
► rt.com/art-and-culture/news/tiger-caspian-amur-cat-367/
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
.
