Tigers continue to approach humans, and conflicts do not cease. In many cases, eyewitnesses report that the tigers look hungry and skinny, even in freezing temperatures. We, in turn, as part of our public initiative to prevent conflicts between people and tigers, propose modern and understandable steps to the government, which fundamentally change how people interact with wild animals in general.
- Introduce a moratorium on any form of sport hunting in tiger habitats to avoid situations where predators lack sufficient food
- Introduce a ban on any commercial logging in tiger habitats to avoid the degradation of their natural habitat
And also — to implement a federal Unified Platform using modern technical means that would allow tracking of predatory (especially conflict-prone) animals and timely prevention of any conflicts.
First of all, we received a “message” from our allies in the Government that the proposals have reached key figures in power and that they have been definitely and reliably informed about the possible solutions proposed by society.
In addition, our proposals are extremely unpopular with officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources, who have been actively trying for the second year in a row to pass a bill allowing the killing of animals listed in the Red Book.
The resonance we caused has become so loud that, apparently, the media has been swept by a wave of publications claiming that everything is actually fine and that the tigers are not hungry.
Let’s examine this issue together, because the media quotes a specialist who works with tigers. And we should firmly state our position!
All right.
I will provide a full quote from the media.
“The director of the ‘Amur Tiger’ Center, Sergey Aramilev, refuted the widespread opinion that Amur tigers come to people due to hunger and a lack of food in the forest. According to him, all the captured individuals and the animals recorded by camera traps were in good physical condition. He emphasized that the predators have enough prey in their natural habitat, although its quantity may be less than usual. Cases of tigers being emaciated, if any occurred, were exclusively due to injuries sustained, not a lack of food.”
Now let’s break it down.
I have no questions for the “Amursky Center” organization — in recent years, specialists have indeed been able to restore the tiger population, at least according to the reports.
And I will not dispute their opinion — after all, they are probably true specialists and have been working with tigers for a very long time! No questions there.
There is a question for the state itself — why does a program to restore the tiger population exist, while there is no program to provide a food supply for predators and restore their habitat?
The opinion of the director of the “Amur Tiger” Center fully coincides with the official position of the Ministry of Natural Resources. And this is not surprising.
The autonomous non-profit organization (ANO) “The ‘Amur Tiger’ Center” was established in 2013 by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. Formally, the organization receives money only from private individuals, but I am still convinced that the structure is financed by the state.
The creation of the center was organized under the leadership of the Russian Geographical Society, whose president is Sergey Shoigu, and whose chairman is Vladimir Putin. The “Amur Tiger” Center is managed by a Supervisory Board, whose members are appointed by the Russian Geographical Society and include representatives of government agencies, commercial and non-profit organizations, as well as private individuals.
I will quote from independent media.
“In the Supervisory Board of the Center, which determines its strategy, there are no zoologists, only government officials: Minister of Justice Konstantin Chuychenko (he is the Chairman of the Supervisory Board), Deputy Head of the Central Executive Committee of the United Russia Party Dmitry Nekrasov, Head of the Presidential Administration’s Public Relations and Communications Department Alexander Smirnov, and others.”
Therefore, from a logical point of view, even though the project to restore the number of tigers is presented as independent, in reality it is a government structure that was created by Presidential decree, is controlled by the Russian Geographical Society, and the reputation of this organization is very important, as it reflects the initiative of the highest state officials.
And when the director of the center states that tigers are not hungry and that they have enough food, that is primarily the state’s position! Which is also what we hear from regional officials and personally from the Ministry of Natural Resources in response to our appeals.
Accordingly, it would be surprising for me to see differences in the views of the Center and the State. After all, they are one and the same!
Now, I think we need to shed some light on the situation with tigers specifically!
I want to first draw attention to the phrase that the media is actively promoting in quoting the director of the Center.
“According to him, all the captured individuals and the animals recorded by camera traps were in good physical condition.”
At first, I read it several times, thinking maybe I misunderstood something? No, that’s what it says. Then I went and double-checked the information, even looked through various scholarly works. What if I’m wrong after all?
The situation here is that in winter, based on camera traps alone, it is impossible to assess the condition of tigers in the wild. And no specialist would categorically claim that a tiger is in a certain condition!
First.
A camera trap records the animal for a short period, usually just a few seconds. The tiger is usually captured on the move; it may also be preparing to attack, or its body position relative to the camera may distort the visual impression.
Moreover, from just one or two photos, it is impossible to track changes in the animal’s condition over time. To talk about long-term undernourishment or emaciation, scientists analyze entire series of photographs and data collected throughout a season (or several months), comparing the tiger’s appearance in different parts of its habitat at different times.
But fine, if it’s a calm tiger slowly passing by a camera in the summer, it can show a certain form. Then we can at least make an assumption!
But.
Second.
In cold weather, particularly our Amur tigers in the Far East grow denser and longer fur. By winter, a tiger always looks like a “ball” — the tiger’s volume increases visually, but you can only see its actual musculature and layer of body fat during a physical examination. That is, if the tiger is caught (or found dead), after which specialists carefully examine it.
Third.
And of course, different individuals may have different body proportions, hereditary features, and a “manner” of presenting themselves on camera (sometimes it’s literally the angle at which the tiger turns toward the camera). All of this makes it difficult to objectively assess its condition.
How do scientists assess a tiger’s condition using camera traps?
A series of photos is taken; researchers sometimes have to collect thousands of images per season to see tigers from different angles and perspectives. Then experts look at photographs of the same animal over time — with tigers, such a method works by stripes (they are unique), so there is a way to monitor its condition.
But this information is approximate and indicative!
You can only truly assess a tiger’s condition when it is captured to be fitted with a new collar or for a veterinary examination (in scientific projects). Veterinarians determine body mass, muscle condition, and subcutaneous fat directly. They also analyze the tiger’s movements via GPS data: a starving animal will more frequently make risky forays to the outskirts and find prey less often.
We almost never use GPS, except for local cases! Which is precisely what we propose the state should change in our country — to launch a Unified Platform for monitoring and preventing conflicts.
So the main point here is that “a starving animal will more often take risky forays to the outskirts.”
Tigers, as a rule, do not attack people on purpose; this is an extreme rarity! They also avoid encounters with people and bypass settlements.
If tigers begin to regularly come into contact with people, then there is a serious problem. Typically, it’s caused by two factors: a shortage of food and the destruction of their natural habitat.
I specifically re-examined some scholarly works to ensure I’m not mistaken in what I’m saying!
For instance, you can refer to WWF, Wildlife Conservation Society, and Panthera methodological guides, where experts conducted research on tigers, using camera traps. They confirm that camera traps are an excellent tool for identification and counting, but not for a subtle assessment of physiological condition (apart from obvious, extreme exhaustion, of course).
Therefore, based on the above, I conclude that, of course, camera traps cannot determine in winter whether a tiger is hungry at that particular moment. That can only be done over the long term, and typically requires not just a series of photographs over a long period, but also GPS collars, analysis of scat, tracks, and observations of the predator hunting in the wild.
What do we see?
- A rapid increase in the number of tigers approaching people over the last few years
- A rise in risky attacks on domestic dogs
- Confirmation from eyewitnesses that tigers looked extremely skinny (even in winter, taking fur into account)
For instance, according to the same data from the “Amur Tiger” Center:
— in 2022, there were reportedly 298 tiger conflicts
— by 2023, their number had already increased to 456
According to the federal publication “Izvestia,” in 2024 (last winter, respectively), about 600 conflicts with tigers were recorded.
And as of the beginning of January 2025, there have already been dozens of attacks on dogs, and there are casualties among both people and tigers. That is, it has already reached the most extreme level of conflict!
And the situation is getting worse!
Why do we believe tigers are hungry?
Of course, the most obvious reason is the reports from eyewitnesses that tigers come to people to find food, as well as media reports confirming that discovered tigers are skinny.
One of the tigers found dead on January 21 was described by experts as follows. I quote:
“Upon examining the tiger, it was found that the male tiger’s body condition was not even average, but poor. In the head area, there is a through-hole that runs from the lower jaw under the right eye down into the chin. The wound is fresh. The tiger’s death presumably occurred around 4:00 a.m.”
Similar reports come up very often.
Meanwhile, the information that tigers began to regularly approach humans only in recent years is being overlooked! And in previous years, when we contacted regional authorities, we were told that tigers do not have enough food.

In the photo, dead tiger cubs discovered on December 15, 2021. They squeezed under the porch of a residential house in the settlement of Shumny in the Vyazemsky municipal district of Khabarovsk Krai. They died from the cold, and their emaciation was terrible! The tiger cubs were about 3-4 months old.
According to the authorities themselves, the situation worsened after the extermination of wild boars in the wild. That’s what they say!
So, from 2020 to 2023, in Primorsky Krai alone, the number of wild boars in the wild decreased by more than 70%, dropping from 48,976 to 14,098 individuals. This is just one region, not counting others!
People hunted down the wild boars as part of the fight against ASF (African swine fever). However, wild boars are a key component of the Amur tiger’s diet.
The authorities in Primorsky Krai even introduced a hunting ban on boars so their population could recover.
And here I will quote federal media from 2023.
“Amur tigers, due to the reduced food supply, have literally begun terrorizing residents of villages in the Khabarovsk Krai. Predators appear during the day and have stopped fearing humans. Experts cite the decline in the wild boar population in the taiga caused by uncontrolled logging and African swine fever as the reason.”
“Experts from the department add that the reason tigers go after easy prey is the shortage of their traditional food — wild boars. The number of hoofed animals in the region has decreased due to logging of oak stands and African swine fever.”
The media referred to specific data from the Department of Hunting Management of Khabarovsk Krai. Specialists confirm that tigers are experiencing hunger.
And this is what residents of the Far Eastern regions wrote in 2023 in an appeal to the Government.
“The ecology is disrupted, the food chain is broken, and now we are seeing the consequences in the form of emaciated tigers who, in search of food, come into villages and get their meals there. But we cannot blame them for this — they are driven by the instinct of self-preservation; they want to live. But there is no food for the tiger! And the day is not far off when humans remain the only food for the tiger.”
Let’s sum it up.
The director of the “Amur Tiger” Center said what he had to say. It is the official position of the authorities.
For my part, after extensive study of the problem, I am convinced that the core issue lies in the destruction of tigers’ natural habitat and the inevitable reduction of their food base.
Today, at least 80% of all the tiger habitat in Russia belongs to hunting grounds that compete with predators for prey. The difference is that people kill for pleasure, while tigers kill for survival.
Massive logging, resource extraction, and development under the “hunting industry” are taking place in the Russian Taiga. And regarding hunting, federal authorities reported last year: “One-third of all public forest lands have been transferred to private tenants for hunting.”
So, are the tigers hungry?
I believe the answer is definitely yes. And we will continue to push for the restoration of their habitat, the introduction of a hunting moratorium, and the creation of a modern Unified Platform — so that all data is confirmed by technical means, rather than the words of certain individuals who value reports and numbers on paper.
© PAVEL PASHKOV
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