Overview
The Amur tiger, often called the Siberian tiger, is a powerful northern tiger adapted to snow, cold forests, and huge territories. It depends on healthy prey populations and connected forest corridors across Russia and China.
Habitat & Range
The Amur tiger survives mainly in the temperate forests of the Russian Far East, with a growing cross-border presence in northeastern China. Its range is a cold landscape of mixed broadleaf, conifer, mountain, and river-valley forest.
How to Identify It
This is the largest northern tiger form, with a heavy body, thick winter coat, pale orange fur, and widely spaced black stripes. Broad paws help distribute weight on snow, while the long tail assists balance in steep terrain.
Diet & Hunting
Amur tigers depend on large ungulates, especially wild boar and deer. A tiger may travel long distances between kills, using forest cover, snow tracks, and night movement to approach prey without being detected.
Behavior
Adults are solitary and territorial. They mark trails with scent and scratches, follow ridgelines and river corridors, and need very large home ranges because prey density in cold forests is lower than in tropical tiger habitats.
Life Cycle
Females give birth in sheltered dens and raise cubs alone for many months. Young tigers must learn to track prey, avoid people, and eventually disperse through forest corridors to establish their own territories.
Role in the Ecosystem
As an apex predator, the Amur tiger helps regulate deer and boar populations and acts as an umbrella species: protecting enough forest for tigers also protects many birds, mammals, plants, and river systems.
Conservation Outlook
Recovery depends on anti-poaching patrols, prey restoration, connected habitat, cross-border cooperation, and reducing road and livestock conflict. Even small losses matter because the wild population remains limited.