Amur or Siberian Tiger
Panthera tigris altaica
• It is estimated that 360–406 still exist in the wild. About 490 captive Amur tigers are managed in zoo conservation programs.

• The Amur or Siberian tiger lives primarily in the coniferous, scrub oak, and birch woodlands of eastern Russia, with a few tigers found in northeastern China and northern North Korea.

• Amur tigers are the largest of the tiger subspecies. Males can grow up to 3.3 meters (10' 9") long and weigh up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds). Females are smaller, measuring about 2.6 meters (8 1/2 feet) from head to tail, and weighing about 100 to 167 kilograms (200 to 370 pounds).

• The Amur tiger's orange coloring is paler than the coloring of other tigers. Its stripes are brown rather than black, and are widely spaced. It has a white chest and belly, and a thick white ruff of fur around its neck.

• The primary prey of the Amur tiger is elk and wild boar ( Ecology and Conservation of the Siberian Tiger, 1998).

• In the Russian Far East these prey species are unevenly distributed and move seasonally. As a result, the territory size of Amur tigers is quite large, ranging from 100-400 km2 (39–154 mile2) for females to 800–1,000 km2 (309–390 mile2) for males (Nowell and Jackson, 1996 ).

Zoo Tigers

The captive program for Amur tigers is the largest and longest managed program for any of the subspecies. The Amur tiger served as one of the models for the creation of scientifically managed programs for species in captivity in zoos and aquariums worldwide. According to the 1997 International Tiger Studbook there are about 501 Amur tigers managed in zoos. This captive population is descended from 83 wild-caught founders. For the most part, the Amur tiger is considered secure in captivity, with a large, genetically diverse and stable population.