- Human-tiger conflict in Russia’s Far East has persisted since the 19th century, with modern issues driven by habitat loss and urbanisation.
- Amur tigers are now frequently sighted near roads, attacking dogs, livestock, and rarely, humans.
- In recent years, incidents have risen due to changes in reporting methods and dwindling wild boar populations. Experts highlight the role of human behaviour, such as stray animals and poaching, in escalating conflicts.
The conflict between humans and Amur tigers in the Russian Far East dates back to the 19th century when settlers from the west of the Russian Empire began colonising the region. These new arrivals overexploited the rich taiga resources, turning tigers, once revered by indigenous people, into targets for hunting and prized trophies. By the 1940s, the Amur tiger had nearly disappeared from the area. Thanks to intensive conservation efforts, the population has slowly rebounded in recent decades, but the conflict between humans and tigers persists.
Modern Day Conflict
In modern times, factors like habitat loss, urbanisation, and resource depletion have driven tigers out of the forests, leading to more frequent interactions with humans. The most common types of human-tiger conflicts today include:
- Tigers appearing along roads and near or inside settlements;
- Attacks on dogs from households, streets, and industrial sites;
- Livestock theft and predation;
- Rare but serious injuries or fatalities to people;
- Within the hunting community, there’s a belief that tigers compete with them for game. Many hunters feel that tigers “steal” their resources.
While attacks on people are exceedingly rare, the other conflicts are more common. In recent years, conflicts involving dogs and livestock have surged in Primorye and Khabarovsk. Experts partly attribute this to an outbreak of African swine fever, which decimated the wild boar population—tigers’ main prey. However, this increase in reported incidents may also be due to changes in conflict reporting methods. Previously, authorities would record multiple incidents by the same tiger as a single event, but now each encounter is documented separately.
According to the ANO Center Amur Tiger report, in 2023, Primorye recorded 170 conflict incidents (76 dog attacks, 27 livestock attacks, and 65 human encounters), and Khabarovsk saw 264 incidents (181 dog attacks, 9 livestock attacks, and 71 encounters). This is a significant rise compared to 2020, which had 66 incidents in Primorye and 28 in Khabarovsk.
Experts also note that human behaviour often contributes to these conflicts. Stray dogs, unsupervised cattle, and waste can attract tigers and other wildlife, increasing the likelihood of encounters. Poaching is another factor, as orphaned cubs or injured tigers are more likely to venture into human settlements in search of easy prey.
