Advertising: Siberian Tiger Tour, February 2020

Royle Safaris have 4 spaces on a Siberian Tiger tour set for February 20-29, 2020. This tour involves no baiting.

This 10 day itinerary is set in one of the world’s most incredible and remote ecosystems. In the Russian Far East deep inside the forest where the vast taiga meets the diverse Manchurian forest there is a mix of boreal and tropical Asian species that result in one some of the most incredible wildlife. At the top of this ecosystem is the majestic Siberian Tiger. However unlike the suggestive name the tigers in Russia do not live in Siberia, instead they live in Amur, Ussuri and Primorye and within these areas the Ussuri tigers are the focus of this particular trip. They are the most northerly wild tigers in the world and they are long removed from the explosion of poaching that occurs in South and South East Asia and because of the vastness of their forests even deforestation hasn’t impacted them significantly so far. However deforestation does occur and is on the rise. This trip is crucial to increase eco-tourism here and help provide an economical reason for the local people to protect their forests and wildlife.

Despite the increasing number of tigers (censuses from 2013 showed 18 tigers around the reserve this increased to 22 in 2014, 23 in 2015 and remained at 23 for 2016-17) the reserve is large and continuous with millions of square kilometres of forest; and coming across one of these tigers will require patience, luck and all of the tracking skills of the guides. During the autumn and winter the tigers are ‘easier’ to see and track as they spend more time on the roads to avoid the deeper snow (winter) and mud (autumn) elsewhere; and we hope to see one as we patrol these pathways and the forests of the reserves.

As well as the tigers we hope to find there are other mammal species here (all are elusive and hard to see during winter) but we hope to see Manchurian wapati, Siberian roe deer, wild boar, sable, mink and raccoon dogs to name a few species. However we have set realistic expectations that this trip is very much for tracking of tigers and sightings of a tiger are very rare.Because of the nature of Siberian tigers we cannot guarantee any sightings; however we can assure you all of an adventure of a life time and one that could result in you becoming one of the only non-Russian people to see a wild Siberian tiger!

We have had some success in the past with tigers being spotted by clients or staff in the reserve on 6 occasions whilst we have had trips into the reserve. Our best sightings coming in February 2017 when two tigers (a young female and an adult female) were seen by all clients well.

More information is here. The February trip can be combined with a separate Amur Leopard tour.