Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09VLADIVOSTOK81
2009-07-22 08:01:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Vladivostok
Cable title:  

A VISIT TO THE TIGRESS OF GAIVORON

Tags:  SENV RS 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3208
RR RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHPOD RUEHYG
DE RUEHVK #0081 2030801
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220801Z JUL 09
FM AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1177
INFO RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 1282
UNCLAS VLADIVOSTOK 000081

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV RS
SUBJECT: A VISIT TO THE TIGRESS OF GAIVORON

Poloff and FSN visited a tiger rehabilitation center in central
Primorye July 17 and discussed conservation with its director.
His work has saved over two dozen tigers injured by poachers
over the past twenty years. Most of the tigers were brought to
the center either by hunters, environmentalists, or concerned
locals. After physical treatment which requires extensive
interaction with humans, they are often unable to re-adapt to
life in the wild and are sent to zoos or circuses. Director
Victor Yudin is a researcher with the Russian Academy of Science
and has been residing in the town of Gaivoron, 250 km north of
Vladivostok, for almost 20 years. He is the director and the
only employee at the center which is supported by the Institute
of Biology and Soil Sciences (IBSS) located in Vladivostok.

Meeting the Tiger Family
--------------

In previous years, the center worked with five to seven tigers
at a time, though currently it houses only three. An
18-year-old tigress Nyura, is the oldest of all of the tigers
ever placed in the center. Together with her mate Kucher, who
died recently, she had seven cubs at the center. Their last
offspring, male 4-year-old Almaz, still lives with Nyura at the
center, but will likely be sent to a zoo as were his brothers
and sisters. The third tiger, about one year old, which was
found last winter starving in a nearby forest and brought to the
center by local hunters, is kept separately and away from
people. Yudin is optimistic that he will be able to send him
back into the wild -- the absence of human contact is the main
condition of tiger's successful adaptation to wildlife. Two
black bears, seven lynxes, two raccoon dogs, and a wild cat are
among other inhabitants of the center.

Director at Odds With the Mainstream
--------------

Yudin often is at odds with the mainstream conservation
community. Though funding is increasingly scarce, he rejects
any kind of business partnership, which he believes would
improve the financial situation but distract him from his
scientific studies. He criticizes 'foreign funds ' saying that
their goal is more self-promotion than conservation, and that
World Wildlife Fund employees make financial profit from tigers
while doing little to actually protect the species. He proudly
refuses grants from international organizations, preferring
donations from area residents and visitors. Yudin is also of
the feeling that "Americans do not like me " because he
vehemently opposes radio tracking collars on tigers as he
suspects they disorient the tigers and make it difficult to
track prey. He publishes his articles only in Russian and
refuses to have them translated into English or to publish them
on the Internet.

As a Result, Funding is Particularly Difficult
-------------- -

Partly because he eschews mainstream funding sources and partly
because of generally difficult economic times, funding for the
center is insufficient. Officially, he is an employee of the
IBSS, and regularly receives a modest monthly salary from the
institute. He complains that he does not receive adequate
funding from the Academy of Science, and it shows. Cages for
the animals were shabby, cramped, and made from various metal
remnants. The two-hectare open-air cage where tigers live needs
constant attention to prevent tigers from escaping. Gaivoron
locals and businessmen from nearby Spassk donate some food for
Yudin's animals, as did Consulate visitors. He prohibits
photography at the center, and makes additional income from
visitors buying photographs of his tigers for 130 rubles (USD
4.50) each.

Comment. Funding for the center is scarce, and Yudin avoids the
usual sources of conservation funding. His work, however, is
valuable and essential. His center has saved dozens of tigers
which would have perished otherwise. It is encouraging that the
center still exists and does receive official -- though modest
-- funding. However, for a director nearing retirement age,
finding someone to eventually replace Yudin may be difficult.

MILLER