January 21, 2022

Tiger Toes Get Chilly, Too


Tiger Toes Get Chilly, Too
The tiger in question was just a little smaller than the one in this photo. Pexels, Pixabay. 

Not even Russia's tigers are immune from cold winters, as the recent case of a frostbitten kitten demonstrates.

The Amur tiger cub, also known as a Siberian tiger,  suffering from frostbite, was found by a local fisherman months ago in Russia's Primorye region. When found, the female tiger cub was estimated to be around 4 to 5 months old, and weighed in at only 20 kilograms, half the normal size for her age. 

The tiger cub was taken in by the Amur Tiger Center to be cared for. Upon examination, it was determined she had frostbite on her tail, necrosis in her jaw, as well as other injuries. It was clear she would need extensive surgery to stop the decay of her tissue and cells caused by the necrosis. 

To prepare the cub for surgery, she first had to gain around 10 kilograms and had the tip of her tail cut off where frostbite had damaged it beyond repair. She was then ready to undergo her two-and-a-half-hour surgery. According to the Amur Tiger Center, the surgery was a success. While Sergei Aramilev, head of the Amur Tiger Center, seems confident that the necrosis has been stopped from harming the cub any further, her recovery is still unpredictable. 

While this case may simply seem like one unlucky tiger cub, it has been seen before, and there is a vast significance behind it. According to International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List, the amur tiger is listed as endangered. There are only about 600 of these tigers left in Russia, with the remaining in China, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). President Putin has proclaimed efforts in the protection of the endangered species a decade ago while serving as the nation's prime minister, focused on doubling the population of the tiger by the year 2022. 

You Might Also Like

A Big Win for Big Cats
  • September 06, 2021

A Big Win for Big Cats

Big cats can rest easy knowing that both the Amur Tiger and the Amur Leopard have been declared safe from the possibility of extinction. 
Beastly Benefits
  • May 14, 2021

Beastly Benefits

When the show can no longer go on, animal members of the Russian State Circus will now be given the opportunity to retire in style in Crimea.
A Paw-some Recovery
  • March 17, 2021

A Paw-some Recovery

Rescuers at the Amur Tiger Center are always happy to lend a helping hand (or paw) to tigers in need.  
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
The Moscow Eccentric

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955