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Siberian Tiger in Alaska

Glitch

Glitch

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Location
Alaska (61.5°N, -149°W)
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I recently stumbled across this December 2019 article:
Siberian Tiger in Alaska – Are there any Tigers in Alaska?

ALTHOUGH Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) primarily lives in the eastern Russia with a few individuals found as far as China and North Korea, it appears as if amur tigers are making their way to Alaska—perhaps for the first time. No one would have thought that way if Togiak Refuge hadn’t posted the tiger photo on November 4th, 2016.
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The article then posts the following photo:
Amur Tiger.jpg

However, what the article fails to point out is the location of the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge covers 4.7 million acres of land located in Alaska's southwestern part of the State.
Alaska Map.jpg

The tiger could have only come across the Bering Sea during the Winter months when the sea is frozen, but to get that far south would have taken the tiger several weeks if not months once they entered Alaska.

As if brown bears and polar bears were not a big enough concern. Now it there would appear to be tigers in Alaska.

The article does point out that wolves and tigers are natural enemies, and there are lots of wolves in my neck of the woods. So I will take it as a sign that there are no tigers in the vicinity. If Democrats ever find out about this watch how quickly the "Alaskan Tiger" gets added to the Endangered Species list. :doh
 
Nobody thought there were leopards in the southern US either. But there were and there are. Not many. Any quite frankly, if there are tigers in Alaska, find them, tag them, research them. Do not just kill them.
 
Glitch said:
I recently stumbled across this December 2019 article:


The article then posts the following photo:
View attachment 67287081

However, what the article fails to point out is the location of the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge covers 4.7 million acres of land located in Alaska's southwestern part of the State.
View attachment 67287082

The tiger could have only come across the Bering Sea during the Winter months when the sea is frozen, but to get that far south would have taken the tiger several weeks if not months once they entered Alaska.

As if brown bears and polar bears were not a big enough concern. Now it there would appear to be tigers in Alaska.

The article does point out that wolves and tigers are natural enemies, and there are lots of wolves in my neck of the woods. So I will take it as a sign that there are no tigers in the vicinity. If Democrats ever find out about this watch how quickly the "Alaskan Tiger" gets added to the Endangered Species list. :doh
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Cool shot of the tiger. The Siberian Tiger just might find Alaska a great place to live. Of course, there is the issue of it being an invasive species, but then, so are humans. It will have considerable competition from the brown bears and polar bears in the contest for the top of the food chain, but humans will still be the main danger they will have to face.
 
That...is one big kitty. :shock:
 
So...cancel the hiking trip in Alaska, then?
 
Dittohead not! said:
How would you like to come face to face with that kitty giving you the finger... er the toe??
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Pass.

If those cats decide to start homesteading up there in significant numbers, its going to turn hiking into a dystopian Olympic event.
 
trblmkr said:
Nobody thought there were leopards in the southern US either. But there were and there are. Not many. Any quite frankly, if there are tigers in Alaska, find them, tag them, research them. Do not just kill them.
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There is really up to them. Considering its location as of 2016, it is not likely to encounter many people. There are a few native villages scattered throughout the area. If the tiger(s) stays primarily in the western portion of the State they are less likely to encounter anyone. They will still be competing with wolves however, but that is really no different from Siberia.

While the Alaska Department of Fish & Game have acknowledged mountain lion sightings in Alaska every year, they make absolutely no mention of spotting tigers in Alaska.

Mountain Lions in Alaska

As a result, there are no regulations concerning the hunting of tigers in Alaska.
 
Glitch said:
It is the Amur Tiger actually, and it is endangered. Siberia just happens to be one of its stomping grounds. Now it appears to include Alaska as well.
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Shame it's an invasive species. Think they're likely to just monitor them or put in place a program to 'repatriate'?
 
Dittohead not! said:
How would you like to come face to face with that kitty giving you the finger... er the toe??
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No thank you. I understand the behavior and nature of bears, and can therefore avoid them and maintain a safe distance when encountering them. I have had hundreds of brown bear encounters in the 29 years I have lived in Alaska, and none of them were aggressive nor did I ever find myself having to use my firearms in self-defense. I don't know diddly-squat about the nature of tigers or their behavior, so I would prefer not to ever encounter one in the wild.
 
Glitch said:
No thank you. I understand the behavior and nature of bears, and can therefore avoid them and maintain a safe distance when encountering them. I have had hundreds of brown bear encounters in the 29 years I have lived in Alaska, and none of them were aggressive nor did I ever find myself having to use my firearms in self-defense. I don't know diddly-squat about the nature of tigers or their behavior, so I would prefer not to ever encounter one in the wild.
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The unknown is always scarier.
We have black bears here, but no grizzlies. Black bears scare people who aren't familiar with them, but they're not scary. Any I've encountered have been running away. Same with mountain lions We have a lot of them in California despite there being 40 million people here as well. They're secretive and shy, don't come around humans if they can help it. Attacks are so rare as to be almost non existent.
As for brown bears, I'm not so familiar with them, and so find them a lot scarier than you do.

Tigers could be the same: Frightening as they are a powerful predator, but may not be a threat to humans. Not that I'm going to walk up to one to find out though.
 
uptower said:
Shame it's an invasive species. Think they're likely to just monitor them or put in place a program to 'repatriate'?
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At this point the Alaska Department of Fish & Game doesn't even acknowledge the tiger's existence. Plus, it was on federal land at the time. The photo is 3.5 years old, the tiger may not even be alive any longer. But that doesn't mean there couldn't be more tigers. It is in a very remote part of Alaska, so trying to monitor anything would pose a problem.
 
Dittohead not! said:
The unknown is always scarier.
We have black bears here, but no grizzlies. Black bears scare people who aren't familiar with them, but they're not scary. Any I've encountered have been running away. Same with mountain lions We have a lot of them in California despite there being 40 million people here as well. They're secretive and shy, don't come around humans if they can help it. Attacks are so rare as to be almost non existent.
As for brown bears, I'm not so familiar with them, and so find them a lot scarier than you do.

Tigers could be the same: Frightening as they are a powerful predator, but may not be a threat to humans. Not that I'm going to walk up to one to find out though.
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Brown bears are extremely curious critters with a fantastic sense of smell and a great sense of humor, and that often gets them into trouble with humans. They behave in a lot of ways like dogs. A common bear encounter scenario is me fishing for salmon, while an 8 to 10 foot long 600 to 800 pound brown bear tries to sneak past me to steal the salmon I already caught. It is exactly like a dog trying to sneak into a room that they know they are not allowed into. I keep a few ladyfinger firecrackers in my tackle box for such occasions, and when the bear gets too close I toss one or two in their general direction. Once they know they have been busted, they run off into the woods. As I said, they are not aggressive encounters, so I don't feel threatened.

As a result of COVID-19, and the lack of the 2 million tourists that normally visit Alaska every summer, the brown bears are more numerous than in prior years and seem to be bolder this Summer. I have already had several encounters since June began.
 
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dave8383 said:
Ever heard of photoshop?
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The photo I posted did not come from the article, but it is an identical photo. Note the date/time stamp at the top of my photo that was not included in the article's photo. Are you really trying to claim that two completely different sources altered the photo in the exact same way?
 
Glitch said:
The photo I posted did not come from the article, but it is an identical photo. Note the date/time stamp at the top of my photo that was not included in the article's photo. Are you really trying to claim that two completely different sources altered the photo in the exact same way?
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Please, the photo was shopped.
 
Glitch said:
No thank you. I understand the behavior and nature of bears, and can therefore avoid them and maintain a safe distance when encountering them. I have had hundreds of brown bear encounters in the 29 years I have lived in Alaska, and none of them were aggressive nor did I ever find myself having to use my firearms in self-defense. I don't know diddly-squat about the nature of tigers or their behavior, so I would prefer not to ever encounter one in the wild.
Click to expand...

This is what I know about tigers, they eat meat and we are meat.
 
Glitch said:
There is really up to them. Considering its location as of 2016, it is not likely to encounter many people. There are a few native villages scattered throughout the area. If the tiger(s) stays primarily in the western portion of the State they are less likely to encounter anyone. They will still be competing with wolves however, but that is really no different from Siberia.

While the Alaska Department of Fish & Game have acknowledged mountain lion sightings in Alaska every year, they make absolutely no mention of spotting tigers in Alaska.

Mountain Lions in Alaska

As a result, there are no regulations concerning the hunting of tigers in Alaska.
Click to expand...

That is absolute amazing. And similar how the lion went into North and South America
 
trblmkr said:
Nobody thought there were leopards in the southern US either. But there were and there are. Not many. Any quite frankly, if there are tigers in Alaska, find them, tag them, research them. Do not just kill them.
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I think you meant jaguars?

Jaguars range from South America through Central America and Mexico. Their existence in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas has been documented but extremely rare. Leopards are native to Africa, Asia, and southern Europe.
 
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