Caught on Camera: Video of Confiscated Wild Deer Carcasses

February 20, 2009

Originally Published by Phoenix Fund

In the Sikhote Alin Nature Reserve, heavy snowfall is tough on animals and often makes a ranger's work of protecting them difficult and dangerous. Moreover, top predators like the Amur tiger and Amur leopard have to contend with more than just harsh weather conditions; their food source is shrinking. In this video, a Terneisky team of inspectors from the Primorsky Game and Rare Species Department detain a poacher caught with the bodies of several roe deer, a favorite prey of tigers and leopards.

When poachers hunt the same prey as predators, they make it increasingly difficult for tigers and leopards to survive. Heavy snowfall allows hunters to target prey stuck in deep snowdrifts. To prevent the over-hunting of roe deer and other ungulates, Russian rangers have taken measures into their own hands, even rescuing ungulates when they become stuck in the snow and stocking feeding grounds.

Photos and video by Phoenix Fund/Primorsky Game and Rare Species Department