Operation Amba
Encyclopedia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n programme to curtail the poaching
Poaching
Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
of Siberian tigers in the Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
. It was described as a strategic defence of the tiger which uses psychological operations as a major element. The programme was concentrated on identifying and neutralizing tiger traders in the Russian Far East and used small anti-poaching teams to roam the taiga
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
and build a network among local population for support and information. Support from the local population and state law enforcement
Law enforcement in Russia
Law enforcement in Russia is the responsibility of a variety of different agencies.* The civil police service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs - Former Militsiya.* FSKN - Russian Federal Narcotics Control of Service, Russian counterpart of the DEA...
agencies was a key element of the programme. The name "Operation Amba" is derived from "Amba", the name for tiger used by the Udegai people of the Russian Far East.
Operation Amba has been widely successful, having saved cub tigers, made seizures of illegal poaching materials, and raided illegal operations and poaching rings.
Operation Amba is credited for bringing the Siberian tiger back from the brink of extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
in the mid-1990s and helping stabilize the population after years of heavy poaching.Prior to Operation Amba, an estimated 60 to 70 tigers were killed each year by commercial poachers who sold the body parts (skins, bones, etc) to black market traders. By 1995, the population was thought to have dramatically decreased to just 250-300. By 2001 however, poaching was down to about 8 to 10 tigers per year, and the population had grown to about 400-450 tigers. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature
World Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
, the latest Russian Census reports put the current number to be anywhere between 480 and 520 without including the small numbers of this subspecies present in mainland China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.