It may not be long before we witness the extinction of one of the world's six species of tigers, the Amur (or Siberian) tiger ( Panthera tigris altaica ). As we have previously reported, Amur tiger populations have dropped precipitously in recent years to around 250 animals, and the species faces a genetic bottleneck that puts it at risk of inbreeding. Now, a mysterious illness has started spreading through the Amur population, causing the death of four adult tigers and several newborns in the past 10 months.
"We may be witnessing an epidemic in the Amur tiger population," Dale Miquelle, director for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Russia Program, told the Guardian .
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