Description

The Siberian tiger is the northernmost subspecies of tiger and the most massive living feline. It evolved to survive the brutal cold of the Amur–Ussuri taiga, where winters drop below −40 °C. Its dense, pale-gold coat grows longer and lighter than those of tropical tigers, with thicker fat layers beneath the skin for insulation.

It ranges across the Russian Far East, northeast China, and, rarely, North Korea. Its domain — a mosaic of coniferous forest, birch, and frozen river valleys — demands vast hunting territories, often exceeding 1,000 km² per adult male. Prey includes red deer, wild boar, moose, and musk deer, supplemented in lean times by smaller mammals.

Genetically, P. t. altaica diverged recently from the Caspian tiger (P. t. virgata), and may even represent its surviving population, displaced eastward by millennia of hunting and habitat contraction