I couldn't resist adding another Tekahn photo...he is a very photogenic, but more importantly he is worth featuring for how great an individual he is.

"The Udege people of the Russian Far East call the tiger Amba, god of the forest. In the remote Bikin River basin, the native Udege and the Amur tiger live alongside each other in a vast expanse of forest known as the taiga." http://sales.micojapan.com/detail/202

You don't have to share the beliefs of the Udege to respect the tiger in such a way. I wish more people did...perhaps the tiger wouldn't be in such a poor state right now.

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Tigers are the largest of the big cats and are exclusively found in Asia from India to Vietnam, from Indonesia to the Russian Far East. The tiger can be divided into 9 subspecies: 4 are currently critically endangered and 3 are already extinct. Though estimations of tiger populations only a few years ago was 5,500-6,000, today populations are likely closer to 3,500 and are still declining. Dramatic declines of the tiger in India, thought to host the majority of the world’s tigers, have fallen to less than 1,411. Overall, the past decade has seen a 40% reduction in tiger habitat, which now represents a mere 7% of its historic range. Poaching is a significant problem throughout the tiger’s range, the demand for its body parts in traditional medicines, tonics, and exotic dishes driving a lucrative trade that is wiping out entire populations. Long-term threats include habitat fragmentation and prey depletion, which is accelerating the tiger’s demise and subsequently reducing the long-term genetic viability of many populations.

If you want to help, the best for you to do is to educate yourself (http://www.savethetigerfund.org), never buy products made from tigers or endangered species (http://www.wildaid.org), and tell others. Contact me for more information.