These photos were taken in Far Eastern Russia almost 30 years ago. Seems like yesterday. I was asked to put up a few pictures of methods and equipment I used for the Siberian Tigers and Far Eastern Leopards. At the same sets, I caught a few Himalayan bears as well (Asiatic black bears), and a few Russian brown bears. Incidental catches were raccoon dogs, red foxes, and Asiatic badgers.


Far Eastern Leopards (or Amur Leopards) are probably the most endangered cat in the world. Different subspecies than the African Leopard.



When I arrived in Russia, the only method they allowed was built-on-site live traps. This is a double-ender, with a cage in the middle to house the dogs that were the bait. Had to feed and water the dogs daily, and walk them. With so much human activity, I knew these traps were worthless.



I finally got permission from Moscow to use Aldrich foot snares. For leopards, most sets were blind sets in trails. This is before the snares were camo'ed and blended.



For the Siberian tigers, we had to develop a capture method for the largest cat in the world. These guys make African lions look kinda puny.



Again, the Russian government wouldn't let us use anything but livetraps to start out with. Pretty much worthless.



The tigers used scent trees extensively. When we were allowed to use snares, the best places seemed to be at the base of a scent-tree. They were not baited or lured, just the natural anal spraying that the tigers would leave on the undersides of leaning trees.



Hope you enjoyed... Jack

What were you catching them for?

You brought such improved practicalities to the countries you worked in, Jack.

Those makeshift wood traps look like a tiger would rip out of those like toothpicks. For anyone not familiar with just how large those tigers can get, it is worth a bit of research .

To actually have your hands on those lovely Amur Leopards, a chance most of the human population will never get to enjoy.

I can envision if you could have conducted trapping classes there to others , and how much more successful their work would have been in results.

Penny for your thoughts , in that last shot of you, with that wry smile.

Thank you, Jack for sharing.

Jack, any pix of the blow gun and maybe an explanation of why you went that route?

Imagine trying to sleep at night knowing this was what you where hoping was awaiting you when you ran your trap line in the morning .Even the mountain men trappers in the US where only dealing with some mean grizzly bear and some Native Americans that wanted to scalp them .I would think your sense where always on high alert .while running this type of trap line .

Living the dream sir.


Would you mind giving a little background on what they were gaining from capturing these animals? I presume you were doing it for the Russian government or some other agency that wanted data, right?




Those scent trees must have been perfect for what you were doing. While nothing compared to your adventure, I’ve snared a hogs at their rub trees. Rub trees seem to be one of the best places for catching hogs when their behavior and need for such a strong anchor point are considered.



Thank you much for sharing, that was indeed a lifetime adventure

Hey Gulo, what was the tiger population like? Were you catching multiple tigers each day, 1 a week, 1 and done?

Another question of many, was it scary walking in that forest knowing there’s tigers around?

The animals were fitted with radio-transmitters and released. We were gathering basic ecological information (food habits, home range, population density, etc.).



The learning went both ways, Sharon. I gave the Russians a little taste of western technology. They paid me back by teaching me how to be a naturalist. They could read sign like no others. They knew each and every plant, mammal, bird, insect. They taught me to "observe".

And yes, Sharon, that is me a few years ago. Like the beaver hat and the coyote ruff? The Russians teased me incessantly about the hat, but I think every one of them secretly wanted it.


Yeah Ken. I switched over to using a blowgun to deliver the anesthetic simply because it was a "gentler" approach. The big cats and bears hit with a dart gun , heard the gun's report and felt the rather hard hit. They would usually explode in an attempt to escape. With the softer, quiet delivery from a blow gun, they most often wouldn't react at all when they were hit. I've taken to using the blowgun even for wolves,





Yes, west side, the daily anticipation was exciting. However, the density of target animals was extremely low, so catches were not common. Actually, got a bit tedious at times, because it was so long between captures. I would never characterize it as boring, as the country was ever-so-interesting. Too, in the back of your mind, you were always thinking of the tigers that periodically eat forest workers. Have you read the book "Tiger" by Vaillant? It was written about a rogue tiger in the area I was working in.

That is awesome!

Thanks for that, Jack. Those siberian tigers are one of the most beautiful furred critters in the world. A very big version of a mountain bob!

That's kinda what I figured...thanks for the reply! Awesome adventure!

... I’m jealous lol

Thanks Jack. Were the drugs the same as used here and just as accessible ? Were your US drug permits honored there or did you have to jump through those hoops again over there ?

Outstanding stuff . . thanks for sharing

You always look great in fur, Jack.

Yes I noticed your hat and coat ruff right away. Of course your Russian friends were jealous ! They well know the time honored use of fur, beaver also.

I heard a saying from a Russian acquaintance long ago, " There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing ." With that nice accent . They specifically were speaking of fur. They laughed at fake plastic fur .

You fit right in with them , and they were comfortable to tease you

I know those Siberian Tigers can go over 700 pounds, a very, very big lion is 500

Gulo those Amur Leopards are gorgeous

I have that book but have not read it yet.

Have you read Dersu - The Trapper? If not I highly recommend it

Amazing creatures and an amazing trapper. Thanks for sharing!!!!

I would say, what a job! But, it’s not a job. It’s an adventure! Totally alsome!!! Thanks for the pictures and info.

For anesthetization, we transported our own drugs over to Russia. The drugs we have on hand for various negative reactions we had to take over as well. Never was much of a hassle. The Russians had access to certain drugs, but they were not something I was familiar with. My certification for drug handling in the US seemed sufficient in Russia.


Mike; You need to sit a spell and read Vaillant's book, The Tiger: A true story of Vengeance and Survival. It's very well done in explaining in detail the way of life over there. I thought very accurate. Pretty much everyone in the book, I knew over there.
I've read Arseniev's book many times. Dersu Uzala was a gold (native) from the exact area I was working in. There's even a movie that the Japanese made of Dersu, the Trapper.



You're right Gator Foot. Pretty much every job I've had for my life, in Idaho, Alaska, Russia, Mongolia, or wherever, has been nothing short of an adventure. However, in Russia there was the added hassles of KGB and Russian Mafia in about everything I did. Life has certainly spoiled me severely!