120 miles of Russian forest couldn’t keep these two tigers apart

[Kittens Are Jerks]

When Russian scientists released a pair of orphaned Amur tiger cubs into the wild in a remote corner of Russia’s far east in 2014, they were trying to save a species. While the tigers, sometimes called Siberian tigers and the world’s largest big cat, remain endangered, the scientists created something else: an unlikely love story.

The cubs, Boris and Svetlaya, had been rescued from the wild as unrelated 3- to 5-month-old cubs in the Sikhote-Alin mountains, the animal’s main stronghold. They grew up in captivity and were released at 18 months old. The cats were separated by more than 100 miles apart with the goal of expanding the distribution of released tigers as much as possible in the Pri-Amur region along Russia’s border with China.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/11/science/siberian-tigers-russia.html?unlocked_article_code=1.gk4.Y9kI.vaYpRskMy266&smid=re-nytimes

[papageorge1]

Telepathic sensing?

[Buzz_Light_Year]

25 minutes ago, papageorge1 said:

Telepathic sensing?

Tigers have a territorial range from 78-450 square miles so overlap of territory is what brought them together. 

[papageorge1]

19 minutes ago, Buzz_Light_Year said:

Tigers have a territorial range from 78-450 square miles so overlap of territory is what brought them together. 

This did not sound like a natural situation like tigers that didn't have human involvement together.

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Boris walked over 120 miles, almost in a straight line, to where Svetlaya had made a home.

 

[Blue Star]

Lovely 💗

[Kittens Are Jerks]

19 minutes ago, papageorge1 said:

This did not sound like a natural situation like tigers that didn't have human involvement together.

He most likely tracked her scent, although a tiger's sense of smell is not as strong as its other senses.

[papageorge1]

5 minutes ago, Kittens Are Jerks said:

He most likely tracked her scent, although a tiger's sense of smell is not as strong as its other senses.

My quick search showed they can smell another tiger up to a couple miles away. I have to believe there is more to it with the 120 mile distance involved.

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Tigers have an excellent sense of smell, and they can detect other tigers from quite a distance. They can often smell a tiger from about 1 to 2 miles (1.5 to 3 kilometers) away, depending on wind direction, weather conditions, and the specific scents they are trying to detect (such as urine or scent marks).

I remember hearing about claims that even humans of the past may have had this telepathic sensing ability. Perhaps it's more active still in tigers.

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There are some claims and stories from Aboriginal Australian culture that suggest a deep, intuitive connection between members of a group, sometimes described as a form of telepathy or a heightened sense of awareness. These accounts often come from oral traditions, which describe how individuals could sense the presence of others or find their way to specific locations even when separated.

 

[Kittens Are Jerks]

2 minutes ago, papageorge1 said:

I remember hearing about claims that even humans of the past may have had this telepathic sensing ability. Perhaps it's more active still in tigers.

I'm not convinced it's telepathy, but who knows.

Tigers can produce low-pitched infrasonic sounds that can travel long distances. Perhaps the two of them were still able to communicate after they were separated. Just a guess on my part as I'm no expert when it comes these beautiful beasts.

[papageorge1]

3 minutes ago, Kittens Are Jerks said:

I'm not convinced it's telepathy, but who knows.

Tigers can produce low-pitched infrasonic sounds that can travel long distances. Perhaps the two of them were still able to communicate after they were separated. Just a guess on my part as I'm no expert when it comes these beautiful beasts.

Still doesn't sound like a satisfying answer with the separation in this case.

Quote

Infrasonic sounds produced by tigers can travel over long distances, with some estimates suggesting that they can be detected by other tigers up to 3 kilometers (about 1.9 miles) away, or even farther in ideal conditions.

 

[Kittens Are Jerks]

3 minutes ago, papageorge1 said:

Still doesn't sound like a satisfying answer with the separation in this case.

Perhaps not, but still more likely than telepathy.

[papageorge1]

6 minutes ago, Kittens Are Jerks said:

Perhaps not, but still more likely than telepathy.

I think telepathy is even a proven human ability in controlled odds against chance experiments (I know the skeptics don't accept that ever). It's apparently a weak but real human ability in my opinion. One can speculate that certain animals are more adept at telepathy than us humans as we rely more on logical thinking and reasoning.

[Lucia62]

2 hours ago, Kittens Are Jerks said:

When Russian scientists released a pair of orphaned Amur tiger cubs into the wild in a remote corner of Russia’s far east in 2014, they were trying to save a species. While the tigers, sometimes called Siberian tigers and the world’s largest big cat, remain endangered, the scientists created something else: an unlikely love story.

The cubs, Boris and Svetlaya, had been rescued from the wild as unrelated 3- to 5-month-old cubs in the Sikhote-Alin mountains, the animal’s main stronghold. They grew up in captivity and were released at 18 months old. The cats were separated by more than 100 miles apart with the goal of expanding the distribution of released tigers as much as possible in the Pri-Amur region along Russia’s border with China.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/11/science/siberian-tigers-russia.html?unlocked_article_code=1.gk4.Y9kI.vaYpRskMy266&smid=re-nytimes

Great 🐅🐅  for the tigers enjoy seeing them together in the wild. Long may they prospurr.

[Claira]

Boris and Svetlay — a love story for the ages.