A Final Report To: SAVE the TIGER FUND Scent Dog Monitoring of Amur Tiger (2003-0087-018) March 1, 2003 - March 1, 2004 Linda Kerley

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A final report to: SAVE THE TIGER FUND Scent Dog Monitoring of Amur Tiger (2003-0087-018) March 1, 2003 - March 1, 2004 Linda Kerley

PROJECT SUMMARY We trained dogs to identify individual tigers by scent in scat and urine and then we used the dogs to monitor Amur tigers on Lazovsky State Nature Zapovednik (LZ). We collected scats and urine during monthly field surveys and identified individual tigers from those samples. To date, we have identified 12 tigers and 7 litters of cubs. Using this method, we are continuing to monitor tigers in our area, which is a key habitat for tigers in the Russian Far East. Since 2001, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s The Save the Tiger Fund has supported our efforts to monitor Amur tigers using scent dogs. Our goals in 2003-2004 were to maintain the continuity of our tiger monitoring project, and, at the same time, improve our “scent dog” methodology, including our dog-training program and developing a statistical framework for our data analysis. The following is a summary of what we’ve accomplished.

TIGER MONITORING Project Objectives: 1) maintaining the continuity of monthly field surveys on and near LZ, and 2) continue to use the data to count and monitor individual tigers, their movements, and reproductive status in the study area.

Accomplishments – Since 2001, we have employed 4 people to track tigers and collected scats and urine (scent samples) during monthly field surveys of our study area (250 km2 including LZ and adjacent areas). We monitored tiger movements using a combination of conventional tracking (in snow and mud), visual observations, and “scent dog” identifications of tigers (tiger ID’s) from scent samples. We determined tigers sex by the dimensions of their tracks and their association with cubs. We plotted the locations of each 2

tiger’s scats or urine sample on a map (representing a tiger’s location) to show home ranges and sensitive areas where tigers and roads, or tigers and human activity overlap. During this study period (March 2003 to March 2004; hereafter referred to as “this year”), we used 100 scent samples for tiger IDs and used the information to identified 3 new (or “unmarked”) tigers and 2 new litters of cubs. Since the beginning of the project, we have identified 12 individual tigers (4 males, 7 females, and 1 unknown sex; see section below on tiger descriptions) and reported on 7 different litters of cubs (Table 1). This year we also estimated tiger abundance in LZ by running a Capture-Recapture analysis using the program Mark (see “Statistical Framework” section below). During an identification trial (tiger ID trial), a dog is allowed to smell a tiger scat at the beginning of a trial in the “start” position (Figure 1; Appendix A). The dog then identifies that same tiger from scats placed in individual jars around a circle on the floor. The dog is trained to sit in front of the jar that contains the matching scat. In the example to the left, circles represent jars with scats from different tigers and jars 5 and 9 contain scents that match the start. The dog should indicate the match by sitting next to each jar consecutively. Two people run the trails indoors (in a 5 by 5 meter building) to control for ambient scents and other distractions. One person handles the dog (handler) and the other person sets out the scent jars (assistant) for each trial. The assistant works independently (i.e., blind) so that the handler never knows the position of each tiger’s scent within the scent lineup and therefore cannot unintentionally influence where the dog sits. The position of each jar is randomly selected for each trail and great care is taken to avoid inadvertently teaching the dog to cue on anything other than the scent of the individual tigers, (i.e., scent strength or freshness, prey species, sex or hormonal differences preset, jar position, or handler’s body language). Because this type of work can be tedious, care is taken not to over work the dog, to 3

keep it interesting, and to always end the work period on a positive note. Dogs are worked once per day and 3 to 5 days per week. On a working day a dog completes 5 – 10 identification trials. The first and last trials are always practice trials to warm up the dog at the beginning and let the dog end on a positive reward. During a practice trial, scats from known tigers are used and the match should be easy for the dog.

Our methods are improving over time. This year our tiger ID dogs (Panda, Maggie, and Alka; Table 2) preformed better than previous years, we learned more about tiger behavior by tracking animals for long distances (often >10-20 km) in the snow as opposed to previous years when we focused on finding scats of different tigers (Photographs 1a through

1g), and we had 3 years of accumulated information to draw conclusion from.

One important finding this year was a litter of cubs born in 2002 to a known (or marked) female (F4; Table 1). Because of F4’s close proximity in winter 2002-2003 to a second female with cubs (F5) we were unable to detect her litter last year. These 2 females with cubs (F4 and F5) used the same 5 kilometers of forest trail for at least 3 months during winter 2002-2003. However, until we had enough scent to identify them as different mothers we assumed tracks were from 1 mother. It is unusual for adult female Amur tigers, especially those with cubs, to have overlapping home ranges. These findings are forcing us to rethink our definition of spatial structure for tigers on LZ.

A second important finding was an interesting interaction between tigers and bears.

At different times during winter 2003-2004, we tracked a female (F2) tiger with a 1 year-old cub and a male tiger (M4) and found that they hunted hibernating brown and Himalayan bears in their dens. It is not unusual for tigers to eat bears (Table 3) but those that do are usually not females with cubs, presumable because of the risk such a dangerous interaction with another large carnivore presents (i.e., bears have been shown to kill tigers ). Both F2 and

M4 appeared to be actively checking caves and trees at high elevations for hibernating bears. 4

Table 1. Estimated litter characteristics of female Amur tigers that reproduced and were monitored between September 2000 and March 2004 on and near the Lazovsky State Nature Zapovednik, Russia. estimated cub age (months) monitored litter birth date when litter first Female no. litter no. (± days) determined litter size F2 1 25 Oct 2002(±14) 2 1

F3 1 6 Sept 2000(± 14) 3.5 3* F3 2 15 Sept 2002(±14) 3 2** F4 1 26 Sept 2002(±60) 4 ≥2

F5 1 26 July 2002(± 30) 6 3*** F7 1 12 Dec 2004(±14) 2 ≥ 3 Unmarked**** 1 5 Oct 2001(± 14) 3 3 * at least 1 male cub survived to 21 months of age and then apparently dispersed (M2) ** 1 male cub in litter of 2 died at 3 months old when sibling killed him. *** at least 1 cub is male (testicles fully distended at 6 months based on visual observation). **** no scats were collected to positively identify her with dogs but through process of elimination, we know she was not one of our identified tigers.

Table 2. Tiger ID dogs trained and worked from 2001 through March 2004. Dog Breed Age on Working Working Longevity and history March Accuracy 1, 2004 Jasper German 4 years 89% Trained by 2 years-of-age, worked for 1 year Shepherd (a) but never dependable, and then quit. We Cross gave Jasper away to a good home. Panda German 4 years 96% Trained by 2 years-of-age, worked for 2 Shepherd (a) years, and continues to be a dependable tiger ID dog if rewarded with short bouts of play. Rosie German 3 years > 85 % Trained by 2 years-of-age, work for 2 months Shepherd (b) but then stopped after being injured in a cross dogfight. Couldn’t get along with other dogs. We gave Rosie away to a good home. Maggie German 2 years > 85 % Trained by 1.5 year-of-age, worked for 6 wire- (b) months, and continues to be an enthusiastic haired and dependable tiger ID dog. pointer Alka Lab – 1.3 > 80% Trained by 9 months-of-age, worked for 6 Lieka years (b) months, and continues to be an enthusiastic Cross and dependable tiger ID dog. Jessie German 7 N/a Shepherd months Leta Russian 2 N/a spaniel months a = based on tests of their accuracy b= based on their ability to find the known “start match” during each tiger ID trial but not yet officially tested using an independent and random design. 5

Table 2. Diet composition of Amur tigers (based on 198 tiger scats collected from January 2001 to January 2003 from at least 8 different tigers) in Lazovsky State Nature Zapovednik. Prey species number of scats percent of total Cervids* 123 62% (sika deer, elk, or roe deer) Boar 53 27% Bear 7 3.5% Badger 7 3.5%

Other** 4 2% Domestic*** 4 2% *at least 60% from Sika deer but grouped for this analysis because hair in scats is hard to tell apart for these 3 species. **1 racoon dog, 1 squirrel, 1 with several mice, 1 ghoral *** 1 pig, 2 dogs, 1 sheep

Lastly, we identified a male tiger (M1) as one who killed and ate several domestic cows in 2

different villages this year (see Male tiger # 1 below). Knowing the identity of this tiger will help us develop a management plan for mitigating future tiger-human conflicts.

The following are descriptions of each “marked” tiger: Male tiger # 1- We identified this male from 43 scats and urine samples collected over a 120 km2 area from February 2001 to March 2004. Male 1 (M1) is a resident adult who travels through all of the major river drainages of LZ and an adjacent river drainage to the north; roughly half of our study area. However, his home range is undoubtedly larger. Male Amur tigers in other areas had home ranges from 450 - 1200 km2 (Goodrich et al. 1999). We believe that the home range of male tiger 1 extends north and northeast of our study area because it is bordered by the Sea of Japan to the south and the territorial boundary of another adult male (Male 3) to the west. Amur tigers in other areas are territorial (Goodrich et al., 1999), and hence, we would not expect to find much overlap in home ranges of 2 resident males. Although our sample sizes are small, we have not found any evidence of overlap between Male 1 and Male 3. However, this year we did discover another male (M4) who moves within a large portion of M1’s home range. It will be interesting to see what kind of range dynamics develops over time if M4 remains in this area next year or if 1 of these 2 6

males leaves the area. Male and female territories do not typically overlap, and we found that male 1's home range overlaps with at least 5 females (female 2, female 3, female 4, female 5, and F6). In February 2002, Male 1 and Female 2 shared an adult male elk kill. In winter 2004, snow tracks revealed that he had copulated with F4. We are concerned about M1’s bold behavior around people. In November he killed several cows on the outskirts of a small village adjacent to LZ. Four days later he killed at least 2 more cows in another small village about 30 kilometers away. After verifying that he was killing cows this year, we now suspect that he also killed a cow on a farm in summer 2003 and again in late spring 2004. His behavior concerns us and we have been diligent at responding to all calls for help from villagers who report tiger activities. We want to show the local people that we are trying our best to help prevent tiger-human conflicts. One reason for this tiger killing domestic cattle maybe the recent (in the last 2 years) shutdown of many collective cow farms. Many of the cows were simply set free to fend for themselves in tiger habitat. Indeed, M1 killed 2 cows while the cows were digging up potatoes, for lack of anything better to forage on, in a villager’s garden (Photograph 2). Several people told us that they were happy to be rid of the cows but afraid of the tiger’s bold behavior. Male tiger 2- We believe that this male is a 2.5 year-old sub-adult male from Female 3's litter of 3 cubs (see below). We identified Male 2 from 13 scats (found together with 6 sets of tracks) collected over a 98 km2 area from February 2002 to April 2002. He spent most of his time in the southeast portion of our study area, which was his natal home range. Based on his age, he should soon disperse from this area (Kerley 2003) and we may no longer locate him on our study area. We last located him in April, 10 kilometers north of his natal area in the Sundagoy River basin, which is on the west edge of Male 1's territory. Male tiger 3- We identified this male using 1 scat and 4 sets of tracks collected over a 76 km2 area from December 1999 to December 2002. Before we collected a scat from this male, we were able to identify him because of his unusually large track size (front pad width measures 12.5 - 13.5 cm). He travels in the area to the west of Male 1's home range in the Krivaya River basin. 7

Male tiger 4- We identified this male from 16 scats collected over a 90 km2 area from February 2003 to March 2004. His home range overlaps with that of M1’s. Several of his scats from summer and winter contain bear hair and claws and we snow tracked him once for several kilometers while he hunted hibernating bears in their dens. It is not yet clear whether he is an established adult male or a subadult who may soon disperse. Female tiger 1- We identified this animal based on 1 scat and 1 set of tracks collected in August 2001. We have never again encountered this individual. Female tiger 2- We identified this female from 30 scats (found together with 8 sets of tracks) collected over a 100 km2 area from December 2001 to March 2004. Female 2 is a resident adult who travels throughout all of the major river drainage in the northern two thirds of LZ and an adjacent river drainage to the north (Kimenki). As with M1, F2's home range probably extends north and northeast of our study area. In March 2004, this female was still traveling with her 17 month-old female cub (Table 1) and in February 2004 she hunted for hibernating bears in their dens, once climbing high into a tree in an unsuccessful attempt to reach a den. Female tiger 3- We identified this female from 20 scats and 7 sets of tracks collected over a 50 km2 area. Female 3 is a resident adult who travels throughout the southern portion of LZ along the coast of the Sea of Japan and west into the Krivaya River basin. We began tracking Female 3 in December 2000, when we first discovered that she had cubs (Table 1) and we could identify her from tracks when she and her cubs traveled as a family unit (Kerley 2001 final report to The Save the Tiger Fund). It appears that family breakup for that litter occurred sometime between February and May 2002, when cubs where 15 - 21 months-of- age. In September 2002, Female 3 gave birth to a new litter (Table 1) and in December she boldly stocked and killed a dog at a LZ ranger station and carried it 2 kilometers away to her cubs. At the site where her cubs ate the dog, we found the dead body of 1 of her 2 4-month old cubs. Based on tracks in snow, and scent dog IDs, it appears that the cub was killed by a neck bite from his littermate, presumable in a fight (or rough play), near the dog carcass. Tiger siblings do not typically kill each other and this death was most likely an accident. We 8

are concerned however, with Female 3's bold behavior around human inhabitants and we are monitoring her closely. As of March 2004, she was still traveling with her 18 month-old female cub. Female tiger 4 - We identified Female 4 from 24 scats and urine and 3 sets of tracks collected over a 50 km2 area from May 2002 through March 2004 (Photographs 1a through 1g). Her home range overlaps with Female 5's (see below) and in Fall 2002 she had 2 male cubs (Table 1). For at least 3 months in winter 2002-2003, F4’s family group used the same 5 km of forest trail with a second female with cubs (F5). We have identified 2 of her cubs with scat collected in 2002-2003. This year she was located alone several times and was behaving as if she were in estrous (i.e., vocalizing and pacing) and on 1 occasion she was located together with M1 and their tracks in snow showed they had copulated. Female tiger 5 - We identified Female 5 from 11 scent samples and 3 sets of tracks from December 2002 – March 2004). She has 3 cubs (Table 1) and to the best of our knowledge, stays within the protective boundary of LZ. Female tiger 6 - We identified F5 from 5 scent samples collected between January 2003 and March 2004. She appears to be an adult tiger whose home range overlaps with that of F2. There is no evidence that she had cubs. Female tiger 7 - We identified F7 from 14 scats and urine and 3 sets of tracks when we tracked her with at least 3 small cubs in February 2004. She occupies an area in the northeast part of LZ called “Glascova” and even after extensive searches, is the first resident female tiger that we have identified in this area to date.

Unknown sex tiger 1 - We identified this tiger from 2 scats (but no tracks). It travels in an area to the west of LZ called the Krivaya River drainage.

FOOD HABITS To investigate tiger food habits, we dissected 198 tiger scats (collected from January 2001 through January 2003, from at least 8 tigers). We included this analysis (which wasn’t in our proposal) because: 1) the scats were available, and 2) we felt that understanding what tigers were eating might tell us something about their habitat. For example, we wondered if 9

tigers were eating domestic animals, and hence, coming in contact with people. We have also been concerned that typical prey species of tigers (sika deer (Cervus nippons), elk (Cervus elaphus), and wild boar (Sus scrofa)) may be declining because of over-harvest, and we wondered if tigers would change their diet in response to prey availability (although we did not report on prey availability here). Our results indicate that, during the scat collection period, tigers in LZ did not eat a greater percent of domestic livestock or atypical prey species (Table 3) than would be expected if we compare our data to the diets of Amur tigers in other studies (Miquelle et al. 1996).

STATISTICAL FRAMEWORK Project Objective 2: Develop a statistical framework for estimating error in the method, including how the different steps relate to each other.

Accomplishments – In August and September 2003, we received consultation from an experienced Bio-statistician, Dr. Lyman McDonald. During a 5 week stay with us, he helped us design a statistically rigorous test of accuracy for our dogs and develop a written protocol for our tiger ID trails (Appendix A). Last year in 2003 - 2003, we reported accuracy rates for 2 of our dogs (dog 1 was accurate 96% of the time in 118 trials, while dog 2 was accurate 89% of the time in 107 trials; Kerley 2003) but our experimental design was somewhat faulty and therefore our results are statistically biased (even though we think that our results are realistic). This year we will test several dogs’ accuracy rates using randomized and independent trails; a design that we developed with Dr. McDonald. Test results will help us estimate the overall error of our methodology (which will equal the product of the errors of each dog used for identification trials). We are now in the process of collecting scats for these trials from as many different tigers as possible. Scats will come from captive zoo, radio-collared, and wild but spatially separated tigers from different zapovedniks in Primorsky Krai. For preliminary results in 2003, we tested 3 dogs accuracy (Panda, Maggie, Alka; Table 1) at identifying one tiger (a radio-collared adult female tiger from Sikhote-Alin Zapovednik) from 5 different scats that ranged in freshness from 8 days to 13 months 10

(between the time they were deposited). Those scats were collected in 2000 and 2001 and had been frozen in our freezer for 2 to 3 years. They contained a mixture of prey remains including 2 with wild boar hair, 2 with deer hair, and 1 with tiger hair. All three dogs were 100% correct at identifying that tiger (from a scent lineup of 7 other tigers) from all 5 scats when each scat was used both as a start scent and as a scent in the lineup. In 2004 -2005 we hope to repeat these tests with more scats of different ages from several different tigers. Also during Dr. McDonald’s visit, we learned how to integrate our tiger identifications into an estimate of tiger abundance in LZ by running a Capture-Recapture analysis using the program Mark. Although our capture occasions were quite long (1 month each for 7 months) and we most likely violated the assumption of a close population, our estimate for winter 2002-2003 (7.2 tigers; 95% confidence intervals = 7 – 10 tigers) was similar to that generated by snow tracking during that year’s winter count (G. Salkina, personal communication).

SCENT DOG TRAINING AND PERFORMANCE Project Objective 3: Maintain the scent dog laboratory by keeping 2 trained dogs at their current working abilities, replacing a rotten fence around the property that encloses the dogs’ exercise area, and training 2 new young dogs. We plan to have 4 working dogs by March 2004. Accomplishments – We have worked with 5 different dogs (Table 1) and we used each dog to identify tigers. All 5 dogs could identify individual tigers with a high degree of

accuracy (>85 % of the time), but only 3 dogs (Panda, Maggie, and Alka) had the mental stamina to continue working on a regular basis. Temperament may be the most important indicator of a dog’s potential to be a tiger ID dog. Overly aggressive or submissive dogs will not have the ability to concentrate on their work and may stop working even after many hours of training and preparation (i.e., Jasper and Rosie; Table2). Panda continues to be a dependable working dog, able to identify individual tigers accurately 96% of the time, but after 2 years of work she is beginning to show signs of fatigue and boredom. This year we collaborated with biologists/dog trainers from an organization called Working Dogs for 11

Conservation and developed some different training aids to help Panda focused on her work and to renew her interest. We are happy with the result. This year, we modified our training and ID trial and we were happy with the results. First, for training we started using a combination of scat and urine from the same tiger (instead of scats only). Trained dogs can identify individual tigers by cross matching both types of samples and when we trained our dogs to identify a tiger’s urine from it’s scat, and visa versa, the dogs learned faster and had better comprehension of how to find the target scent (the unique scent of an individual tiger) than dogs trained with scats only. By cross referencing scat and urine, the dogs were better able to isolate the “individual tiger odor” and less likely to be confused by confounding odors that come from diet, hormones, or parasites, etc. We collected “training samples” in tracking tigers in the snow until we found at least 1 scat and 1 urine sample (Photographs 1a through 1g). We found that suitable urine samples are quite easy to collect from the snow but we usually had to track each tiger for several kilometers (>5 km) to find both samples. Our second modification was to introduce blinds to our trial design (i.e., a small plastic bucket with a 3 inch hole cut in the bottom and placed up-side-down over each jar; Photographs 3 and 4). Blinds enhanced learning and accuracy because dogs learned to “hunt” for the scent under the blinds using only their nose and not their eyes. Using blinds has helped reduce mistakes made when dogs move to fast and miss some scents in the circle. Our third modification was to introduced toys and play as a work rewarded for some dogs in an attempt to maximize their working life (Appendix B). Most of our dogs work for

a food reward and food is best for the initial training, but play can enhance a trained dogs performance. This is especially true for our German shepherd dogs that love to retrieve objects (toys and sticks). By introducing toys and play into the trial design, we enhanced Panda’s work performance and extended her working life. Overall, we found that accuracy rates of dogs will be better if trials are carefully designed to foster: 1) enthusiastic work attitude by the dog (i.e., adding novel scents to trials and choosing rewards based on individual dogs personality), and 2) correct choices by dogs because some designs are easier for dogs to master than others. 12

This year we replaced a rotten fence around our property that encloses the dogs’ exercise area. Having the fence helps us keep our dogs in working condition by providing a safe place for them to relax and run after a stressful day of work. SCENT DOG WORKSHOP Objective 4: Collaborate with 4 American biologists with an organization called Working Dogs for Conservation’s (WDC) to hold a workshop and to assess variation between different dogs’ working abilities.

Accomplishments – Our meeting with WDC from 7 March through 16 March 2004 was very productive. Three WDC biologists visited our study and observed our working dogs. Their visit was 4 days shorter than originally planned and 1 biologist could not attend simply because of the increased costs of visa’s and travel to Russia since 9/11. Please see Appendix 2 for a complete report of our meeting.

AKNOWLEDGMENTS Our work has benefited from the cumulative help of several different people. First, we are extremely grateful to all at The Save the Tiger Fund for supporting our work through this grant. Second, a special thanks goes to Dr Lyman McDonald, and Aimee Hurt, Megan Parker, and Alice Whitelaw (Working Dogs for Conservation) for their invaluable help and support. And third, we also thank Dr. Dale Miquelle and Dr. Joshua Ginsberg and the staff of the WCS Asia Program for their logistical help in getting WDC to Russia for our “scent dog” meeting.

LITERATURE CITED

Goodrich, J. M., L. L. Kerley, D. G. Miquelle, E. N. Smirnov, I. G. Nikolaev, H.Quigley, M. Hornocker, B. Schleyer, N. N. Reebin, and A. V. Kosteeria. 1999. Preliminary analysis of the system of home ranges of Pantera tigris altaica in Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve. Pages 89-97 in A. A. Arictov, editor, International Conference on Rare Mammal Species in Russia and Adjacent Territories. Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia (in Russian with English summaries). Kerley, L.L. , J. M. Goodrich, D. G. Miquelle, H. B. Quigley, M. G. Hornocker, and E. N. Smirnov. 2002. Effects of roads and human disturbance on Amur tigers. Conservation Biology 16:97-108. Kerley, L.L. , J. M. Goodrich, D. G. Miquelle, E. N. Smirnov, H. B. Quigley, and M. G. Hornocker. 2003. Reproductive parameters of wild female Amur (Siberian) tigers (Panthera tigris altaica). Journal of Mammalogy. Miquelle, D. G., E. N. Smirnov, H.G. Quigley, M.G. Hornocker, I.G. Nikolaev, and E.N. Matyshkin. 1996. Food habits of Amur tigers in Sikhote-Alin Zapovednik and the Russian Far East, and implications for conservation. Journal of Wildlife Resources 1(2):138-147. McDougal, C. 1999. You can tell some tigers by their tracks with confidence. In Riding the tiger; Meeting the Needs of People and Wildlife in Asia, editors Seidensticker, J., S. Christie, and P. Jackson, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom. Sokolov, V. E., K. T. Sulimov, and V. I. Krutova. 1990. Kinological identification of individual odor traces left by four vertebrate species. Proceedings of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Biological Series Number 4 (In Russian).

LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS Photograph 1a. This photograph was taken in January 2004, during routine field work when we hike into tiger habitat and search for tiger sign. The dead tree in the foreground is a “tiger marking” tree with a circle of black stain from tiger urine. Galina Salkina, a Russian tiger biologist, is on skis in the background.

Photograph 1b. Galina Salkina measures a track. We found these female sized tracks and followed them for about 15 km and 4 days in January 2004.

Photograph 1c. We found a scat along this female tigers tracks (the ruler is sitting in a track) and we collected it. Later we used our tiger ID dogs and determined that this scat (and hence the 15 km track) belonged to F4; a female that we have identified before.

Photograph 1d. F4 visited several tiger marking trees. Here Galina Salkina smells a tree to check for the smell of fresh tiger urine.

Photograph 1e. F4 marked this tree. You can see the urine stain on the tree (to the left of the number 1) and her tracks near the base of the tree (number 2). Her urine splashed off of the frozen bark and onto the ground (just to the left of number 3) and we collected it by picking up the urine mixed with snow.

Photograph 1f. Along the track we found a bed in the snow where F4 had laid down for several hours and we collected some crude body measurements from the impression in the snow. For orientation, the number 1 on this photograph is the impression of her tail, her impression of her body is to the right of the tail, and her feet are towards the front of the 14 picture. For scale, the number 2 is on a person’s shadow in the afternoon.

Photograph 1g. We tracked F4 past this occupied Himalayan bear den. Although she walked past this den, coming within 5 meters of it, she did not investigate it further. In contrast, F2 circled several times around 2 similar den trees in 2004.

Photograph 2. A cow killed and partially eaten by Male tiger # 1.

Photograph 3. Panda walking around the circle of jars (covered by blinds) during a “tiger ID trial”.

Photograph 4. Panda correctly putting her nose deep into a scent blind during a “tiger ID trial”. 15

Appendix A. SCENT DISCRIMINATION PROTOCOL USED TO MONITOR AMUR TIGERS WITH SCENT DOGS A draft report to Lazovsky State Nature Zapovednik, August 2003 Linda L. Kerley

Protocol for testing the accuracy of dogs at identifying and discriminating between individual tigers by scent in scat.

DOGS Before being used in a trial a dog will demonstrate that they know the exercise. They should be able to: 1) come into the room and focus attention on the start position, 2) smell the “start” jar, 3) proceed around the circle of jars (Figure 1 Sketch of Jars in a circle), smelling each one consecutively, and 4) sit at the “match” jar which (at least the dog thinks) has tiger scent that matches the start scent. Our trials will test how well dog(s) identify individual tigers.

A series of trials will be run once a day. For best results, it will be important for the handler to read the dog’s mood. If the dog shows unwillingness to work (i.e., distracted by something outside or in the laboratory other than the jars, unwilling to smell the start jar, or very slow to move from the start jar to the circle of jars, etc.) that dog will be kenneled until the next day when a new series of trials begins. The number of days that a dog shows willingness (versus unwillingness) to work will be recorded.

Each dog-handler team will do 5 to 10 trials per day and the trials will be repeated with random location of the matching jar for each dog so that the dogs work one at a time. This will prevent dogs from tracking each other to the correct jars. Because each dog has its own style, the exact number of trails per day will depend on the dog’s attentiveness. If a dog begins to loose interest after 5 trials but less than 10 trails, the dog can stop work for the day.

During a trial, a dog will be allowed to circle the jars no more than 3 times before choosing (sitting at) a match to the start. In the event of more than 3 circles, the trial is recorded as a “failure”, or 0. However, the number of circles (1 to 3) that a dog makes should also be recorded for each trial.

TRIALS TO TEST ACCURACY We will test a dog’s accuracy at identifying and discriminating between individual tigers scents (in scat) during a series of independent trials (accuracy trials). During a trial, a dog smells a tiger scat at the “start” position. He/she then identifies that tiger from other tigers by first walking down a row of jars containing scats of different tigers, smelling each jar (scat) consecutively, and finally sitting in front of the matching jar containing scat from the same individual tiger as the start. For each trial, the dog should sit at one jar. If the dog sits at the matching jar (the jar that matches the start) it is a correct identification and is recorded as a “success, or 1". If he sits at a different jar it is an incorrect identification and recorded as a “failure, or 0". Incorrect identifications will be defined as those where the dog identifies a different tiger than the start (the wrong tiger), or those where the dog sits at a background scent (recorded as 0T or 0B, respectively).

Two people will run the trials. One person will handle the dog (dog handler) and the other person will set out the scent jars (assistant) for each trial. The assistant should work independently (i.e., blind) so that the dog handler does not know the whereabouts of the “match” (the jar in the circle with scent that matches the scent in the “start” jar) and therefore cannot unintentionally influence where the dog sits.

For each trial, the selection row consists of 9 scent jars; 4 contain tiger scents that we randomly selected from our collection of scats from know tigers (training and testing scats), and 5 contain background scents that are not tiger (i.e., leaves, soil, handler scent). We randomly select 1 of the 4 tiger scents to be used as the “start” scent, and a scent jar containing a different scat from that tiger is used as the “match” scent. The placement of each scent jar in the circle of 9 is also randomly selected. Each trial is reconstructed in this way. The number of truly independent trials that we can run will depend on how many scats we can collect from different known tigers. This will depend on what is available. For example, assume that in October 2003, we have at least 2 different scats from 12 different tigers that we use during trials (tigers are numbered 1 through 12).

SCATS Scats are stored in .5 liter glass jars closed with tight fitting lids. Lids are removed during trials when the jars will be open for the dog to smell. Before starting, jars should be washed in detergent and hot water and then left in sun light for at least 2 days. Each jar contains a small piece of scat (1 - 2 cm in length) from an individual tiger and is labeled with a number that indicates that tiger, the date the scat was collected, and prey species contained in scat. Information pertaining to each tiger number (on jar labels) will be written in a separate notebook. The remainder of that scat is stored for later use in aluminum foil and Zip-lock bag and then frozen.

During trials, scent jars should contain about the same scent strength. We leave new scent jars open for about 24 hours so that scats can dry and air. We do this because different scent strengths may affect a dog’s behavior and result in a dog making incorrect choices (i.e., relatively strong scents can attract or repel a dog). Occasionally a scent will attract dog(s) for unknown reasons. If a dog continually makes the mistake of sitting at one particular scat, we discontinue using that scat in future trials.

TRIALS TO IDENTIFY TIGERS BY SCATS We use a combination of field (conventional tracking in snow or mud, along with visual observations) and laboratory (ID trials; trials to make identifications using our dogs) techniques to identify individual tigers. When we collect tiger scats in the field, we bring them back to the laboratory and run ID trials with our dogs. The purpose of ID trials is to determine if scats belong to known or “marked” (i.e., if dogs matches it with a scat in our reference collection) or new (if there is no match in our reference collection) tigers. We record scats that belong to known tigers as such and plot their collection locations on the map for that particular tiger. Alternatively, we add scats that belong to new tigers to the reference collection and, thereafter, we consider that tiger to be “marked”.

After we collect a scat or group of scats, we take 2 preliminary steps before running ID trials. First, we sort newly collected scats into “most alike” or “most different” categories by comparing associate field information collected with a scat. Important information includes estimated date that the scat was deposited (freshness), field location, and any available track measurements (when present). Second, we develop a list of questions that we need to answer 17

with ID trials to make a tiger identification from the newly collected scats. We run Type A ID trials (see below) with scats that are “most alike” to determine if indeed they belong to the same tiger, and we run Type B ID trails on scats that are “most different” (i.e., probably don’t belong to the same tiger) to determine if each scat belongs to a tiger in our reference collection. If several scats indeed belong to the same tiger (identified during Type A ID trails), then one or more are included in our Type B ID trials to determine if the scats belong to a tiger in our reference collection.

Type A ID trials – We use these trials to determine how many different tigers are represented in a group of scats.- We run these trials on scats that were collected during the same time period (usually over 2 weeks), in the same area, and either had no tracks associated with them, or were with the same sized tracks. In these situations we suspect that the scats belong to one or a few tiger(s). Two people will do the trials so that trials are conducted “blind”. For Type A trials, the selection row (circle of jars) consists of unidentified scats plus a start match. The purpose is to determine which scats belong to the same individual tigers and how many individuals are represented in a collection of scats. Each trial is repeated 2 or 3 times per day (each time with a different dog) and for at least 2 days. The number of trials in one day will depend on how many dogs are available for work on that day. The trials are set up similar to our accuracy test (described above) with a “start” scent (or jar) and a circle of 9 jars of scent for comparison to the start. The scat used in the “start” jar will be selected at random from a collection of scats that we are comparing that day. All other scats in the set under study will be used in the circle of jars, 4 at a time so that there will never be more then 4 possible correct scent jars for a dog to choose from. One of the 4 will be the “start match”; the other 5 jars in the circle will contain background scents (leaves or aluminum foil) or non matching tigers. Scent jars of interest are randomly placed within the circle of jars and background scents are located between scent jars of interest. In this way, we can avoid mistaken identifications made if a dog overshoots the correct jar and sits at an adjacent jar. Some dogs do this by habit and need to be continuously corrected but other dogs might make this kind of mistake if scent strengths vary between jars. During a set of trials, the start match should occur once at the beginning, and once at the end of the circle of jars so that there is always a “match” where the dog is rewarded in case the other scats do not match the start, and so that the dog will need to walk past our jars of interest at least once. The trials will be “blind” in that the dog handler will not know the location of the start match prior to entering the laboratory. Each time a dog makes a match of an unknown scat to the start jar, that match is recorded. We consider a match to be an identification of a tiger if at least 2 dogs made the match during at least 2 independent trials (i.e., a total of 4 trials and 2 dogs). After identification is made, the scat is removed from the circle and replaced by another scat if there are more in the collection. This process is repeated until all jars are selected, rejected, or the dog shows signs of boredom and stop working for the day. This group of trials is repeated on another day but not necessarily the following day to avoid learning by the dogs.

Type B ID Trials – We use these trials to determine if a scat is from a “marked” (one that has been identified as a tiger in our study area and is in our reference collection) or “new” tiger not previously in our collection. Two or more scats ID’ed as from the same tiger will be used in these Type B Trials if possible. Agreement of trials lends confidence in our database. By identifying scats in this way, we can then use our data in Capture - Recapture analysis and we can identify the tiger and add it to our collection of locations for that tiger. The trials are run according to the same regime as those above, i.e., 2 people will do the trials so that trials are conducted “blind”. Each trial is repeated 2 or 3 times per day (each time with a different dog) for at least 2 days. The number of trials per day will depend on how many dogs are 18

available for work on that day. For Type B ID trials, the selection row consists of 2 to 4 jars with scent from our reference collection, and a start match. During a set of trials, the start match should occur once at the beginning, and once at the end of the circle of jars so that there is always a “match” where the dog is rewarded in case the other scats do not match the start, and so that the dog will need to walk past our jars of interest at least once. The trials will be conducted “blind” so that the dog handler will not know the location of the start match prior to entering the laboratory. The start scent is randomly selected for each trail so that sometimes the start is a new scat and other times it is from our reference collection. When the start jar is from our reference collection, the new scat is included in the circle of jars. We will choose which jars to use in the circle depending on the question we are asking. If a dog sits at a jar belonging to a tiger in our reference collection and we can duplicate that result on 2 days and with at least 2 dogs, we consider that scat to be from a “marked” tiger and that tiger’s location (based on where the scat was collected) is plotted on a map for the individual. If the dogs never match a new scat to one in our reference collection (but instead always sit at the start match), we consider that tiger to be “new” to our study and add it to our reference collection.

The following is an example of what I have described in the above paragraphs. We collect 4 scats in the field and because they were associated with the same track sizes, and collected in the same general area (a home range) and at around the same time, we suspect that they belong to one tiger within that home range. From earlier experience, we may even suspect which tiger the scats belonged to. Thus we formulate 2 questions -- do all 4 scats belong to the same individual tiger? and which individual(s) deposited them, i.e., a tiger in our reference collection, “marked”, or a new tiger. Then let’s say that we collected them in a drainage where we had already identified 2 tigers (tigers number Female 2 and Male 1). We would ask; 1) do all 4 scats belong to one or different tigers? (Type A ID trials) and 2) was the new scat left by F2 or M1? (Type B ID trials), and 3) if not, was it left by another known tigers from the same sex (if sex is known from tracks) in our reference collection (also Type B ID trials). For this example, we would run our ID trials in the order of our questions 1 through 3. If the answer to question 3 is no, then this is a “new” tiger that we add to the reference collection.

FIELD WORK AND ANALYSIS We want to identify individual tigers for 2 reasons; 1) to estimate population trends in our area including an index of tiger abundance and survival rates, and 2) for long term monitoring of individual tigers (especially adult females) on our study area and to understand tiger spatial structure as it overlaps with our sampling area (the Zapovednik).

Number 1– Do we want to do quick and intensive scat searches in winter to avoid violating assumptions of a closed Population or do we want to continue what we are doing now, or both?

Number 2 -- Throughout the study, we are assembling a collection of scats from our study area (reference collection) known to belonging to different tigers. By comparing new scats to those in our reference collection, we can determine if a newly collected scat belongs to a tiger in our reference collection, or a new or “unmarked” tiger that has not yet been identified by the dogs (we assume, for now, that dogs can identify tigers from different aged scats but we need to test the dogs on this). Scats from new tigers are added to our reference collection. Tiger sex is determined by the dimensions of their tracks (measured in the field while searching for scats) and their association with cubs (also determined by tracks). We monitor 19 their movements using a combination of conventional tracking (in snow or mud), visual observations, and scat identifications by our dogs. As of July 2003, we have identified 9 different tigers and 5 litters of cubs in this way. Over the long term, we are building a map of locations of tigers from our reference collection that shows how tiger home ranges (territories) overlap with our sampling area. Understanding the spatial distribution of tigers on our study area will help us determine sensitive areas where poaching or human - tiger conflicts might be a problem.

STATISTICAL ANAYLSIS We will use Robust Design (Ken Polluck) for abundance index - short intensive capture efforts and assumption of closed population. Jolly-Seber Design for survival rates with larger periods between sampling times and assume open population. Also Manly-Parr Analysis for estimation of abundance index assuming an open population. Scat is from a “marked” tiger (one that has been identified as a tiger in our study area and is in our reference collection) or an “unmarked” tiger (one that is new to our reference collection). By identifying scats in this way, we can then use our data in Capture - Recapture analysis.

Appendix B A Report on Working Dogs for Conservation Trip to Lazo, Russian Far East To Assist Scent Dog Monitoring of Amur Tiger Program

7 March – 16 March, 2004

Aimee Hurt, [email protected] Megan Parker, [email protected] Alice Whitelaw, [email protected]

Introduction Conservation efforts focus on the population status, range, behavior and identification of tigers. The Amur Tiger Scent Dog Program has developed the use of dogs to identify individual tigers based on scent matching techniques from scat and urine samples. Dogs are trained to provide a passive (sit) response at a matched sample in a controlled environment. Dogs are rewarded with food or toys for correct responses. This work, combined with tracking data from the field has offered new insights into the tiger population in and near Lazovki State Zapovednik, including better estimates of the population status, reproduction and behavior of individual tigers.

‘Maggie’ alerting correctly at a scent container

Summary of Activities

This report is the result of a 10 day trip, from 7 March through 16 March to visit the Amur Tiger Scent Dog Monitoring Project in Lazo, Russia. During this time, we spent four days in Lazo and two days in the Lasovki Sate Zapovednik, in tiger habitat.

During our time in Lazo, we worked primarily with Dr. Kerley and observed her dog training and handling program. Dr. Kerley demonstrated her three dog’s working skills and training protocols. These dogs were trained initially using known tiger samples from captive tigers and from radio collared animals in Sikhote-Alin State Zapovednik. We were able to observe video footage of previous projects using dogs to identify individual tigers – dog scent matching work pioneered in Russia. We discussed the value, scientific credibility and differences of these Russian projects, primarily the work of Victoria Krutova in Moscow.

We presented a talk at the Zapovednik headquarters on 12 March to staff and interested parties on current work with conservation dogs with Working Dogs for Conservation and other organizations. We discussed genetic and hormone extraction techniques from fecal and urine samples which may increase information from scent dog work.

Purpose of Visit

This was a familiarization trip to support the efforts of Dr. Linda Kerley and Dr. Galina Salkina and their scent dog project in Lazo, Russia to identify individual Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) individuals. Dr. Kerley has developed the training and implementation of scent dogs to match the scent from scat and urine samples from wild tigers to augment the monitoring of Amur tigers in the region.

Our priorities were to support Dr. Kerley’s efforts in training and implementation of her scent dog program.

1). To become familiar with and observe scent dog training and work methods.

2). To offer support, suggestions and experience in detection dog training methods for conservation.

3). To help establish and increase a network of support and contact for this work among international dog trainers and conservation biologists.

Issues of Concern

The Amur tiger scent dog program appears to have the support of the staff of the Lasovki State Zapovednik and colleagues working on Amur tigers in the region. There is a history of working dog projects in Russia, which lend themselves to a basic understanding of the use and abilities of working dogs. However, Dr. Kerley’s relative isolation within Russia and within a network of working dog professionals may limit her ability to expand projects and collaborate fully for scientific inquiry and conservation implementation. 22

Suggested Areas of Support

We like to believe that our trip bolstered Dr. Kerley’s confidence in her program and that she will be inspired to continue her explorations and publish her work. Because so much dog training is subjective, experiential work, it is a difficult endeavor to undertake in a small village in Russia. Her results are impressive, but she may well benefit from further contact with dog trainers who are developing methods for detection and location of samples for science and research. We feel that she would benefit from travelling to other working dog projects and continuing invitations to working dog trainers. Further, collaboration with other projects and sub-contracting work would increase her sample size, access to working dogs and new materials and methodology.

This program is beneficial in part because it is a low-technology and relatively inexpensive. This is an innovative approach to sophisticated, specific identification and can provide otherwise expensive or unavailable information locally. This serves as a model for other areas and research on other species, to minimize costs and complicated machines, in place of people and dogs. However, this program is limited by its minimal funding base, which may feel unstable to Dr. Kerley in developing longer term projects based on working dogs. Below, we identify areas where additional financial support could improve and expand this program.

Suggestions for Improvement and Development of Additional Programs

Dr. Kerley has established an impressive program using dogs to obtain information on the identity of individual tigers in the region. This has proven to be useful in population estimates and will, undoubtedly, continue to increase knowledge about the status and behaviors of Amur tigers in the reserve and surrounding areas.

Using Dogs for Additional Conservation Projects

Scent Matching

Dr. Kerley’s scent dog program could be used to identify other species of concern in the area. This would be useful for species of concern where individual identification is important, such as the Amur leopard population.

Scent matching experiments could be expanded to explore the extent to which dogs can match various samples over time from urine to feces to hair to blood to bone and other tissues. This may be useful for tiger poaching incidences where remains are recovered and known individuals are tested. This may also serve useful in cases where conflict tigers are killed and may be matched to activity in other areas to determine the extent of conflict among individuals.

Panda sitting at a sample in the work room, where air currents from the building may be problematic for dogs ability to match scents.

Field Detection for Survey and Monitoring

Using search dogs to detect and locate wildlife samples, such as scat, urine and hair could augment efforts to survey and monitor wildlife in the area. These methods are described in Appendix 1, and used commonly by Working Dogs for Conservation. Bear, ungulates, mustelids and other species would be appropriate targets for this work.

Dogs could be used to help in the understanding of demographics and behavior of other species of interest, as well as locations of plants of concern. Dr. Kerley has considered training dogs to survey and monitor for ginseng (sp.) plants, a species of concern due to possibly extensive poaching in the area.

Tracking and Search Dogs

Dogs could be trained to track and detect ginseng poachers, in the same way that search and rescue, patrol and forensic working dogs are used to locate missing individuals. Dogs used to track plant poachers could also be used to locate wildlife poachers as well as search vehicles or areas for wildlife parts, ginseng or illegal bush meat.

Tiger Conflict Dogs

There may be use for dogs trained to harass tigers involved in conflict. Dogs have been used successfully in deterring bears from visiting campgrounds, neighborhoods and garbage dumps in the western U.S. These types of dogs and training may be employed on farms and communities where conflict tigers are close to livestock and dogs. Local Lieka hunting dogs, from the Russian Far East, may be predisposed to this type of work.

Facility improvement

Dr. Kerley in sample room adjacent to training/work room

We suggest that, with additional financial support, Dr. Kerley could improve her scent matching work by building a larger facility for training and work. She is currently working in a small room, where her samples are stored. While her dogs are trained to alert only at the strongest scent source, a larger facility would allow a lower risk of cross contamination in scent work among samples. A larger building would also allow her to work dogs in a variety of ways, increasing their working life and allowing flexibility for various types of training programs.

Dr. Kerley is currently limited to the number of dogs she can test and train by her four dog kennels. We suggest she increase her kennel capacity to test and train more dogs for the current and possibly other programs.

Material and sample storage is currently limited by space and freezer availability. A larger training space should incorporate an area for contamination-free sample storage and freezers for long-term and cold weather sample storage. One of the valuable scientific objectives of her work is to determine if dogs can continue to identify individuals over time, and this requires sample storage over years. She will soon be limited to the number of samples she can store by storage space.

Aimee, Linda, Panda and Megan in front of four-kennel facilities.

Community Involvement, education and outreach

One of this program’s strengths is its minor impact on and major contribution to the Zapovednik’s resources. However, expanding or continuing the program should incorporate more local assistance and could lead to an important avenue for capacity building in the country. There appears to be a strong interest in dogs in the community and in Russia in general. Previous scent matching studies with dogs in Russia may have limited scientific credibility, but the fact that these programs have existed shows an eagerness to use dogs for science and conservation.

Increasing outreach efforts to include more trainers, dogs and dog/handler teams nationally and internationally would increase not only sample sizes for statistical robustness, but also enhance the impact of this program. Show dog clubs, dog trainers and dog owners in the region may be of value to the program and increase the flow of information for dog training and selection. Affiliation with Russian dog trainers may increase acceptance of these methods within the country and control any perception of this program as an ‘imported’ project.

Dr. Kerley and local assistants could increase local, regional, national and international support through use and deployment of a demonstration dog. A dog and handler may be useful for travelling to communities where tigers or other species of concern are present to conduct demonstrations. This would enable the program to educate communities and demonstrate the utility and abilities of working scent dogs.

Top row: Alice, Misha, Aimee, Galina. Bottom: Linda, Panda, Megan

Note of Thanks

We thank The Save The Tiger Fund and Dr. John Seidensticker for the grant enabling this work and collaboration. We are extremely grateful to Dr. Linda Kerley and Dr. Galina Salkina for inviting us to experience their amazing work and country. We were overwhelmed by the kindness and professionalism shown us by the staff of Lasovki State Zapovdnik and by the warmth and generosity of Linda and Misha. We thank Nikolai Kazakov and Dr. Dale Miquelle for their logistical help. Dr. Joshua Ginsberg and the staff of the WCS Asia Program were instrumental in making this trip happen.