Most of us have seen wildlife while driving down snowy roads. There are birds, rabbits, squirrels, and even the occasional deer.
But nothing could have prepared British expat Terry Townshend for a surprise encounter he had with a majestic creature as he drove along the snow-covered roads of Heilongjiang, China.
He saw something quite a bit more surprising that a leaping rabbit.
Once in a lifetime encounter
It was early in winter when Townshend noticed an interesting creature ahead of the road as he was driving his truck.
Anticipating what this might be, he decided to record the encounter.
In the video that he would later upload to Twitter, we see a wild Siberian tiger making its way towards the woods by the side of the road. Its bright orange and black colored stripes contrasting against the white snow.
Seemingly oblivious to the cold, we even get close enough to see the tiger swirl its tail as it passes by the front of Townshend’s truck.
And just as quickly as it appeared, the majestic tiger disappeared into the snow-covered woods.
Endangered subspecies
The encounter is made more special by the fact that Siberian tigers, also called Amur tigers, are now considered to be a critically endangered subspecies having only around a population of 350 to 450 in the wild.
The majority of wild Siberian tigers can be found around the Sikhote-Alin mountain range near the Amur River in the southeastern part of the Russian subcontinent. However, their habitat used to extend as far as the northeastern parts of China and even the peninsula of Korea.
The subspecies is also known for being the largest of the tigers with males topping 660 pounds and reaching 10.5 feet when measured from head to tail. That’s a terrifyingly big tiger!
The near-extinction of Siberian tigers is triggered by a variety of causes. Experts usually attribute their dwindling population to a mix of poaching, destruction of their natural habitat, and the loss of their food sources.
Sadly, its other tiger cousins aren’t fairing any better. From a 100,000-strong Asian population over a century ago, less than 3,900 tigers across all subspecies can be found in the wild today according to The Dodo.
Sharing the experience
Of course, such a rare experience deserves sharing and shared it was.
Since Townshend first posted the short clip on Twitter, it has been viewed thousands of times with people replying to the tweet with their own experiences with other animals.
“I had a juvenile tiger run across the road in front of my truck at night in Thailand once.”
– Scott Suarez
Some joked:
“Well it wasn’t a black cat so, nothing to worry about. Might want to carry a really big squirt gun though”
– Create Tree
Although brief, the encounter has definitely stirred a discussion online about the Siberian tiger and its current endangered status.
Passionate conservationist
When you think about it, it must have been fate that led Townshend to encounter the endangered Siberian tiger in the wild.
Townshend is a British conservationist currently living and working in Beijing, China. His main advocacy is saving the most endangered bird species in the country.
He has spearheaded many projects tracking China’s birds and educating the population about them.
You can find out more about his work at Birding Beijing.
Do you have a similar sighting experience of a rare animal in the wild? What’s your story? Don’t hesitate to share it with us!
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That moment when a SIBERIAN TIGER walks across the road in front of the car. In Heilongjiang, NE China. pic.twitter.com/g9zYDyoIiC
— Terry Townshend (@terrytownshend) November 12, 2018
