BBC Wildlife Magazine Summer 2013 - volume 31 number 8

Pages 46-53 ran an article, called Saving a Ghost, about the rarely seen Siberian or Amur Tiger and the race to ensure its survival.  I was drawn to this article, not only because of the subject matter and the beautiful photographs, but also because of the difficulties the photographers encountered in making the shots:

- there are only around 300 of these tigers left, so they are hard to find

- in the Reserve where the photos were taken, there are only 4-6 cats

- the photographer Toshiji Fukuda who took the amazing picture of the tiger on the beach on page 46 has only seen two in 23 years - they followed the paw prints in the sand

- Toshiji and his assistant endured conditions of -40 C watching out for the tigers for 50 days

I spent one day photographing puffins in Wales and had 800 photos - I can't imagine what it must feel like to wait 23 years for one photo!

Snow Tiger (c) Toshiji Fukuda taken in February 2012
after months of planning and 50 days waiting