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1: |
On
a clear winters day that it warms to minus 20, we arrive to see an old friend
and his extraordinary backyard animals. Peter, [Russian]. |
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2: |
Very
good. |
Speaker
1: |
That's
the way. |
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2: |
[Russian]. |
Speaker
1: |
No? |
Speaker
2: |
[Russian]. |
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1: |
When
we first saw Victor he had more problems than he could handle. Victor was
single handedly trying to look after a menagerie of
animals, including the family of Siberian tigers in a five hectare enclosure
behind his house. He'd inherited the animals from his job as a zoology
professor at Vladivostok University. |
Speaker
2: |
[Russian]. |
Speaker
1: |
But
the collapse of state funding meant he was scrounging for meat and donations
to keep them alive. |
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2: |
[Russian].
A tiger [Russian]. |
Speaker
1: |
Our
story produced an extraordinary response. Viewers donated more than $70,000
to save the tigers and Victor. We came back with the latest instalment of
cash and warm clothes for Victor and his wife Lena. |
|
[Russian]. |
|
The
money is a fortune by Russian standards, but they've spent little on creature
comforts for themselves. |
Speaker
3: |
[Russian]. |
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1: |
Their
simple wooden house is as plain as ever. Their passion as always is to care
for the tigers. |
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2: |
[Russian]. |
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1: |
Victor
fears the tiger population in far east Russia has already dropped to just a
few hundred, many thanks to hunting and poaching, making his family of five
more precious than ever. |
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2: |
[Russian]. |
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1: |
The
money raised from donations has not only covered future food costs, it's also
paid for a truck to collect the tonnes of meat they eat each week. |
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2: |
[Russian]. |
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1: |
Part
of the money has gone on materials for a modest house Victor is building next
to the enclosure. He'll now be able to keep watch every night against
poachers. But the priority has been expanding the tigers home. |
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2: |
[Russian]. |
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1: |
But
it was not all good news. Two years ago Victor ran out of money to care for
the growing family. He gave one of the cubs called Meshka
to a wealthy animal lover in Vladivostok. All went well until local police
seized Meshka to check the owners documents. The
police handled her so roughly, they ruptured her intestines. Meshka underwent a series of operations but doctors gave
her just a 50/50 chance of survival. |
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4: |
[Russian]. |
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1: |
Her
injuries turned out to be even worse than the doctors feared. |
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2: |
[Russian]. |
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1: |
Meshka never recovered the use of her back legs, and gradually
became unable to eat. |
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2: |
[Russian]. |
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1: |
Victor
believes these surviving tigers are a priceless genetic resource. The parents
Kneuker and Kutcha were born in the wild. They were
brought to Victor as cubs after their mother was killed by poachers. Victor's
keen to give their offspring to zoos so the genes can be passed on around the
world. |
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2: |
[Russian]. |
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1: |
But
so far not a single zoo has been interested in taking them. Some zoos have
even told Victor to stop breeding, saying it's irresponsible to have more
tigers than he can care for. |
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2: |
[Russian]. |
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1: |
Victor
is stubbornly continuing to let them breed. Arguing it's essential for
science and for preserving the species. |
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2: |
[Russian]. |
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1: |
There
is still little protection for tigers in the wild. But the money raised from
donations will ensure that these tigers at least are looked after. And
Victor's lonely quest to restore their numbers will continue no matter what
the cost. |