BBC News Online: World: Europe

Snows threaten Siberia's big cats

The tigers' prey could be wiped out by the deep snow

Heavy snowfalls in the Primorski region could all but wipe-out the deer and boar which the Amur tiger and Far Eastern leopard feed on.

Only about 350 Siberian tigers and 40 Siberian leopards still exist in the world - all of them in the region.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has been taking emergency measures to try to save the Sika deer, Roe deer and wild boars affected by the snows.

Poacher danger

Snow in the region is up to 1.5 metres deep. The deer already find it difficult to find food in the forest with snow-levels of 40 centimetres.

Up to 100,000 animals have been left without food.

WWF predicts that between 80% and 90% of the deer and boar in the south-west of the region could die.

Reports also say that the animals, weakened by hunger, have become easy prey for poachers.

Environmentalists have cleared 150 kilometres of road to bring in several tonnes of food into the region and have been cutting tree branches to provide grazing.