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If  [the    tiger]  is  in  state   y   at  time    n,  then    the probability that    it  moves   to

state   x   at  time    n   +   1   depends only    on  the current state.

“Markov’s   Theory  of  Connected   Events,”

ANDREI  MARKOV, mathematician

If  you’re  afraid  of  the wolf,   stay    out of  the forest.

Russian Proverb

THE MEN SPENT THE NIGHT IN THE KUNGS, ON THE ROAD

ABOVE THE confluence of the Takhalo and Bikin, inside heavy cloth
sleeping bags that might have been state-of-the-art during the Great
Patriotic War. Once the fire in the little stove burned down, the Kung
itself had little in the way of insulation to fend off the all-consuming
cold. There was a stable high pressure system hanging over Primorye that
week and the weather was, for the most part, clear and dry; at night, the
temperatures were bottoming out in the negative forties. When it gets this
cold, things we take for granted start behaving in strange ways: eyelids
can freeze shut; a truck’s cast iron transmission housing can shatter like a
china dish. Under these circumstances, warmth takes on a significance
closer to oxygen, becoming a crucial ingredient for life that must be
carefully monitored and conserved. This only served to underscore the
extraordinary fortitude of the animal these men sought.
If the tiger slept at all, he did so alone, never seeking shelter beyond
the cover of tree boughs. Many days would pass between feedings, and
water simply did not exist as such; liquids would be taken in via the
blood and meat of prey, when available, or by eating snow. At these
temperatures, an animal’s fur and fat take on the properties and