importance of a space suit; like a polar bear, this tiger was a solitary and
self-sufficient vessel designed to withstand the harshest elements in a
remote pocket of a frozen world. In such a context, it is easy to see how
the combination of extraordinary beauty, total self-containment, and
apparent imperviousness to just about everything sets this animal at a
godlike remove.
Because of the latitude and the approaching winter solstice, dawn held
off until eight or so in the morning, which left only about eight hours of
daylight for tracking. In this situation, daylight, too, became a crucial
ingredient—if not for life, exactly, then for safety. As brave and eager for
a resolution as these men were, no one considered hunting the tiger after
dark; the odds were too badly skewed in the tiger’s favor. But this is the
way it has always been, and so Trush and his men sheltered in the Kungs
until the sun made it safe to come out again.
When at last it did, on the morning of December 17, Andrei
Pochepnya’s best friend and hunting partner showed up on horseback,
armed with a double-barreled shotgun and accompanied by a small pack
of mongrel dogs. Pictured from a distance, in a grainy black and white
photograph, it could have been 1910 with Yuri Yankovsky just outside
the frame. “Denis was in an aggressive mood,” recalled Sasha Lazurenko.
“He wanted revenge.”
Andrei’s funeral was going to be held the following day. Denis
Burukhin’s world had changed and he had changed with it. “Somehow, I
felt no fear of that tiger anymore,” he said later. “I followed his tracks but
felt no fear.”
Burukhin’s role in the hunt came to resemble that of a local fixer, and
he was valuable, not just for his determination, his knowledge of local
roads, and his access to hunting dogs. “He was the only one from the
local population who went with us,” explained Lazurenko, “because
nobody wanted to show the location of their cabins.”
It was around these clandestine hunting bases that multiple agendas
collided. Trush knew that there could still be hunters, trappers, and cone
pickers out in the forest, but it seemed many locals would rather risk an
attack than betray their neighbors. Trush needed to know where these
ron
(Ron)
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