Anatoly Sukhanov (Kopchony), and Danila Zaitsev.
In Krasny Yar, Vasily and Natalya Dunkai were gracious hosts of
strangers as were their daughter, Olga, and her husband, Lyanka. Thanks
also to Mikhail Dunkai, Nikolai Gorunov, Alexander Konchuga, and
Natalya Pionka.
In Luchegorsk, Yuri Trush’s wife, Lyubov, welcomed and fed us day
after day while putting up with marathon interviews.
A number of current and former rangers, wardens, and inspectors from
various hunting and wildlife protection agencies took the time to share
their memories, opinions, and documents, among them Anatoli
Khobitnov, Alexander Lazurenko, Yuri Pionka, Vladimir Shibnev,
Yevgeny Smirnov, Vitaly Starostin, Anatoli Tarasenko, Yevgeny
Voropaev, and Sergei Zubtsov. I am especially grateful to Vladimir
Ivanovich Schetinin, founding chief of Inspection Tiger, for his
refreshing candor and profound dedication.
There is a distinguished legacy of conservation in Primorye, and the
fact that it has persisted so vigorously, against all odds, is a key reason
there are still tigers and leopards living wild in the Far East. The courage,
determination, and sacrifice of these individuals cannot be overstated
and, collectively, they have given this book a larger purpose beyond mere
storytelling. In particular, I wish to thank Sergei Bereznyuk and his
colleagues at Phoenix Fund, Vasily Solkin of the Far Eastern Institute of
Geography, Sergei Sokolov of the Primorye Institute for Sustainable
Resource Management, Sarah Christie of 21st Century Tiger, Michiel
Hötte of the Tigris Foundation, and John Goodrich of the Wildlife
Conservation Society. I am grateful to Aleksandr Laptev who generously
granted me permission to visit the Lazovski Zapovednik, and to Linda
Kerley, Vasily Khramtsov, and Galina Salkina, who shared their deep
knowledge of that beautiful place. I am equally grateful to Anatoli
Astafyev for granting me permission to visit the Sikhote-Alin
Zapovednik, and to Vladimir Melnikov and Nikolai Rybin for sharing
their extensive knowledge of the Sikhote-Alin tigers. Thanks also to
Viktor Yudin for his time and tigers, and to Yevgeny Suvorov for sharing
his remarkable collection of data on human-tiger conflict in Primorye.
ron
(Ron)
#1