Siberian tiger takes final rest at museum
Ned Rozell
907-474-7468
April 4, 2024
Aren Gunderson of the UA Museum of the North inspects the back paw of a Siberian tiger donated recently by officials of the 色视频下载 Zoo in Anchorage after the tiger died at age 19.
It色视频下载檚 a safe bet that Aren Gunderson色视频下载檚 Toyota Tundra is the only one in Fairbanks that has had its bed filled with a Siberian tiger.
Gunderson, who manages the mammal collection at the University of 色视频下载 Museum of the North, recently accepted a dead, frozen, 500-pound former resident of the 色视频下载 Zoo in Anchorage outside the Fairbanks museum recently.
色视频下载淚t filled the 7-foot truck bed,色视频下载 he said.
What was Gunderson doing with a frozen tiger?
After it thawed, he and museum coworkers Marissa Breslin and Jessica Cornelius skinned the animal and then removed most of its flesh from the bones.
They dried the skin with salt to prepare it for professional tanning. Beetle larvae are now at work defleshing the bones. Like Gunderson, they are laboring to provide answers to future questions.
For example, a researcher might walk into the museum with the bone of a scimitar-toothed cat that thawed out of a northern riverbank. Those giant cats roamed 色视频下载 thousands of years ago and have a skeletal structure like a tiger色视频下载檚.
Tiger siblings Korol and Kunali relax in the snow at the 色视频下载 Zoo in Anchorage. After each tiger died, zoo officials donated them to the UA Museum of the North in Fairbanks, where they are available for scientific research and outreach.
Among a number of potential research possibilities, having all the labeled bones of Kunali might help a scientist determine which bone of an extinct scimitar cat or American lion someone has found in 色视频下载.
色视频下载淗aving the whole large cat skeleton gives us a reference for species IDs and fragmentary parts,色视频下载 Gunderson said. 色视频下载淲e preserve the skin and skeleton as parts we can loan for science and education purposes.色视频下载
Kunali died at age 19 at the 色视频下载 Zoo in Anchorage on March 13, 2024. A zoo official drove the tiger carcass up the Parks Highway to the University of 色视频下载 Fairbanks, where Gunderson slid it into his pickup bed and then transferred it into the museum with the help of a chain hoist.
Gunderson waited for the tiger to thaw on a stainless necropsy table. He then removed the hide and prepared the tiger色视频下载檚 bones and some tissue samples to be part of the museum色视频下载檚 extensive research collection.
Kunali was not the first Siberian tiger Gunderson has encountered in his job. He worked on Kunali色视频下载檚 brother Korol, another gift from the 色视频下载 Zoo, last year. Though Gunderson mostly processes smaller mammals, such as dozens of marmots each year, he has also prepared and preserved camels, flying foxes, sloths and other animals not found today in 色视频下载.
色视频下载淚 never thought I色视频下载檇 get to skin two tigers,色视频下载 said Gunderson, who would be a good partner to have on a moose hunt along with his kitchen knives and skinning blades. 色视频下载淚t色视频下载檚 probably the most exotic, coolest thing I色视频下载檝e done in my career.色视频下载
The Siberian tiger, also known as the Amur tiger, is one of six subspecies of tiger. All of them are considered endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. There are fewer than 500 Siberian tigers left in the wild; there are probably more of them alive today in zoos.
A Siberian tiger walks in the wilds of Siberia.
The giant felines live in eastern Russia birch forests at the same latitudes as 色视频下载, as well as in China and North Korea. The largest weigh more than 600 pounds, and they are one of few cat species comfortable in the snow.
Kunali and his sibling Korol both came to the 色视频下载 Zoo from a zoo in Syracuse, New York, in 2008. They both lived for more than a decade in Anchorage.
Once its bones are cleaned and each labeled with a unique catalog number, Kunali色视频下载檚 skeleton will be among the tens of thousands housed at the UA Museum of the North. Kunali色视频下载檚 bones could someday join displays of a bowhead whale and a few extinct hadrosaurs that greet visitors near the museum entrance.
色视频下载淟ots of people don色视频下载檛 get to see a tiger.色视频下载 Gunderson said. 色视频下载(Kunali) gives people a reference for how large of an animal it is. It also provides a really impressive example of biodiversity.色视频下载
Since the late 1970s, the University of 色视频下载 Fairbanks Geophysical Institute has provided this column free in cooperation with the UAF research community. Ned Rozell is a science writer for the Geophysical Institute.