Wildlife guide
This wildlife travel guide is meant to be like a trailer for the new Attenborough series. Because we also have individual travel guides for more specific wildlife holidays, such as our safaris, bear watching and whale watching.
Siberian tiger & Amur leopard safaris
Back in 2006, BBC Planet Earth captured footage of the Amur leopard in Kedrovaya Pad National Park, an astonishing achievement given this is the world’s rarest cat – at the time there were thought to be just 40 individuals left in the wild. Perhaps the ultimate big cat safari then is one that gives you exclusive, 24-hour access to specialist photography hides in Kedrovaya Pad, located close to water features and trees used as a food source by prey species such as wild boar and deer. Here, with the aid of motion-sensitive camera traps, night vision equipment and experienced park rangers, you stand an excellent chance of finding these elusive, endangered and iconic creatures on a completely unique tour.
You might spend up to a week based in the hide to maximise your potential opportunities, with basic but comfortable facilities including a toilet and gas heater (and access to a forest hotel if you do fancy a change of scenery for a while). Meals are brought in or prepared in the hide, and rangers escort you in and out. After a week with the leopards you can take an internal flight to a private forest reserve south of Khabarovsk in Russia’s Far East, an area to which very few tourists venture, to spend a second week in search of another reclusive big cat: the mighty Siberian tiger.
Here you’re likely to rotate between several hides, an option recommended if you’re a photographer as this is where you’re most likely to see the tigers, or you can explore the forest by 4x4, on snowshoes, or snowmobile and even skis. The tigers’ presence in an area can be identified by their tracks, their scent markings and kills, and you may be accompanied by experienced zoologists, local naturalist guides and rangers, and possibly scientists and researchers too. Not only does that mean more pairs of eyes trained on the forest, but also superb levels of interpretation into the cats’ behaviours. On a tiger tracking tour you will be staying in a wooden lodge camp with a traditional Russian banya to keep you warm.
Here you’re likely to rotate between several hides, an option recommended if you’re a photographer as this is where you’re most likely to see the tigers, or you can explore the forest by 4x4, on snowshoes, or snowmobile and even skis. The tigers’ presence in an area can be identified by their tracks, their scent markings and kills, and you may be accompanied by experienced zoologists, local naturalist guides and rangers, and possibly scientists and researchers too. Not only does that mean more pairs of eyes trained on the forest, but also superb levels of interpretation into the cats’ behaviours. On a tiger tracking tour you will be staying in a wooden lodge camp with a traditional Russian banya to keep you warm.
Big cat tourism & conservation
in Russia
Big cat safaris in Russia can have a profound impact on the success of conservation efforts. The presence of outsiders during the winter can put off poachers and illegal loggers; footage recorded during trips is shared, providing a valuable data stream for researchers; and the economic benefits for local communities helps persuade them to protect big cats, and perhaps even inspire people to take up conservation careers themselves. So as you can probably, guess, that’s a big thumbs up from the Responsible Travel team.
As of early 2019, there are at least five known Amur leopards around the hide in Kedrovaya Pad National Park, and some 22 tigers using the forest on a regular basis, so you stand a very good chance of seeing them here. During your stay, you may also visit the Kedrovaya Pad interpretation centre to learn about leopard conservation efforts; the Utyos rehabilitation centre, to see sick and injured tigers and other wildlife; or visit a local village. Throughout the tour you will be accompanied by park rangers with years of experience to the point that they can recognise some of the big cats by sight.
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about Big cat safaris or need help finding a holiday to suit you we're very happy to help.
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Russian big cat safari practicalities
Beyond being able to cope with the cold and fairly basic conditions while overnighting in the hides (beds are provided of course) you don’t need to be especially fit for these trips. Very little physical exertion is required beyond walking the 1.5km to the hide over flat ground. Winter temperatures can drift between -5°C and -30°C, with heavy snowfall likely.
These tours are tailor made and can even be designed for just one person. Trips run throughout the winter months from November to March; snowfall makes tracking easier, and means food is scarcer so the cats are likely to be more active. You’ll be based in coastal locations where temperatures are not as severe as in other parts of the Russian Far East, though bringing several layers of warm clothing is essential.
These tours are tailor made and can even be designed for just one person. Trips run throughout the winter months from November to March; snowfall makes tracking easier, and means food is scarcer so the cats are likely to be more active. You’ll be based in coastal locations where temperatures are not as severe as in other parts of the Russian Far East, though bringing several layers of warm clothing is essential.
More about Big cat safaris
Our guide to big cat safaris around the world takes you from the frozen wildernesses of Russia and Lapland to the jungles of India and Borneo, via the plains of Africa and the marshlands of Pantanal.
It can be a little difficult to pin down the absolute best time to go on a big cat safari given that they tend to keep to their own schedules, but to narrow down your chances of success, read on to discover when to travel.
Our big cat safaris map and highlights demonstrate the variety of locations you can see these elusive creatures in the wild, from Russia to Borneo and India, while an interactive map reveals where to see big cats around the world.
On big cat safaris in South Africa you’ll most likely catch the lions lounging in the shade but the chance of seeing them on the hunt will be enough to get you bounding into the jeep every evening.
Big cat safaris in the Pantanal focus on the Cuiabá riverbanks from Porto Jofre because cruising by boat affords superb opportunities to witness jaguars on the hunt or at their leisure in their preferred habitat.
India has more tigers in the wild than anywhere else, so big cat safaris in India typically take you around a series of national parks to maximise your chances of observing them as they emerge from the jungle.
Yala National Park is the key destination that big cat safaris in Sri Lanka focus on, as it's home to a higher concentration of leopards per square kilometre than anywhere else on the planet.
Big cat safaris in Borneo are accompanied by naturalist guides and zoologists to help you track down nocturnal, tree-climbing clouded leopards and a host of other incredible creatures along the way.
Explore a true wilderness in company of expert naturalists and guides with snow leopard tracking holidays in the Himalayas, as you search the mountains for one of the world’s rarest and most majestic big cats.
Big cats are in urgent need of more responsible tourism - on this page we discuss some of the current issues around big cat conservation and how by choosing the right kind of trip, you make a difference to their survival.
More relevant guides
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