Word: fomenko
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...frozen winter night on russia's far eastern edge, Pavel Fomenko and a truckload of comrades are cruising slowly, headlights off, down an ice-covered riverbed. Under a full moon, Fomenko has seen the giant paw prints of the Amur tiger, more widely known as the Siberian tiger. But he is not hunting the striped cat; he's hunting the hunters. Working for the World Wildlife Fund in cooperation with Russian authorities, he is leading an anti-poaching patrol, going after criminals who try to profit from killing one of the world's most magnificent--and endangered--creatures. Telltale tire...
...Fomenko, 37, calls himself a reformed hunter. A Siberian native, he spent many years earning a living by legally shooting and trapping the taiga's mink and sable. Comfortable even when the temperature hits -40[degrees]F, Fomenko can glide through the deep snow like a cat, carefully placing one foot in front of the other, so his footprints disappear in the steps of his prey. Now and then he stops, sable hat in hand, to do what he does best: listen to the forest. "When you live alone in the taiga for months," he says, "you get to know...
...helped that the WWF would pay much more than Moscow or local governments could afford to give men on the front line against poaching. At first Fomenko worked alone, but he now oversees three dozen men in 14 brigades. The rangers, as he calls the ecological policemen, earn as much as $300 a month, a good salary in Russia. In all, the WWF will dedicate $2 million this year to protect 1 million sq. mi. of Russia's Far East...
...dividends are obvious. Fomenko estimates that fewer than 30 tigers were poached last year, down from as many as 80 a year in the early 1990s. He believes the population has stabilized, and if that's true, he can take some of the credit. Like homicide detectives, Fomenko's brigades track the poachers, using roadblocks, stakeouts and even raids. In six years, the patrols have seized about 700 guns, 25 tiger skins and countless traps. Although the poachers are fined, Russian justice is often flawed. In parts of the region, says Fomenko, poorly paid officials are susceptible to corruption...
...this particular night along the frozen riverbed, Fomenko never finds the Jeep full of poachers. Perhaps the hunters sensed they were being hunted and fled the scene. But Fomenko doesn't think for a minute that the war is won. He knows that if he and his men don't keep a close watch over Russia's tigers, their stalkers will be back...