In a remote part of the Siberian forest a desperate poacher triggers a series of tragic events as a tiger turns man-eater. Part gripping detective story played out on a wild and exotic stage and part ecological parable, Tiger Hunting is a true life murder mystery, written in snow...

When Yuri Trush was called to investigate an attack by a Siberian tiger in December 1997, what he found was unlike anything he`d ever encountered. Nothing remained of the victim but stumps of bone protruding from his boots. Even more chilling was the evidence that this attack had been carefully orchestrated, as if the tiger was seeking revenge. Before long, the beast struck again, and Trush, leader of a tiger conservation unit, found himself forced to hunt this animal through the brutal cold of a Siberian winter, becoming intimately acquainted with the tiger`s history, motives and unique method of attack - until their harrowing final encounter.

John Vaillant recreates these astonishing events against a backdrop of Russia`s most remote frontier, a place where the native peoples worship tigers but poachers threaten the species` survival. He describes the historic collisions between Chinese and Russian settlers (trappers, thieves, deserters and exiles) and the struggles of their descendants, who, in the chaotic aftermath of perestroika, turn to poaching to survive - in this case with deadly consequences.

A haunting, gripping exploration of predators and prey and an intimate portrait of a remarkable animal increasingly threatened by interaction with humans.

Reviews

'Writing in a vigorous, evocative style . . . Vaillant paints a haunting portrait of man's vexed relationship with nature.'

Publishers Weekly

'The Tiger is the sort of book I very much like and rarely find. Humans are hard-wired to fear tigers, so this book will attract intense interest.'

Annie Proulx

'This elegant work of narrative non-fiction has it all—beauty, intrigue, a primeval locale, fully realized characters, and a conflict that speaks to the state of our world. The Tiger takes us on a journey to the raw edge of civilization, to a world of vengeful cats and venal men, a world that, in Vaillant’s brilliant telling, is simultaneously haunting and enchanting.'

Hampton Sides, author of Ghost Soldiers

'This book must be read by everybody who is interested in the conservation of wildlife. It takes you to the Russian wilderness to meet face-to-face with the Siberian tiger.'

Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation

'An absolutely superb book.'

George Schaller, Wildlife Conservation Society & Panthera

'A masterpiece'

Outside

'Brilliant'

US Library Journal

By all means read Vaillant's magnificent book about the animal: The Tiger offers readers a shiver-inducing portrait of a predator that has been revered - and feared - like no other animal.

San Francisco Chronicle

'A hair-raising tale in which conservation, madness and even murder collide.'

Montreal Gazette

'Riveting'

The Washington Post

'Not so incidentally, if ever a nonfiction author has used the techniques of fiction any better to recount a real-life narrative, it is difficult to imagine who that author would be.'

The Seattle Times

'Enthralling'

Christian Science Monitor

'Overall, this is a superb book -- hyper-intelligent, wonderfully well-written, with a great cast, both human and animal, and at its heart, the amazing and truly chilling story of one tiger's winter campaign of murderous revenge.'

Daily Mail