Researchers now confirm that poachers are to blame for the falling population of Siberian tigers, with loss of forested areas also critical.

The Siberian Tiger Monitoring Program, which is coordinated by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), put the blame on poachers who are killing the tiger for its pelt and bones.

Its report says that tiger numbers have shown a 41 percent decline from 12 years ago. The Russian Far East is now home to only 56 of the large felines; it used to shelter around 95 tigers.

The count was carried out at 16 monitoring sites. The survey has pointed out that deep snows during the last winter may have been another reason for the drop in the number of tigers counted.

Snow may have forced the animals to restrict their movements, making them less active and therefore less detectable.

NAT/MTM/JG