Panthera Tigris Altaica Research Articles

SHetConv: target keypoint detection based on heterogeneous convolution neural networks

Keypoint detection is an important research topic in target recognition and classification. This paper studies the detection of keypoints in images of Amur tigers and proposes a target keypoint detection method based on heterogeneous convolution neural networks. Because of the limited storage capacity of the monitoring device and higher accuracy requirement, we propose a heterogeneous convolution called SHetConv, which is composed of group convolution and standard convolution. We use two kinds of SHetConv, one to reduce the computational costs [number of FLOPs (FLOPs stands for the floating-point operations per second .)] and one to increase the receptive field. To further improve the effectiveness of the model, we propose a feature fusion module to make full use of the semantic information and spatial information of images. We evaluate the algorithm on Tiger Pose Keypoint, CIFAR-10 and MPII datasets. The experimental results show that our method has a better accuracy, recall rate and $${F_{{1}}}$$ -score than other state-of-the-art keypoint detection methods. Moreover, the number of parameters and FLOPs are substantially reduced. Specifically, the number of parameter and FLOPs of the Our (scaled network + fusion module + shet2) model are 0.14 and 0.143 times those of the big HRNet-W48 model, and its $${F_{{1}}}$$ -score is increased by 0.3%.

基于目标检测的东北虎个体自动识别

东北虎个体的自动识别是种群数量评估和制定有效保护策略的重要基础。以东北虎林园和怪坡虎园38 只虎为研究对象，将目标检测方法首次应用到东北虎个体识别研究中，采用多种深度卷积神经网络模型，以实现虎个体的自动识别。首先通过相机在不同角度对 38 只东北虎进行拍摄取样，建立包含13579张图像的虎样本数据集。由于虎的体侧条纹信息不具有对称性，所以运用单次多盒目标检测（Single Shot MultiBox Detector， SSD）方法，对虎的躯干左侧条纹、右侧条纹以及脸部等不同部位图像，进行自动检测并分割提取，极大节省手工截取时间。在检测分割出的左右侧及脸部不同部位图片基础上，运用上、下、左、右平移变换进行数据增强，使图片数目扩大为原来的5 倍。采用LeNet、AlexNet、ZFNet、VGG16、ResNet34共5 种卷积神经网络模型进行个体自动识别。为了提高识别准确率，运用平均值和最大值不同组合方式来优化池化操作，并在全连接层引入概率分别为0.1、0.2、0.3、0.4的丢弃（Dropout）操作防止过拟合。实验表明，目标检测模型耗时较少，截取分割老虎不同部位条纹能达到0.6 s/张，远快于人工截取速度，并且在测试集上准确率能达到97.4%。不同姿态下的目标部位都能正确识别并分割。ResNet34模型的准确率优于其他网络模型，左右侧条纹以及脸部图像识别准确率分别为93.75%、97.01%和 86.28%，右侧条纹识别准确率优于左侧条纹和脸部图像。研究为野生虎自动相机影像的识别提供技术参考。在未来研究中，对东北虎个体影响数据进行扩充，选取更多影像数据进行训练，使网络具有更强的适应性，从而实现更准确的个体识别。;The automaticly individual identification of Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) is important for population monitoring and making effective conservation strategies. In this paper, we applied the object detection method and deep convolutional neural network models to individual identification with the images of 38 Amur tigers in the Northeast Tiger Forest Park (West 126°36', North 45°49') and Guaipo Tiger Park (West 123°37', North 42°4'). Firstly, the Canon EOS 200D camera was used to establish the data set containing 13579 pictures of Amur tiger from different angles. Since the tiger's body stripes of two sides are not symmetrical, single shot multibox detector (SSD) was used to automatically intercept and distinguish the left and right body stripes as well as the face of tiger, which greatly saved the time of manual interception. On the basis of the interception image results, the data were enhanced to 5 times by the up, down, left and right transformation. Then, LeNet, AlexNet, ZFNet, VGG16 and ResNet34 were used for individual identification. Furthermore, the pooling model was optimized by using different combinations of average pooling and maximum pooling, and the dropout operations with probabilities of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 were introduced to prevent overfitting. The experiment shows that the target detection model in this study takes less time than manual interception. It can intercept and segment the stripes in different parts of the tiger with 0.6 seconds for one image, which is much faster than manual interception, and the accuracy rate on the test set can reach up to 97.4%. The target parts can be correctly identified and segmented for Amur tiger images with different kinds of positions. Finally, based on the experiment results, we found that the accuracy of ResNet34 is better than that of other network models. The recognition accuracies of left, right stripe and face images are 93.75%, 97.01%, and 86.28%, respectively. The recognition accuracy of right stripes is better than left stripes and face parts. This study can provide technical support for automatic camera image recognition of wild tigers. The method in this paper can be applied to the identification of individual in the species which have distinct streaks or spots on the body. In the future work, the image dadaset of individual Amur tigers will be expanded and much more image data will be selected for training set so as to make the network more adaptable and realize more accurate individual identification.

Геоэкологические проблемы сохранения амурского тигра

Activities of the government and society have an impact on the population of the Amur tiger. Related processes of recession, stabilization and growth of the number of animal species are analyzed. The main attention is focused on the legal basis and promotion of preservation and protection of the Amur tiger. It has a future, if effective protection of tigers and hoofeds from poachers and preservation their habitats will be provided.

The influence of reproductive status on home range size and spatial dynamics of female Amur tigers

The influence of reproductive status on home range size and spatial dynamics of female Amur tigers

Distinctive features of the morphometric parameters of the heart of the Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) in natural habitat and in captivity

In the process of working with anatomical material supplied to the Animal Disease Diagnostic Center of the Primorskaya State Agricultural Academy, in the order of forensic examinations, a characteristic feature consisting in differences in the structure of the organs of animals living in natural habitat and in captivity was revealed. Evolutionary forces are reflected in the adaptability of animals to survive in the wild, honing adaptive characteristics and sweeping away all unnecessary things. Studying previously published works on the topic in question, it can be noted that the heart of animals in their natural habitat is slender, with a strong left side and relatively weak right side. As a rule, trabecular structures in such animals are smoothed, maximally “built” into the walls of the heart chambers. It is not often possible to find crossbeams as an element of myoendocardial formations in wild animals. However, for the internal structures of the human heart and domesticated animal species, this is not uncommon. There is an opinion that additional muscle-trabecular elements, such as: muscle crossbeams [3]; additional papillary muscles; pectinate muscles of the atria, located in a storey network - take part in the intensification of heart contractions and the creation of a swirling blood flow, providing its translational-rotational movement. This process can be considered an adaptive response to a decrease in physical activity during the evolution of a species, formed from birth to death of an organism. In the course of postmortem examinations, we examined the heart of a four-year-old female Amur tiger raised in captivity with the distinctive features of myoendocardial formations in comparison with other individuals of this species.

The connotation and assessment framework of national park ecosystem integrity：A case study of the Amur Tiger and Leopard National Park

The connotation and assessment framework of national park ecosystem integrity：A case study of the Amur Tiger and Leopard National Park

Comparison of the Morphology and Developmental Potential of Oocytes Obtained from Prepubertal and Adult Domestic and Wild Cats.

Simple SummaryThis study was conducted with the aim of determining the morphological similarities and developmental potential of oocytes obtained from adult and prepubertal domestic cats (Felis catus) and wild cats. The results of our research showed that ovaries obtained from prepubertal felids may be a rich source of good quality oocytes that are competent for in vitro maturation and able to reach blastocyst stage after in vitro fertilization. The results are important in the context of the possibility of using oocytes from prepubertal felids threatened with extinction in conservation programs based on assisted reproductive techniques (ART).The aim of the study was to compare the morphology and developmental potential of oocytes obtained from adult and prepubertal domestic cats (Felis catus) and wild cats (Lynx lynx, Leptailurus serval, Felis manul, Panthera tigris altaica). The average number of oocytes obtained from an adult domestic cat was 23 ± 11, which was significantly lower than from kittens (43 ± 29). A similar number of oocytes was derived from adult Pallas’s cats (28 ± 8), and serval (30). The lowest number of oocytes was collected from the lynx (5 ± 3). No oocytes were obtained from newborn Amur tiger while in the case of older domestic and Pallas’s cat and lynx kittens (1–3 months) 43, 48 and 41 oocytes were collected, respectively. Significant differences (p < 0.001) were observed between the number of oocytes with dark cytoplasm from adult and prepubertal animals of all analyzed species. The diameter of oocytes from adult and prepubertal animals was similar in all species, and was on average 161 ± 4 µm for oocytes with dark cytoplasm and 150 ± 18 µm for oocytes with light cytoplasm. In all species, oocytes with light cytoplasm were significantly smaller (p < 0.05) than dark ones, and their population was more diverse. Results of in vitro maturation of the domestic and wild cat′s oocytes obtained from adult and prepubertal females were similar (47–52%). The cleavage rate after in vitro fertilization (IVF) was lower for prepubertal than adult domestic cats (42 vs. 51%; p < 0.05%). Moreover, we observed differences in the quantity (28 vs. 39%; p < 0.05) and quality of blastocysts and even greater problems with hatching blastocysts from prepubertal kittens (8 vs. 19%; p < 0.001). More blastomeres were detected in blastocysts of adult cats. They also demonstrated significantly higher number of inner cell mass (ICM) (p < 0.001) and higher number of trophoblast cells (TE) (p < 0.05).

Ha Jin’s Ecocritical Irony in the Stylistic Analysis of the Personal Pronouns in “A Tiger Fighter is Hard to Find”

This paper aims at showing how stylistics and ecocriticism, both being strongly ‘centripetal’ and ‘interdisciplinary’ fields, can cooperate in the exploration of a literary text. This is the case of a short story written by the Chinese-American writer Ha Jin. Also thanks to the help of the digital analysis, the paper mainly focuses on the stylistic analysis of the personal pronouns and of the narrator’s point of view to show the stinging and subversive irony which pervades the narration of the vicissitudes of a Chinese TV film crew who is asked to shoot a scene where a muscular hero has to fight bare-handed against a real Siberian tiger. The analysis also aims to show how the story becomes the opportunity for the writer to depict the narrow frame of mind of the blind dictatorship of his homeland and its deplorable consequences on both humans and animals. Thus, the whole exploration, in the end, reveals the ecocritical lens through which Ha Jin narrates the story.

Haematological and Biochemical Parameters of Captive Siberian Tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) from the Heilongjiang Province, China.

Haematological and biochemical parameters play important roles in safeguarding animal health and preventing disease, but the blood reference values of many wild animals are still unknown. Recently, few descriptions of the blood parameters of Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) have been reported because these tigers comprise an endangered species; however, it is extremely difficult to obtain blood samples necessary for these analyses. This study presents 14 haematological and 16 biochemical parameters of 133 Siberian tigers, of which 112 and 21 were from Heilongjiang Siberian Tiger Park (HB) and Hailin Siberian Tiger Park (HD), China, respectively. Our study is the first to determine the following parameters in Siberian tigers: red blood cell volume distribution width, platelet count, mean platelet volume, amylase (AMY), sodium/potassium, globulin and albumin/globulin levels. As the data for total bilirubin and AMY were not statistically significant, no statistical analysis was conducted for these parameters. Few parameters were significantly different according to sex and region (p < 0.05). The concentration of alkaline phosphatase decreased with age, whereas the creatinine (CREA) increased with age. The CREA concentration of tigers raised in HB was much lower than that of tigers raised in HD. The data obtained in this study provide a reference for monitoring the health of wild and captive Siberian tigers and will add important information to the standards for haematological and biochemical parameters of wild felines.

The Structure of Potential Amur Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) Habitats and Evaluation of Its Prey in Taipingou National Reserve (China) Based on Remote Sensing Data

The population of the Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) in the Russian Far East is currently being restored; young individuals are being spread within the historical range, including territory in China. Here, the assessment of the suitability for the territories that exist in Northeastern China as the Amur tiger habitat and its food supply-prey base (three species of ungulates, namely wild boar, red deer and roe deer) are shown. A specially protected area—the Taipingou Natural Reserve, located on the border of the People’s Republic of China and Russia—was examined. The modelling of habitat suitability for ungulates was performed on the basis of Earth remote sensing data by using two different approaches: expert geo-information assessment of the territory and discriminant analysis modelling. Based on discriminant analysis, the modelling of the suitability of ungulate habitats (without the variability of plant communities) showed a small difference between the model results for wild boar and roe deer. Nevertheless, the connection with the morphometric characteristics of the relief was more important for the wild boar than the roe deer. Furthermore, the variability of vegetation types was more important for the roe deer. The analysis of the biotopes showed that wild boars prefer the central and northern parts of Taipingou National Reserve, while the main roe deer distribution is in the western part of the Reserve; red deer are more common in the southern part of the Reserve.

Distemper, extinction, and vaccination of the Amur tiger

Canine distemper virus (CDV) has recently emerged as an extinction threat for the endangered Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica). CDV is vaccine-preventable, and control strategies could require vaccination of domestic dogs and/or wildlife populations. However, vaccination of endangered wildlife remains controversial, which has led to a focus on interventions in domestic dogs, often assumed to be the source of infection. Effective decision making requires an understanding of the true reservoir dynamics, which poses substantial challenges in remote areas with diverse host communities. We carried out serological, demographic, and phylogenetic studies of dog and wildlife populations in the Russian Far East to show that a number of wildlife species are more important than dogs, both in maintaining CDV and as sources of infection for tigers. Critically, therefore, because CDV circulates among multiple wildlife sources, dog vaccination alone would not be effective at protecting tigers. We show, however, that low-coverage vaccination of tigers themselves is feasible and would produce substantive reductions in extinction risks. Vaccination of endangered wildlife provides a valuable component of conservation strategies for endangered species.

WITHDRAWN: Ecological landscape planning and design based on the Internet of Things system and VR technology

Abstract Intelligent, real-time, is essential to low-cost, the planning and design of a distributed ecosystem to understand, to manage the rapidly changing ecosystem. However, in the era of big data, most new technology, especially in remote areas of fragile ecosystems, it is not introduced to the planning and design of the business ecosystem. Innovative by using the Internet of things technology eco-system in the smart device planning and design and control system in the development and isolated environment, to establish the eco-system of the prototype, internet of things (IoT) technology it is introduced. Smart device development includes the following four categories: to planning the vegetation variables, carrying the relevant CO2 and D13C systems and dispersion device, situ observation, and soil respiration, for measuring evapotranspiration and soil moisture too, large and non-invasive instruments, and vr technology camera, the pressure trigger sensor terrestrial vertebrates planning and design. These new gadgets and is better than earlier workmanship gadgets are associated through a remote correspondence organization. The achievement of the IoT is arranging by the eco-framework that contains the new information lumberjack and the long-run remote sensor network innovation to help the quick transmission of information from the gadget to a remote organization. IoT to arranging the utilization of this environment, many desert zones of the stone, the Amur tiger in the National Park, a desert garden in China, has been affirmed in three of delicate biological systems, including a desert change zone. These gadgets and methods and environmental arranging and plan data frameworks, consistent information assortment, transmission, handling, made by, and IoT point use of. Incorporate on the grounds that it will give a stage to environment the executives and dynamic in the time of large information, to design the Internet of things, the foundation of this eco-framework, will be the new worldview for natural scene arranging.

Battle for Bikin: How a Far Eastern Park Was Born

ABSTRACT The turbulent history of one of the most important natural preserves of Russia, surrounding the Bikin River, sometimes called Russia’s Amazon, is related by one of the park’s founders. This Indigenous narrator interweaves the story of his people, the Udegé, together with their relationship to the sacred Bikin taiga lands, and to issues of leadership on many levels. The case is significant because it features one of the few large Indigenous territories that have been saved from development (timber, gold, road building) by continuously scheming outsiders, and for its depiction of the importance of Indigenous solidarity combined with guarantees of flexible traditional land use (hunting, trapping, fishing). Russian ecology activists and international allies in the battle for the park played key roles, as did the presence on Bikin territories of the charismatic largest cat in the world, the Siberian tiger.

Can Zoos Ever Be Big Enough for Large Wild Animals? A Review Using an Expert Panel Assessment of the Psychological Priorities of the Amur Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) as a Model Species.

Simple SummaryThe reduction in space available to wild animals in zoos and aquariums is widely perceived to be detrimental to their welfare by scientists and the general public alike. Evidence suggests that naturally wide-ranging carnivores are more likely to suffer in captivity than those that travel less widely. Using the Amur tiger as a representative for wide-ranging species frequently held in zoos, an expert panel assessment was undertaken to identify psychological priorities in order to see how the negative welfare impacts of reduced ranging opportunities might be most effectively overcome. This assessment highlights that whilst reduced access to space may be central to compromised welfare for many species, there may be more effective strategies in safeguarding welfare than simply making captive habitats marginally bigger. Central to this for Amur tigers is providing appropriate mental stimulation rather than focusing only on behaviours linked to hunting. Various strategies intended to safeguard welfare are discussed for Amur tigers, which can also be considered for other wide-ranging species.The ecology of large, wide-ranging carnivores appears to make them vulnerable to conservation challenges in the wild and welfare challenges in captivity. This poses an ethical dilemma for the zoo community and supports the case that there is a need to reconsider prevailing management paradigms for these species in captivity. Whilst the welfare challenges wide ranging carnivores face have been attributed to reduced ranging opportunities associated with the decreased size of captive habitats, attempts to augment wild carnivore welfare in captivity typically focus on behaviours linked to hunting. Thus far, this has yet to result in the systematic elimination of signs of compromised welfare amongst captive carnivores. Here an assessment is carried out to identify the likely welfare priorities for Amur tigers, which, as one of the widest ranging terrestrial carnivores, serves as an excellent exemplar for species experiencing extreme compression of their ranging opportunities in captivity. These priorities are then used to consider novel strategies to address the welfare challenges associated with existing management paradigms, and in particular, attempt to overcome the issue of restricted space. The insights generated here have wider implications for other species experiencing substantive habitat compression in captivity. It is proposed here that the impact of habitat compression on captive carnivore welfare may not be a consequence of the reduction in habitat size per se, but rather the reduction in cognitive opportunities that likely covary with size, and that this should inform strategies to augment welfare.

SARS-COV-2 INFECTION AND LONGITUDINAL FECAL SCREENING IN MALAYAN TIGERS (PANTHERA TIGRIS JACKSONI), AMUR TIGERS (PANTHERA TIGRIS ALTAICA ), AND AFRICAN LIONS (PANTHERA LEO KRUGERI) AT THE BRONX ZOO, NEW YORK, USA.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged as the cause of a global pandemic in 2019-2020. In March 2020, New York City became the epicenter in the United States for the pandemic. On 27 March 2020, a Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni) at the Bronx Zoo in New York City developed a cough and wheezing with subsequent inappetence. Over the next week, an additional Malayan tiger and two Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) in the same building and three lions (Panthera leo krugeri) in a separate building also became ill. The index case was anesthetized for diagnostic workup. Physical examination and bloodwork results were unremarkable. Thoracic radiography and ultrasonography revealed a bronchial pattern with peribronchial cuffing and mild lung consolidation with alveolar-interstitial syndrome, respectively. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was identified by real-time, reverse transcriptase PCR (rRT-PCR) on oropharyngeal and nasal swabs and tracheal wash fluid. Cytologic examination of tracheal wash fluid revealed necrosis, and viral RNA was detected in necrotic cells by in situ hybridization, confirming virus-associated tissue damage. SARS-CoV-2 was isolated from the tracheal wash fluid of the index case, as well as the feces from one Amur tiger and one lion. Fecal viral RNA shedding was confirmed in all seven clinical cases and an asymptomatic Amur tiger. Respiratory signs abated within 1-5 days for most animals, although they persisted intermittently for 16 days in the index case. Fecal RNA shedding persisted for as long as 35 days beyond cessation of respiratory signs. This case series describes the clinical presentation, diagnostic evaluation, and management of tigers and lions infected with SARS-CoV-2 and describes the duration of viral RNA fecal shedding in these cases. This report documents the first known natural transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from humans to nondomestic felids.

Molecular characterization of ascaridoid parasites from captive wild carnivores in China using ribosomal and mitochondrial sequences

BackgroundDespite the public health importance of toxocariasis/toxascariasis, only a few species of these ascaridoid parasites from wild canine and feline carnivores have been studied at the molecular level so far. Poor understanding of diversity, host distribution and the potential (zoonotic) transmission of the ascaridoid species among wild animals negatively affects their surveillance and control in natural settings. In this study, we updated previous knowledge by profiling the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships of ascaridoid species among eleven wild canine and feline animals on the basis of a combined analysis of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) gene and the partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 2 (cox2) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (nad1) genes.ResultsIn total, three genetically distinct ascaridoid lineages were determined to be present among these wild carnivores sampled, including Toxocara canis in Alopex lagopus and Vulpes vulpes, Toxocara cati in Felis chaus, Prionailurus bengalensis and Catopuma temmincki and Toxascaris leonina in Canis lupus, Panthera tigris altaica, Panthera tigris amoyensis, Panthera tigris tigris, Panthera leo and Lynx lynx. Furthermore, it was evident that T. leonina lineage split into three well-supported subclades depending on their host species, i.e. wild felids, dogs and wolves and foxes, based on integrated genetic and phylogenetic evidence, supporting that a complex of T. leonina other than one species infecting these hosts.ConclusionsThese results provide new molecular insights into classification, phylogenetic relationships and epidemiological importance of ascaridoids from wild canids and felids and also highlight the complex of the taxonomy and genetics of Toxascaris in their wild and domestic carnivorous hosts.

Automatic Identification of Individual Primates with Deep Learning Techniques.

SummaryThe difficulty of obtaining reliable individual identification of animals has limited researcher's ability to obtain quantitative data to address important ecological, behavioral, and conservation questions. Traditional marking methods placed animals at undue risk. Machine learning approaches for identifying species through analysis of animal images has been proved to be successful. But for many questions, there needs a tool to identify not only species but also individuals. Here, we introduce a system developed specifically for automated face detection and individual identification with deep learning methods using both videos and still-framed images that can be reliably used for multiple species. The system was trained and tested with a dataset containing 102,399 images of 1,040 individuals across 41 primate species whose individual identity was known and 6,562 images of 91 individuals across four carnivore species. For primates, the system correctly identified individuals 94.1% of the time and could process 31 facial images per second.

Comparative Analysis of Microbial Community Structure and Function in the Gut of Wild and Captive Amur Tiger.

It has been well acknowledged that the gut microbiome is important for host health, composition changes in these microbial communities might increase susceptibility to infections and reduce adaptability to environment. Reintroduction, as an effective strategy for wild population recovery and genetic diversity maintenance for endangered populations, usually takes captive populations as rewilding resource. While, little is known about the compositional and functional differences of gut microbiota between captive and wild populations, especially for large carnivores, like Amur tiger. In this study, high throughput sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene (amplicon sequencing) and metagenomics were used to analyze the composition and function variations of gut microbiota communities between captive and wild Amur tiger populations based on total 35 fecal samples (13 from captive tigers and 22 from wild tigers). Our results showed that captive Amur tigers have higher alpha diversity in gut microbiota, but that the average unweighted UniFrac distance of bacterial taxa among wild Amur tigers was much larger. The function differences involve most aspects of the body functions, especially for metabolism, environmental information processing, cellular processes, and organismal systems. It was indicated that the diet habit and environment difference between captive and wild populations lead to composition differences of gut microbiota and then resulted in significant differences in functions. These contrasts of functional and compositional variations in gut microbiota between wild and captive Amur tigers are essential insights for guiding conservation management and policy decision-making, and call for more attention on the influence of gut microbiota on the ability of captive animals to survive in the wild.

Amur tiger stripes: individual identification based on deep convolutional neural network.

The automatic individual identification of Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) is important for population monitoring and making effective conservation strategies. Most existing research primarily relies on manual identification, which does not scale well to large datasets. In this paper, the deep convolution neural networks algorithm is constructed to implement the automatic individual identification for large numbers of Amur tiger images. The experimental data were obtained from 40 Amur tigers in Tieling Guaipo Tiger Park, China. The number of images collected from each tiger was approximately 200, and a total of 8277 images were obtained. The experiments were carried out on both the left and right side of body. Our results suggested that the recognition accuracy rate of left and right sides are 90.48% and 93.5%, respectively. The accuracy of our network has achieved the similar level compared to other state of the art networks like LeNet, ResNet34, and ZF_Net. The running time is much shorter than that of other networks. Consequently, this study can provide a new approach on automatic individual identification technology in the case of the Amur tiger.

Multiple successful tiletamine-zolazepam-xylazine immobilizations in an Amur tiger cub

Tiletamine-zolazepam immobilisation use in tigers is controversial and has been associated with neurological diseases, poor recoveries and death. Recent publications show this controversy is unsubstantiated. The multiple use of the...