An Amur male tiger was seen leading his family through a camera set up by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in a remote Russian forest.
Witnessing a male tiger – who are usually solitary creatures – lead an adult female and its three cubs is extremely unusual behavior. Females usally take on that role and guide the cubs.
But the captured images of the Siberian tiger are proof that some males may take on parental responsibilities.
According to Dale Miquelle, the WCS's Russia director, this was first instance they have ever noted of a male Amur tiger exhibiting such behavior.
"These photos provide a small vignette of social interactions of Amur tigers, and provide an evocative snapshot of life in the wild for these magnificent animals," he added, according to The Dodo.
The sight may be an incredibly rare one, but so is just catching one of the animals on camera. Amur tigers were headed for extinction in the 1940s but the species was save due to an aggressive conservation campaign that has seen their numbers rise to approximately 450 in the wild, which is a stable population number, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
