Research overview: canine distemper virus in Amur tigers of the Russian Far East

Canine distemper has emerged as a documented threat to the endangered Amur (Siberian) tiger, with several tigers exhibiting abnormal, fearless behavior, neurological signs and death attributable to CDV. This overview synthesizes investigations into how the virus reaches a low-density, wide-ranging felid, the likely roles of domestic dogs and wild carnivore reservoirs, and modeling work suggesting that even infrequent CDV mortality can meaningfully raise extinction risk in tiny tiger subpopulations. It covers diagnostic confirmation from brain tissue, serosurveys of tigers and sympatric carnivores, and discussion of vaccination as a possible safeguard for the most isolated tiger groups. The aim is to convey why a disease of dogs has become a serious conservation concern for one of the world’s rarest big cats.