- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Moscow Metro's 'Stripey Express' Celebrates Amur Tiger Day in Style

© Sputnik / Vladimir Pesnya / Go to the mediabankPresentation of the "Striped Express" subway train
Presentation of the Striped Express subway train - Sputnik International
Subscribe
Lucky commuters on the Moscow metro underground network will be accompanied on their travels by Amur tigers from Sunday, when a new train decorated with images of the tiger and its Far Eastern habitat began traveling on the railway network to commemorate Amur Tiger Day.

Amur Tiger Day on September 27 is being celebrated in style by the Moscow Metro, where a specially-created tiger train began running for passengers on Sunday.

"From today, September 27, a train decorated with the flora and fauna of the Far East begins traveling on the Lyublinskaya Line of the Moscow Metro," announced Ivan Ostashko, spokesman for the Moscow Metro.

Фото опубликовано Fairywalls (@fairywalls_art) Сен 27 2015 в 2:55 PDT

"The project aims to popularize the image of one of the rarer members of the cat family, and foster a caring relationship to their existence in our environment." 

The Amur tiger is the largest tiger in the world, and has the largest home range of any tiger subspecies, due to the low density of prey in its Siberian habitat; the Amur is also the only tiger subspecies that lives in snow.

Once threatened with extinction, the tiger population has increased from a nadir of just 40 wild individual tigers in the 1940s, thanks to a conservation effort by wildlife organizations and the Russian government, which granted the tiger full protection.

Since the 1980s the number of tigers in the wild has stabilized at around 540 specimins, which live in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range in the Primorski and Khabarovsk provinces of Russia's Far East, and small pockets of the border area of China.

The new tiger train will be a permanent addition to the Moscow metro's collection, and is the eleventh decorated train to join the network; the newest addition is the first to also feature images depicted on the floor of its eight wagons.

"The coating for the floor is very wear-resistant, and underwent testing at Lubyanka station," explained Oleg Zaitsev, director of the Moscow metro's rolling stock. "All the work was completed in four days."

As well as the tiger train, the Moscow metro has ten more theme trains in its stock. Others include the 'Red Arrow' train, which was created to mark the 75th anniversary of the famous 'Red Arrow' passenger train that started running between Moscow and St Petersburg in 1931, and the 'Watercolor' train, which is decorated with copies of artwork from the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts.

© AP Photo / Gene J. PuskarA three-month-old Amur tiger cub lounges in a chair at the Pittsburgh Zoo on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008. Born on Mother's Day, May 11, 2008, Amur tigers, more commonly know as Siberian tigers, are a critically endangered species due to habitat destruction and illegal fur trade.
Amur tiger in Pittsburgh zoo - Sputnik International
1/9
A three-month-old Amur tiger cub lounges in a chair at the Pittsburgh Zoo on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008. Born on Mother's Day, May 11, 2008, Amur tigers, more commonly know as Siberian tigers, are a critically endangered species due to habitat destruction and illegal fur trade.
© Sputnik / Vitaliy Ankov Тигрица по кличке Тайга в вольере Шкотовского Сафари-парка в Приморье.
Amur tigress in Shkotovsky Safari Park in Primorsky Krai - Sputnik International
2/9
Тигрица по кличке Тайга в вольере Шкотовского Сафари-парка в Приморье.
© Sputnik / Alexandr KryazhevАмурская тигрица Лапа со своими детенышами в вольере Новосибирского зоопарка. Четверо амурских тигрят родились у амурских тигров Лапы и Макса 25 мая 2014 года.
Amur tigress with her cubs at Novosibirsk Zoo - Sputnik International
3/9
Амурская тигрица Лапа со своими детенышами в вольере Новосибирского зоопарка. Четверо амурских тигрят родились у амурских тигров Лапы и Макса 25 мая 2014 года.
© Sputnik / Vitaliy AnkovТигр, спасенный в Амурской области, 6 февраля доставлен в сафари-парк в Шкотовском районе Приморья.
Amur tiger in Shkotovsky Safari Park in Primorsky Krai - Sputnik International
4/9
Тигр, спасенный в Амурской области, 6 февраля доставлен в сафари-парк в Шкотовском районе Приморья.
© AFP 2023 / DPA/Gregor Fischer Twelve-weeks old Siberian tiger cub "Alisha" is pictured in her enclosure at the Tierpark zoo in Berlin on March 5, 2015. The baby tiger is to move to the zoo in Eberswalde, eastern Germany, on March 10, 2015.
Amur tiger cub at Berlin Zoo - Sputnik International
5/9
Twelve-weeks old Siberian tiger cub "Alisha" is pictured in her enclosure at the Tierpark zoo in Berlin on March 5, 2015. The baby tiger is to move to the zoo in Eberswalde, eastern Germany, on March 10, 2015.
© AFP 2023 / Daniel KarmannClaudius, the Siberian tiger, yawns on October 10, 2012 in his enclosure in Nuremberg, southern Germany. Its brother died yesterday. The cause is unknown.
Amur tiger yawns at Nuremberg Zoo - Sputnik International
6/9
Claudius, the Siberian tiger, yawns on October 10, 2012 in his enclosure in Nuremberg, southern Germany. Its brother died yesterday. The cause is unknown.
© AFP 2023 / Koen van WeelThree Siberian tigers born at circus Renaissance, which is now located in Leiden, are pictured on June 26, 2012. The tigers where born on June 24, 2012 and in good health. The circus has now a total of twelve Siberian tigers.
Three Amur tiger cubs born at the Dutch Renaissance circus in the town of Leiden - Sputnik International
7/9
Three Siberian tigers born at circus Renaissance, which is now located in Leiden, are pictured on June 26, 2012. The tigers where born on June 24, 2012 and in good health. The circus has now a total of twelve Siberian tigers.
© AFP 2023This picture taken on August 12, 2013 shows Siberian tigers licking ice cubes to cool off in Guaipo Siberian Tiger Park in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning province. Temperatures have reached or exceeded 35 degrees Celsius for an average of 25.3 days in eight provinces and municipalities since July 1, marking the greatest number of hot days recorded during the period since 1961, National Meteorological Center (NMC) says on August 11.
Amur tigers at a zoo in China - Sputnik International
8/9
This picture taken on August 12, 2013 shows Siberian tigers licking ice cubes to cool off in Guaipo Siberian Tiger Park in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning province. Temperatures have reached or exceeded 35 degrees Celsius for an average of 25.3 days in eight provinces and municipalities since July 1, marking the greatest number of hot days recorded during the period since 1961, National Meteorological Center (NMC) says on August 11.
© AFP 2023 / Nicolas ArmerA Siberian tiger is pictured on March 17, 2014 at the Tierpark Hellabrunn zoo in Munich, southern Germany.
Amur tiger in a German zoo - Sputnik International
9/9
A Siberian tiger is pictured on March 17, 2014 at the Tierpark Hellabrunn zoo in Munich, southern Germany.
1/9
A three-month-old Amur tiger cub lounges in a chair at the Pittsburgh Zoo on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008. Born on Mother's Day, May 11, 2008, Amur tigers, more commonly know as Siberian tigers, are a critically endangered species due to habitat destruction and illegal fur trade.
2/9
Тигрица по кличке Тайга в вольере Шкотовского Сафари-парка в Приморье.
3/9
Амурская тигрица Лапа со своими детенышами в вольере Новосибирского зоопарка. Четверо амурских тигрят родились у амурских тигров Лапы и Макса 25 мая 2014 года.
4/9
Тигр, спасенный в Амурской области, 6 февраля доставлен в сафари-парк в Шкотовском районе Приморья.
5/9
Twelve-weeks old Siberian tiger cub "Alisha" is pictured in her enclosure at the Tierpark zoo in Berlin on March 5, 2015. The baby tiger is to move to the zoo in Eberswalde, eastern Germany, on March 10, 2015.
6/9
Claudius, the Siberian tiger, yawns on October 10, 2012 in his enclosure in Nuremberg, southern Germany. Its brother died yesterday. The cause is unknown.
7/9
Three Siberian tigers born at circus Renaissance, which is now located in Leiden, are pictured on June 26, 2012. The tigers where born on June 24, 2012 and in good health. The circus has now a total of twelve Siberian tigers.
8/9
This picture taken on August 12, 2013 shows Siberian tigers licking ice cubes to cool off in Guaipo Siberian Tiger Park in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning province. Temperatures have reached or exceeded 35 degrees Celsius for an average of 25.3 days in eight provinces and municipalities since July 1, marking the greatest number of hot days recorded during the period since 1961, National Meteorological Center (NMC) says on August 11.
9/9
A Siberian tiger is pictured on March 17, 2014 at the Tierpark Hellabrunn zoo in Munich, southern Germany.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала