The Siberian Tiger ( what chances for survival)

A forest path has snow compacted snow
and freshly blown
looking out for scratch marks on the trees
for there its shown
several males may be around
and the tigers tend to show
each other that they are around
and clearly in in the know

its all about survival
maybe 400 left
in the wild just that small number
the planet seems bereft
of this huge tiger frequenting
the cold Siberian vista
forests, mountains heavy snow
2 male cubs and their sister

apparently are on their own
poachers have been seen
the tigress probably shot to death
which has to be an obscene
waste of any female
but this is what we see
the Chinese markets growing
and the tigers tragically

being killed all over
TCM requires
the bones the skin the whiskers
inside our hearts these fires
now burn amongst the people
trying to protect
what is left of the tigers
and that is why they’ve checked

the tundra very thoroughly and are searching
the land now
looking for the survivors
for without food
there’s no way how
they could survive with their mother killed
and no food in them still
its a matter of a few hours
for them to survive this chill

dwarfed by a range of mountains
blizzards rack the land
the paths are iced and lethal
its really hard to stand
to walk across this terrain
is hard work but to track
tiger cubs is full on
and of course there’s no way back

Poachers now come into
these areas to kill
their Chinese masters pay them well
clearly the blood they spill
is paid back to them handsomely
but the future remains grim
with hardly any female in the reserve
to skim

these forests isn’t easy
for the snows and winds means tracks
are covered over rapidly
and we have to watch our backs
bears sometimes can kill you
just attack like that
everywhere there is despair
the wild ones would n’t bat

an eyelid given half the chance
one thrust and you can lose
your head its clearly dangerous
and so most of the crews
walk fast and stay together
its how we all survive
hanging back in this terrain
you might not stay alive

the party saved all 3 cubs
2 from the north its seems
the other from the east
all safe now, and now all the teams
are back in base the vodka flows
and the next programme must be
to find more females if they are here
for really that’s the key

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