The central region of the Primorsky Territory, bounded by the Ussuri river and shielded from the sea by the Sikhote-Alin Mountains, is also known as Ussuriland. The southern forests of the Ussuriland taiga is home to black and brown bears, Siberian boar, the rare Siberian tiger and the virtually extinct Amur leopard, and hundreds of species of local birds.

A most rewarding excursion would be to the Sikhote-Alin nature reserve. Besides tigers, the reserve, which stretches along the Pacific coast and back into the Sikhote-Alin Mountains, has crystal-clear salmon streams, an oasis where the beasts come for water.