Amur Tiger Numbers Starting To Recover In China
Things have begun to change for the Amur tiger which used to be close to extinction. The endangered species is starting to repopulate itself in the wilds of China. Recently a camera trap set up by WWF captured the first known footage of a family of tigers living in China. The amazing footage is evidence that years of conservation efforts that have been focused on re-establishing a breeding population of the species within China is starting to pay off.
Video footage is significant
WWF made the footage of the Amur tiger family available to the general public and whilst the video is very short it is also very significant.Professor Jiang Guangshun, executive vice-director of China’s State Forestry Administration’s Feline Research Centre said the footage shows a tigress with her two cubs aged between 12 to 18 months. The video was shot very close to the border with Russia.
Main problem is shortage of prey
Shi Quanhua of WWF says one of the major threats to wild Amur tigers is a shortage of prey. WWF has worked hard to restore the populations of species that act as prey for Amur tigers through anti poaching efforts and habitat restoration. WWF says it is thrilled with the video because it is obvious now that all the hard work in restoring the wild population of Amur tigers is delivering results.
The Amur tiger used to be ubiquitous
The Amur tiger, also known as the Siberian tiger used to be ubiquitous throughout the Russian Far East, China and even the Korean peninsula. The species came very close to extinction with less than 40 tigers left in the wild by the 1940’s as a result of hunting. In 1947 the government of Russia granted the Amur tiger full protection becoming the first country to do so. That helped save the species and has enabled conservationists to increase the number to today’s population of approximately 400, with most of them living in Russia.
“These images [in the video] show that Wangqing Nature Reserve has now become a breeding site for Amur tigers. Seeing these positive outcomes from our efforts greatly strengthens our confidence that wild Amur tiger populations can be restored.” said Wang Fuyou, division head of the Wangqing Nature Reserve conservation department.
WWF hopes to double the population of wild tigers
Wild tigers in general are an endangered species with less than 3,200 in the wild. WWF is working hard in the countries where tigers roam to double the population by 2022 which is the next Chinese year of the tiger. If you want to help out with tiger conservation you can do your bit by adopting a tiger with WWF.
