Director of the Amur Tiger Center: The number of northern tigers in the Far East has increased by more than a third

The number of Amur tigers (northern leopard) living in the Far East has increased by more than a third since 2015.

This was announced by the Director General of the Amur Tiger Center, Sergei Aramilev, on the sidelines of the “A Word about the Russian Heart” festival, which was held in Beijing.

"We have about 750 tigers in Russia, and in China there are now about 40-50 tigers. In 2015, Russia had about 550 tigers, that is, 200 fewer," Aramilev said. According to the expert, there were previously only isolated cases of tiger visits in the People's Republic of China, and the current indicator is a significant increase in the number of tigers in China.

He pointed out that if the two countries maintain current measures to protect tigers in Russia, their number may rise to 800 tigers, and in China to 150 tigers. These quantitative restrictions are based on the fact that the tiger represents the southern animals, and the expert explained that in terms of the spread of this type of animal, the north means to him the harsh conditions that the Arctic means to humans.

Aramilev said that the tiger is an important indicator of a good healthy environment. He went on to say: “If we see that the tiger lives in the forest, it means that everything is fine in the forest, it is not cut down, there are animals with hooves, and there is no poaching, and the absence of it means that there is something bad in the forest, that is. Forest trees continue to be cut down, minerals extracted, etc.

It is noteworthy that last May, during the official visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the People's Republic of China, Russia and China signed an agreement regarding the establishment of the world's first transboundary reserve for the Amur tiger and the Far Eastern leopard. The reserve includes the territory of the Land of the Tiger National Park, the Kedrovaya Bad Nature Reserve in Russia, and the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park.

It is noteworthy that the "Russian Heart Word" festival was held in Beijing from June 12 to 15. The timing of this event coincided with the celebration of Russia Day and the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Russian-Chinese diplomatic relations.