A positive development for the Amur subspecies of
Panthera tigris in this Year of the Tiger is the agreement between Russia and China to create the world's first cross border sanctuary for the feline. The agreement was signed at the end of August during the Amur Tiger festival in the city of Hunchun, China. There are only 18-22 Amur tigers surviving in China, but the world's largest living cat has made a modest comeback in Russia where there are an estimated 331 to 393 tigers, up from a population that fell to 20 to 30 in the 1930s. Habitat fragmentation, decline in prey species, and poaching--especially in China were there is a huge demand for tiger body parts used in folk remedies--has pushed the Amur or Siberian tiger to edge of extirpation. Jilln province in China and Primorsky province in Russia will work together to protect the tiger as well as species living in the same habitat. A great deal of implementation work needs to be done including finding sufficient government funding. But officials have agreed to share information, conduct joint ecological studies, and plan an anti-poaching patrol along the border. The World Wildlife Fund facilitated negotiations ending in the agreement. WWF declared their goal to double wild tiger populations by the next tiger year according to the Chinese calendar in 2022. Russia will host an international conservation summit before this year ends where it is hoped a tiger recovery program will be put into place amongst the 13 nations where this amazing animal still lives.
[image credit: danielsanimal.wordpress.com]
