Liu Yongfan, deputy director general of the Department of Conservation of Chinas State Forestry Administration, said, "Chinas newly released master plan for wildlife and protected areas has listed transboundary protected areas in Jilin and Heilongjiang as top conservation priorities." Tigers that do migrate to China from Russia often find little to eat in forests and hence prey on livestock, which often results in reprisal killing of the tiger. Snares in the forest, meant to capture wild deer, also occasionally kill tigers. Last winter a tiger was killed by a snare in the Wandashan Mountains of Heilongjiang. Removal of snares, and protection of wild prey, will be critical ingredients to the recovery process.
"We have large tracts of intact forests in northeast China, and if we protect wild prey populations, tigers will naturally recover in these areas. We have a great opportunity to demonstrate how recovery of endangered species can be done in China," said Endi Zhang, who has led conservation efforts as WCS country program director in China.
In addition to helping set up the reserve, the Wildlife Conservation Society will also assist in its management. This will include providing training to reserve personnel, while helping design and implement a public education program. WCS is working to establish a fund to compensate farmers for livestock losses due to tigers, and to implement a monitoring program to follow the recovery process of tigers and their prey.
The Hunchun Reserve will protect not only Siberian tigers, but the even rarer Far Eastern or Amur leopard. While an estimated 330-370 Siberian tigers exist in the wild, a single population of only 25-40 leopards remains. Creation of this reserve will increase the amount of suitable habitat, which should in turn bolster leopard numbers.
Efforts are also underway in Heilongjiang to create
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Contact: Stephen Sautner
ssautner@wcs.org
718-220-3682
Wildlife Conservation Society
5-Sep-2001