Tiger Saikhan that was released to the wild in May 2018 traveled to China and then came back to Russia. Experts from the Amur Tiger Center continue to monitor the movements of the predator with the help of the GPS-collar that the tiger was provided with before being released.
According to experts, October 22, the tiger crossed the Amur River and found itself in the territory of China. "Fortunately for Saikhan, within a week it did not have time to cause much trouble and safely returned to Russia, and now it is moving towards the places where it lived for the last three months”, said Sergey Aramilev, the Amur Tiger Center Director General. “According to our colleagues, Saikhan killed a ram, was caught by a video recording device of local farmers and left its trace in 10 meters from a dog, but didn’t touch it. Frankly speaking, exemplary behaviour".
It should be noted that the partnership between Russia and China on conservation of Amur tigers and leopards started November 10, 1997, when the Protocol on tiger protection was signed between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the People's Republic of China. According to joint studies of the two countries, about 40% of Amur tigers living in the Russia-China border areas have been actively moving across the borders in recent years.
October 24-26, 2018, the international forum for the protection of Amur tigers and leopards was held in Harbin. Representatives of Russia, China and other countries shared their experience in wildlife conservation, paying special attention to cross-border cooperation in the protection of Amur tigers and leopards.
"China is currently creating the North-Eastern National Park bordering with the Land of the Leopard. It is important to reach agreements on joint security and scientific activities. Therefore, we’ve invited our colleagues from China to visit the Land of the Leopard and continue to discuss ways of further cooperation," commented Viktor Bardyuk, the director of the Lland of the Leopard National Park.
The Amur Tiger Center is a non-profit organization founded by the Russian Geographical Society on the initiative of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in 2013. The center is engaged in study and preservation of the Amur tiger population in Russia.
The Land of the Leopard National Park is located in the Primorsky territory and was created in 2012. Its main goal is to repopulate the Eastern leopard, the rarest wild cat in the world. According to experts, there are only 84 adult animals in Russia. Moreover, another wild cat listed in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature inhabits this area – the Amur tiger.