Siberian tiger, Amur leopard numbers double in Northeast China

China has seen a steady recovery in its wild Siberian tiger and Amur leopard populations over the past decade, with their numbers more than doubling in the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, according to monitoring data released by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

The data, released on Wednesday to mark the 16th Global Tiger Day, showed that the number of wild Siberian tigers in the national park increased from 27 in 2017 to 72, while the number of wild Amur leopards rose from 42 to 115.

The growth marks significant progress in the protection of the two flagship species, as China continues to advance the construction of a protected area system with national parks as the mainstay, the administration said.

In recent years, the country has stepped up endangered species rescue programs and strengthened wildlife monitoring and rescue systems, helping improve habitats for wild Siberian tigers, Amur leopards and other key species.

Since the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park was officially established five years ago, authorities have made coordinated efforts in ecological conservation, scientific monitoring, law enforcement, livelihood protection and cross-border cooperation.

The park has completed under-forest replanting covering 40,000 hectares, carried out pilot programs for artificial forest transformation and pest control over almost 12,670 hectares, and opened five wildlife migration corridors, according to the administration.

These efforts have helped restore fragmented habitats and significantly improved ecological connectivity in the region, creating better conditions for the breeding and dispersal of wild tiger and leopard populations.

The park has also built an integrated monitoring system that combines space-based, aerial and ground-based technologies. The system can accurately identify more than 30 species of wild animals, with recognition accuracy for Siberian tigers and Amur leopards exceeding 90 percent.

So far, the system has recorded more than 30,000 instances of Siberian tiger activity and more than 40,000 instances of Amur leopard activity.

Cross-border conservation has also played an important role in the recovery of the two species. China has established a regular cooperation mechanism with Russia's Land of the Leopard National Park, jointly carrying out population surveys, cross-border patrols and information sharing.

Together, the two sides are building a transboundary protected area covering nearly 17,000 square kilometers. At present, 21 Siberian tigers and 27 Amur leopards have been observed making regular cross-border movements.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), China will further advance the development of its protected area system and promote the high-quality construction of national parks, the administration said.

The country will also systematically restore ecological corridors and habitats for wild Siberian tigers and Amur leopards, strengthen biodiversity conservation, and implement major wildlife and plant protection projects.

Efforts will be made to enhance research capacity for the protection of flagship species such as giant pandas, Siberian tigers and Amur leopards, while rescue protection and monitoring will be carried out for 165 critically endangered wild animal and plant species under State protection, it said.