Thriving wild Amur tiger underpins protection efforts

A wild Amur tiger known by many conservationists as the "Hero Tigress" has become a vivid symbol of China's progress in tiger conservation after giving birth to 13 cubs in four litters by 2025, an unusually strong record of reproduction and successful cub-rearing in the wild.

Her story began with a cross-border journey. In late autumn 2019, when she was just 2 years old, the tigress left her birthplace in Russia's Land of the Leopard National Park and crossed into the forests of Yangpao township in Hunchun, Jilin province, through a border corridor, according to a One Planet Foundation media release issued on Wednesday to mark the 16th Global Tiger Day.

After competing for territory, she settled in a forest area with rich vegetation and abundant prey, including sika deer and wild boars. The area has a forest coverage rate of 96.6 percent and is protected through regular patrols and around-the-clock intelligent monitoring, providing a stable habitat for wild tigers.

In spring 2020, the tigress gave birth to her first litter of two cubs. She then produced two consecutive litters of three cubs each in the following years. Her latest litter of five cubs was born in a forest cave in June 2025. Infrared cameras first captured the mother and her five cubs in late 2025 and again on Feb 16, confirming that all five had survived the harsh winter and remained healthy and active.

Zhou Fei, chief program officer of WWF-China, said the footage of the tigress and her cubs reflected China's landmark achievements in wildlife conservation and offered hope for the recovery of endangered species amid accelerating global biodiversity loss.

Her story, while remarkable, is far from an isolated case.

Monitoring data released by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration showed that wild Amur tiger and Amur leopard populations have continued to recover over the past decade. In the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, the number of wild Amur tigers increased from 27 in 2017 to 72, while the wild Amur leopard population rose from 42 to 115.

Amur tiger, Siberian tiger and Northeast China tiger all refer to the same tiger subspecies, with the different names reflecting historical or geographic contexts.

China has accelerated the development of a protected area system with national parks as the cornerstone, implemented endangered species rescue programs, and strengthened wildlife monitoring and rescue systems, the administration said.

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

The park has completed under-forest replanting across 40,000 hectares, carried out artificial forest transformation and pest control on more than 12,600 hectares, and opened five wildlife migration corridors to reconnect fragmented habitats.

It has also established an integrated monitoring system combining space-, aerial- and ground-based technologies. The system can identify more than 30 species of wild animals, with recognition accuracy for Amur tigers and Amur leopards exceeding 90 percent.

China has also established regular cooperation with Russia's Land of the Leopard National Park, conducting joint population surveys, cross-border patrols and information sharing.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), China will further restore ecological corridors and habitats for wild Amur tigers and Amur leopards, while strengthening protection of endangered wildlife and plants, the administration said.