From 15 to 21 of February the experts of the Chinese Changbai Mountain Natural Reserve have paid a visit to the Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve to support the Amur Tiger Center.
Such visits are very important for the work of specially protected natural areas. It is important for Russia to help China in matters of research and conservation of both the Amur tiger population and its habitat, as it will contribute in creating favorable conditions for the return of the unique cats into the territory of Changbai Mountain Natural Reserve.
During the visit the Chinese experts were able to participate in the winter route accounting under the guidance of their Russian colleagues. The skills they have obtained in the execution of these works will help them to carry out such studies in the territory of Chinese reserves in the future. For many of them it is the first and unique opportunity to visit the Amur tiger’s habitat and to take a memorable photo of its footprints.
It is noteworthy that Russian methods of protection of such rare predators as the Amur tiger are the most advanced in the Asia-Pacific region. Being familiar to the system of protection of the Russia fauna is crucial for China's inspectors, as in China it takes much greater efforts to prevent poaching on both the tiger and its food base.
At the same time another part of the delegation got to visit the Udegeyskaya Legend National Park and inspect the infrastructure and natural attractions. Experts discussed assistance in the development of cultural tourism in the two protected areas taking into account the presence of the Amur tiger.
The results of the visit were summed up in the office of the Sikhote-Alin Reserve.
"The tourism potential of the reserve and the park is extremely high, - said Professor Chen Jianwei. - Undoubtedly, the Amur tiger is the key object, but it is not the only attractiveness of the area. Once created certain conditions the tourists flow is obviously going to increase. We are ready to cooperate on solving these issues, and we appreciate the help in the research activities provided by the Sikhote-Alin Reserve’s staff and the acquired knowledge about the ecology of the Amur tiger».
The cooperation between Russia and China on the matter of the Amur tiger conservation is essential for the restoration of the population.
«Nature has no borders and predators do not have passports, so the tiger cannot be limited on traveling to China and back. The restoration of tigers in China will create a backup population, which may be used in the future to increase the genetic diversity what is important for low numbered populations. Unification of protection and study methods will help to obtain more objective data on cross-border groups of the Amur tiger "- commented Sergey Aramilev, director of the Primorsky branch of the Amur Tiger Center.