Siberian tiger spotted in NE China indicates population spreading inland

HARBIN -- A wild adolescent Siberian tiger has been spotted by monitoring cameras in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, local authorities said.

This is the first time that a moving image of a wild Siberian tiger has been captured in the area administered by the Dongjingcheng bureau of a pilot national park for Siberian tigers and Amur leopards.

The Siberian tiger in the video clip seems to be observing the environment around a supplementary breeding area. Forest rangers said the area was frequently visited by wild red deer, sika deer and roe deer, and the Siberian tiger was following its prey.

Forest rangers said they found the footprints of a Siberian tiger on May 15, and four days later, they found another set of footprints at a supplementary feeding area. The Dongjingcheng bureau subsequently installed more cameras around the feeding areas, and the image of the Siberian tiger was captured on July 19.

Authorities said the presence of the wild Siberian tiger in the area administered by the Dongjingcheng bureau indicates that the population of the wild animal is increasing and spreading inland from border areas, as the pilot national park is under construction.

China has launched a pilot national park project for Siberian tigers and Amur leopards, spanning an area of over 1.46 million hectares in the provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang. Construction of the national park is scheduled to be completed this year.