Guardians of China's tiger and leopard park

Safety measures

To maximize patrol safety, the park has equipped its patrolmen with the necessary tools.

Before each patrol, they deploy the surveillance system to obtain information on recent wildlife activities in the patrol areas and preplan routes based on data received, enhancing safety. In addition to this, Duan Lianru, an office-based ranger at the center, can easily monitor the real-time status in the area and filter through the system-detected tiger and leopard videos on her computer.

"Leveraging digital technology, the system, via numerous infrared cameras, provides comprehensive coverage of the park," she said. "It enables all-weather, full-area dynamic monitoring."

Duan is also responsible for identifying tigers based on the patterns on their fur and issuing them unique serial numbers — similar to an identity card. "The pattern on each Siberian tiger is as unique as a human fingerprint," she said. "My work is distinguishing different individuals according to the position, length, width, color and shape of the patterns. By accumulating a large amount of material, we can identify individuals and know their distribution areas, food chain and other basic information, which is foundational data for scientific research and protection work," she added.