Nature & Environment
Rare Siberian Tiger Family in China Caught on Camera by the WWF (VIDEO)
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: Feb 20, 2015 06:47 AM EST
There may be some good news for tigers. Conservationists have caught a family of rare tigers on film deep inside China, more than 65 years after the species was largely wiped out in the country.
The last stronghold of Siberian tigers is in Russia, which is where an estimated 450 individuals live. Tigers are the largest of all wild cats and while there were once eight tiger subspecies, three became extinct during the 20th century. Many of these large cats have suffered from hunters and habitat destruction, which have helped reduce their numbers.
The latest footage was caught by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Taken about 20 miles from the Chinese Russian border, it's the first evidence of Siberian tigers living inside China, according to The Independent.
"It's confirmation they're re-establishing, they're not just animals coming in and out [from Russia]," said John Baker, Asian programs leader at WWF, in an interview with The Guardian. "We shouldn't get hysterical over one video. There's a long road ahead. But the opportunity is there."
The video is just the beginning, in other words. Currently, there are plans to further grow numbers by creating protected areas for tigers, according to The Independent. There are also plans for reintroducing animals that would be the tigers' natural prey into the Wangqing Nature Reserve.
Want to see the family of tigers for yourself? Check out the video below, courtesy of YouTube.
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now:
NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone
Tagssumatra tiger ©2024 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
More on SCIENCEwr
First Posted: Feb 20, 2015 06:47 AM EST
There may be some good news for tigers. Conservationists have caught a family of rare tigers on film deep inside China, more than 65 years after the species was largely wiped out in the country.
The last stronghold of Siberian tigers is in Russia, which is where an estimated 450 individuals live. Tigers are the largest of all wild cats and while there were once eight tiger subspecies, three became extinct during the 20th century. Many of these large cats have suffered from hunters and habitat destruction, which have helped reduce their numbers.
The latest footage was caught by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Taken about 20 miles from the Chinese Russian border, it's the first evidence of Siberian tigers living inside China, according to The Independent.
"It's confirmation they're re-establishing, they're not just animals coming in and out [from Russia]," said John Baker, Asian programs leader at WWF, in an interview with The Guardian. "We shouldn't get hysterical over one video. There's a long road ahead. But the opportunity is there."
The video is just the beginning, in other words. Currently, there are plans to further grow numbers by creating protected areas for tigers, according to The Independent. There are also plans for reintroducing animals that would be the tigers' natural prey into the Wangqing Nature Reserve.
Want to see the family of tigers for yourself? Check out the video below, courtesy of YouTube.
For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone