Evidence of Siberian Tigers Found in Northeast China

Jilin Province’s forestry bureau has reported finding paw prints made by an endangered Siberian tiger near the city of Jiaohe on Dec. 11, 2015, China Daily reported on Tuesday.

The tracks were discovered at the Shengle forest farm, which is located in between two of the world's largest Siberian tiger habitats. Based on the animal's stride, the tiger is estimated to be around 2 meters tall, according to the bureau.

On Dec. 14-19, rangers tracking and monitoring the area around the farm found urine and hair samples as well as the carcasses of two wild boars.

"The big one [boar] was almost completely eaten, leaving only bones, and the smaller one was half eaten," China Daily reported, quoting one of the rangers.

Aside from the boar, the rangers also reported finding tracks of roe deer, a favorite prey of the tiger.

Wu Zhigang, an official of the Jilin forest research institute, said that signs of the Siberian tiger are a good indication that the species has grown rapidly in number with 27 already under monitoring.

Also known as the Amur or Manchurian tiger, Siberian tigers mainly live in eastern Russia, northeast China and the northern part of the Korean peninsula. According to official estimates, the number of tigers living in the wild is only around 500, with around a dozen living in nearby Heilongjiang Province.

The forest bureau said it will continue to monitor the area for additional evidence of the Siberian tiger.

Tiger populations in northeast China have risen in recent years, thanks to increased conservation efforts by the government and the shift from hunting the endangered big cats to protecting them by villagers in the region.

According to experts from the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Northeast Normal University in Changchun, wildlife NGO KORA and the University of Montana, around 130 Siberian tigers can be accommodated in habitats across northeast China.