On 15 November 2013 CCTV news reported that pug-marks of a wild adult female Amur tiger Panthera tigris altaica and three kittens had been found in the Hunchun forest department of Jilin Province in north-east China. The front pad widths of the adult were 9.0–9.3 cm and those of the kittens were 6.0–6.2 cm. Experts have examined the details of the pug-marks and tracks and have confirmed the presence of a female and kittens. From the size of the pug-marks it is estimated the kittens were 4–5 months old. It is particularly notable that this record was outside Hunchun Nature Reserve, > 20 km away from the Sino–Russian border. In recent years camera-traps have recorded adult Amur tigers in this area and local people have reported sightings of Amur tiger pug-marks and/or loss of livestock.
Historically, the Endangered Amur tiger was distributed across most of the forested montane areas of north-east China. It has been argued that this subspecies originated in China (The World's Cat (1976), 1–14) and this has been partially confirmed by a genetic study (PLoS Biology (2004), 2(12), e442). It is estimated that in the mid 20th century there were 150 Amur tigers in China and 30–40 in Russia. However, until now, it was presumed that the c. 20 extant Amur tigers in China were migrants from the Russian far east and that it was unlikely any were resident breeding females.
There is also new evidence of the Critically Endangered Amur leopard Panthera pardus orientalis in this area. In October 2013 CCTV news reported a video recording of a female Amur leopard and two kittens walking past a video trap in the Jilin Wangqing Nature Reserve. Based on the kittens' body size it is estimated they were < 5 months old and thus still lactating. As the area of Wangqing Nature Reserve is > 600 km2 it is most likely that this family is part of a resident population rather than being migrant. Russian wildlife biologists reported that only c. 50 extant Amur leopards were known in the Russian far east in 2012. Only 7–12 were believed to be present in China in 2000, although this estimate was derived from data collected during a survey for the Amur tiger.
Given these recent sightings and sign observations we believe the future outlook for these two subspecies in China is improving. In 2011 WWF–China initiated a prey recovery project in north-east China and introduced SMART technology (Integrative Zoology (2010), 5, 363–377) for patrolling. These measures will ensure improved habitat conditions and more effective protection for both species. The Feline Research Center of the Chinese State Forestry Administration has initiated camera-trap monitoring for both species, DNA analysis of faecal samples, and a new pug-mark identification technique in collaboration with Wildtrack. The Chinese State Forestry Administration is now consulting with experts to develop a Chinese Big Cat Conservation Action Plan to ensure the continued protection of the Amur tiger and leopard in China.
