NE China expands nature reserves for Siberian tigers

Wild Siberian tigers are doing well in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, thanks to the improved environment and ban on commercial logging.

Among the world's most endangered large mammals, Siberian tigers mostly live in northeast China and eastern Russia. A China-Russia cross-border nature reserve has become an important migration corridor for them.

According to the provincial environmental protection department, the reserve area on the Chinese side has reached 1.81 million hectares, accounting for about 3.8 percent of the province.

"More evidence of Siberian tigers' presence means an increased protection area for them," Lu Yunfeng from the department said, adding the reserve area for the tigers in Dongfanghong, a national nature reserve along the border, has been expanded to over 130,000 hectares from 30,000.

China has seen increasing reports of tigers and bears crossing into its territory from Russia. In 2014, two Siberian tigers released into the wild by Russian President Vladimir Putin wandered into China. Endit