China builds early warning system to prevent human-tiger conflicts

By Anadolu staff

China has built an early warning system to prevent human-tiger conflicts and to protect Siberian tigers, state-run media said on Tuesday.

During the 2nd International Forum on Conservation and Recovery of Tiger and Leopard in Harbin, the capital of China's northeastern Heilongjiang Province, Markus Radday, a tiger program officer of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), said that these technologies will help protect both sides, according to Xinhua news agency.

Surveillance drones, smart infrared cameras and an integrated intelligent monitoring system are the equipment and technologies developed by Chinese experts to protect tigers, according to the news agency.

Siberian tigers, also known as Amur tigers, are mostly found in northeast China and Russia's Far East.

It's one of the world's most endangered species and a flagship species of the forest ecosystem, only 12 to 16 wild Siberian tigers were believed to have been living in China in 1998.

"China is among the five Asian countries making great progress in tiger conservation, and I believe China is a model of mitigating and preventing human-tiger conflicts with cost-effective technologies. The practice would be valuable for densely populated countries like India and Nepal, where increasing tigers have led to frequent loss of live stocks in vulnerable communities," Radday said.

As one of the 13 countries that are home to tigers, China's wild tiger population has risen since 2010 as the Siberian tiger’s population has now reached 70, while 20 cubs were born last year, according to the Xinhua news agency.

"To conserve tigers means conserving so much more, and I hope that China will play a greater role in the tigers' return to the forests," Radday said.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid