Amur tigers, which roam the dense forests and snowy mountains of northeast China, Russia\u2019s far east and parts of the Korean peninsula, are endangered due to poaching, forest logging, habitat fragmentation and prey scarcity. By the 1930s, scientists estimated there were fewer than 30 Amur tigers left in the wild. Latest estimates<\/a> from the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, suggest there might be 265-486 tigers in Russia and roughly 70 in China, mostly in Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park.<\/p>\n \u201cAmur tigers were all but written off in China only twenty-five years ago when, after a century of declining numbers, surveys suggested fewer than a dozen left,\u201d Jon Slaght, regional director of the temperate Asia program at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), told Mongabay by email. \u201cSince then, habitat protections and anti-poaching efforts have allowed tigers to triumphantly return, and today there are 70-80 of them,\u201d<\/p>\n Tigers typically have one to four cubs, so sighting a female with five cubs \u2014 the first such sighting recorded in China \u2014 is extremely rare. \u201cThis is fantastic news, and a clear indication that tiger conservation in China is working,\u201d Slaght said.<\/p>\n As apex predators, tigers require large, connected habitats and healthy prey numbers to thrive. In recent years, China has worked with many NGOs to ban hunting and logging, establish protected areas, improve monitoring and antipoaching efforts<\/a>, and mitigate human-tiger conflict<\/a> by working with local communities. \u201cThe first footage of \u2018six wild tigers in one frame\u2019 recorded in China reflects that China\u2019s conservation actions have been effective,\u201d Zhou Fei, chief program officer of WWF-China, said in an emailed press release.<\/p>\n However, the population in China is \u201cstill not demographically or genetically secure,\u201d and requires \u201cexpanding suitable habitats, restoring prey populations, strengthening ecological corridors, reducing poaching, and enabling tigers to disperse into broader potential habitats beyond the current core areas,\u201d Wang Jing of WWF-China told Mongabay by email.<\/p>\n Banner image: Screenshot of Amur tiger cubs, courtesy of Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park.<\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/07799caa7cb21fcc7a5a3924abeb83cbd823d2475a9b7f7441f9db8cd14f391f.png\")
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