කොටි කටේ ඉඳන් කොටි - මිනිස් ගැටුම් අඩු කරන හැටි

Conservationists partner with villagers to reduce human-wildlife conflict in northeast China

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A wildlife conservation team has partnered with villagers in Hunchun City, northeast Jilin Province, to mitigate human conflicts with leopards and endangered Siberian tigers roaming the area.

More than 70 percent of Hunchun City lies within the boundaries of the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, a place believed to be home to over 60 wild Siberian tigers. The possibility of locals encountering a tiger or leopard are high.

A team of Hunchun Wildlife Conservation Society patrols regularly, alerting locals of any potential dangers. In addition to detecting and warning, the patrol team also gives regular lectures to villagers on how to deal with tigers in the wild and the importance of protecting them as a species.

"Once we see on our phones or computers that there are tigers and leopards passing by, we will contact nearby villages and villagers' committees. They will issue warnings to villagers, telling them that there are tigers out there and they should not head to the mountains," said Du Jiaxing, a patrol member.

In Machuanzi Township, adjacent to the national park, hunting traps for deer and wild boars were adapted to avoid hurting wild Siberian tigers.

"Over 1,000 traps were adapted, and we found out a lot of problems," said Jiang Yuanzhi, one of the villagers.

"Tigers and leopards do not disrupt our lives at all. They are high on the food chains and are a limit to the number of wild boars," said Lang Chunliang, another villager.

Another crucial effort of Siberian tiger conservation is establishing and expanding connected forests, so the animals have secure places to live, roam and breed. The national park transformed the forest structure not just for the tigers, but also for their prey, in an effort to build a healthy ecosystem.

• Tags:
• feature