A national effort to count Amur tigers and Far Eastern leopards in Russia will start in the southern and central districts of the Primorye Territory on 31 January. About 2,000 staff will cover nearly 15,000 km of trails in total. In the northern districts of Primorye and in the Khabarovsk Territory, the start was delayed till 7 February due to the more severe climate and longer trails. This year, GPS navigators and camera traps will be used for the first time.

Environment Minister Sergei Donskoy stressed that the initiative involves more than just measuring population size. “It will provide experts with information on the animals’ habitat and likelihood of expanding geographically, as well as threats posed by human activity and the condition of food sources,” the minister said.

Since mid-December, hundreds of participants have been recording and analysing the tracks of wild cats in the taiga to determine age and gender, as well as the size of litters. At the same time, environmentalists have been collecting fecal samples for genetic monitoring of the population. This and other data on the wild cats, their prey and competitors is recorded in special counters’ journals.