The non-profit Amur Tiger Centre has launched a programme to equip the security departments in protected areas and the hunting oversight services in the Primorye Territory, where the Amur tiger lives, with satellite communication capabilities.

According to the Department for the Protection, Control and Regulation of Wildlife Areas in the Primorye Territory, mobile coverage is not available in protected areas since development is banned in these territories.

That said, environmental protection organisations and their staff need modern communication technology.

“It is not uncommon for inspectors in nature reserves and national parks to find themselves face to face with armed poachers without any means of contacting the outside world,” a department representative said.

Two satellite telephones with prepaid talk time for the whole year have already been transferred to the Ussuri Reserve, sources in the Amur Tiger Centre went on say.

“Since these phones will be used in a specific environment, extreme-series models were chosen for their shock-proof frames, as well as dust and moisture protection capabilities,” the centre’s representatives pointed out.

These handsets also have a number of useful features, such as tracking the phone’s location and a one-click SOS button. When this function is engaged, the phone sends out an SMS with GPS coordinates and dials the last number from the calling list.

According to executives from the Amur Tiger Centre’s Primorye branch, other protected areas within the Amur tiger’s habitat will benefit from such cooperation initiatives in the near future.

“We are fully aware of how important protected areas are for preserving the population of the Amur tiger. Equipping security departments with satellite communications is just the first step, which will be followed by other initiatives aimed at enhancing efficiency. Inspectors in reserves and national parks are serving a noble cause. The cost of satellite communications pales in comparison with their health and safety,” the branch’s director Sergei Aramilev said.

It should be noted that the establishment of protected areas within the Amur tiger’s habitat helps preserve this rare cat species, as well as its environment. These protected areas have become a ‘gold mine’ for increasing the tiger population as it disperses across neighbouring territories.