On 10 February, the Sikhote-Alin State Biosphere Reserve will celebrate its 80th anniversary. It is one of Russia’s oldest national parks, the only site listed as a UNESCO natural heritage site in Russia’s Far East, and the largest reserve within the Amur tiger habitat.

The reserve, with a total area of 700,000 hectares, had its borders defined on 10 February 1935. At that time, it was the biggest natural reserve not only in the USSR, but in the entire world. In 1979, the reserve received the status of a UNESCO biosphere reserve and was included in the international list of protected areas, which represent all main ecosystems of the Earth.

Employees of the Sikhote-Alin biosphere reserve, together with Russia’s leading research institutes and public environmental international organisations, are engaged in constant monitoring of the Amur tiger population in the reserve and the surrounding areas. Thanks to their efforts, the number of tigers has been growing in recent years.