On 1 July, the Tiger student team, a group established by the Amur Tiger Centre, began improving environmental paths in areas inhabited by the Amur tiger in the Russian Far East.

“Although the Tiger team did a lot of work last year, time fell short for completing much of what was planned. That’s why we are happy that student squads now operate on a regular basis. We hope that the students and our staff will make the nature somewhat more “convenient” for contemplation and reduce potential damage caused as a result of tourism as much as possible,” Amur Tiger Centre's Primorye branch director Sergei Aramilev said.

The students will spend the next two months building infrastructure and upgrading the Blagodatnoye Lake environmental path.

“We have provided the building materials needed for upgrading the eco-paths and the Blagodatnoye cordon. Working with the Amur Tiger Centre, we have purchased the necessary tools, apparel and food. The plan of action is clear. Hopefully, the weather won’t let us down and the students will do a lot of useful work for the nature preserve, its inhabitants and visitors, and will get a lot of pleasant impressions and experience,” Mr. Gorshkov said.

Since its inception, the Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve has specialised in Amur tiger conservation. Even though Russian biologists have managed to increase the tiger population, the animal is still in the Russian Red Book of Endangered Species. The reserve boasts the largest population of the striped predator.