From 26 to 31 July, the 5^th International Wildlife Management Congress was held in Sapporo, Japan. It was attended by experts from the Russian Academy of Sciences permanent expedition for the monitoring of animals from the Russian Red Data Book and other rare species of Russian fauna, who are carrying out a project of the Russian Geographical Society on the study of rare species (the polar bear, Amur tiger, Far Eastern leopard, snow leopard and beluga).

The Russian scientists reported on the principles of recovery of the populations of large carnivores and the reintroduction of the Amur tiger and other big cats in Russia (Vyacheslav Rozhnov); the social structure and use of space by Amur tigers in the south of the Russian Far East, based on data obtained using GPS-telemetry and camera traps (Jose Antonio Hernandez-Blanco); the genetic structure of the Amur tiger population and the rate of isolation of the Sikhote-Alin and Southwestern groups (Pavel Sorokin); evaluation of the physiological status of large carnivores as an objective tool to assess the status of populations of rare and commercial species (Sergei Naidenko); cross-border movements of large carnivores in Russia’s Far East (Maria Chistopolova); assessment of the vulnerability of polar bear ice habitats in the eastern sector of the Russian Arctic (Nikita Platonov); and the distribution of beluga whales in the seas of the Russian Far East based on genetic data (Ilya Meshchersky).

The participants of the congress, which was attended by about 1,000 experts from over 50 countries, showed deep interest in the reports presented. In addition, the Russian participants looked at samples on display of expedition equipment, assessed the achievements of their foreign colleagues and exchanged their experience.