Video

A Rare Glimpse of Wild Siberian Tigers

Her three cubs are a good sign.

Conservationists in the Russian Far East are working to close old logging roads to protect endangered Siberian tigers from poachers. If this newly released footage showing an adult female trailed by three of her big cubs is any indication, their efforts might be succeeding. The camera trap footage is incredibly rare: the four cats are making their way along an overgrown forest road in the Russian Province of Primorye, a coastal region that borders China, North Korea, and the Sea of Japan. Wildlife Conservation Society, working with the Russian Forest Service and TerneyLes logging company, are making such roads impassable to vehicles, preventing poachers from accessing the tigers and tiger prey species like deer and boar. Russia’s far east is home to 95 percent of the global population of Siberian tigers. In 2005, there were only 331 to 393 tigers in the region. A more recent survey found there may now be between 480 and 540 individuals, including 100 cubs.