WANGQING, China, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- The World Wildlife Fund says video of an Amur tiger watching her cubs play in China could be a sign the endangered species is making a comeback.
Experts with the WWF said the video, taken just under 20 miles from the Russian border at China's Wangqing Nature Reserve, indicates the cubs are being raised in China, where they were once common but were hunted to near extinction.
There were less than 40 Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers, left in the wild in the 1940s, but populations have rebounded since receiving full protection status in Russia. There are an estimated 400 Amur tigers living in the wild in Russia and another 18 to 20 living across the border in China, the WWF said.
The video represents the first Amur tigers to be filmed in the wild in China.
"This video proves that wild Amur tiger populations are steadily spreading into inland China and are settling down," said Shi Quanhua, of the WWF-China Asian Big Cats Program. "Many years of conservation work have led to this stunning footage -- establishing conservation areas, building a population of prey animals and installing over 100 infrared cameras in largely inaccessible areas."
Rebecca May, regional manager for Asian species with the British wing of the WWF, said the video "shows some very encouraging results from our conservation efforts in China and has strengthened our confidence in restoring wild Amur tiger populations."
