China establishes wildlife center to spotlight tiger, leopard protection

The Northeast China Tiger and Leopard Culture International Communication Center was opened on Monday in Jilin Province, as authorities aim to spotlight wildlife conservation.

Established through a partnership between the management bureau of the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park and Jishi Media, a media corporation based in Jilin, the center will leverage rare footage of tigers, leopards and other wildlife collected through the park's monitoring system.

The content has been shared across global social media platforms to engage a wider audience and raise awareness about the park's conservation work, the center said.

You Zhiqiang, general manager of Jishi Media, said the center will create a strong "cultural brand" for the Manchurian tigers and Amur leopards in northeast China through communication channel development, international collaboration and other efforts.

China officially established the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park in 2021. Spanning Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces, the park now provides a sanctuary for around 70 wild Manchurian tigers and 80 Amur leopards.

The park's wildlife monitoring system, largely developed by Jishi Media, includes nearly 28,000 infrared cameras, fire-prevention technologies and AI-driven analytics. The center is also developing new technologies to achieve individual identification of wild Siberian tigers.

Manchurian tigers, also known as Amur tigers, are primarily found in Russia's Far East and northeast China. They are one of the world's most endangered species and a flagship species of the forest ecosystem.

(Cover: A Manchurian tiger in the Hengdaohezi Tiger Park in Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province, northeast China, January 5, 2025. /CFP)