The Healthy Planet conservation team were very excited to hear the latest developments from our Phoenix fund partner project in Russia last month, where the Tiger team are busy protecting the last strong hold of the endangered Amur Tiger’s habitat.
The Zov Tigra National Park (“Roar of the Tiger”) is the first protected area of its kind in Russia’s Far East. The 200,000-acre park, established in 2008, protects the tiger’s habitat while simultaneously allowing for nature tourism.
The Park can boast about rich biodiversity: as many as 57 rare and endangered plant species and six mammals, listed in the Red Book, inhabit the protected area. According to the census conducted in 2011, there are 4 resident Amur tigers in the national park. Also, 4 more tigers visit the protected area on a regular basis. Stable numbers of tigers and their prey species are one of the main accomplishments of the project. The monitoring data showed that besides 8 Amur tigers, there are 1,201 Manchurian deer, 99 sika deer, 800 roe deer and 189 wild boars in the Park.
Conservation in action
Due to the mountainous terrain to the north and south of the Park and a few surfaced roads, vehicular access is extremely limited and particularly so during winter and spring, when roads become impassable. In June 2012, thanks to financial support from Healthy Planet, the Phoenix Fund provided the Park’s anti-poaching teams with a quad bike (ATV). Since July the ATV has been used intensively by the guards and showed great performance.
A GPS Fleet Tracking equipment was installed on the ATV. The Vehicle Tracking System allows to create an electronic record of the movements of the vehicle and constantly keep track of the whereabouts of the vehicle through its communication with various local satellites, and then periodically sends a signal to a database, where the information is stored and analysed. A map below shows the ATV movements and routes.
“The Grizzly ATV became a truly irreplaceable transport for our everyday work,” comments the law-enforcement officer of the Zov Tigra National Park Sergei Marchenko. “It can take up to two people with 80 kg of the equipment to the patrol.
In the first months of work we already were able to get to the arduous areas with no roads, cross the Milogradovka river fords. Now, poachers who are very well equipped these days have no advantage, and it is especially important in the autumn season when hunters go to forest to harvest wild game. ”
From July 1st through December 31st 2012 the inspectors of Zov Tigra National Park achieved the following results:
– 164 anti-poaching patrols were conducted
– 17 administrative citations were issued during the ATV patrols
– 13 violations of protection regime were revealed
– 1,101 km patrolled on foot
– 539 km patrolled by ATV
– 4,591 km covered by cars and motorcycles
Educational classes supported
‘Thanks to support from the Healthy Planet, we continued to implement the project aimed at conserving Amur tigers by focusing on environmental education of local people through holding ecological lessons at Lazovsky Ecological Centre, schools and kindergartens of Lazovsky district, attracting local people towards tiger conservation issues and involving them in nature conservation events.’
The Lazovsky Ecological Centre’s mission is to design and facilitate programs and opportunities that promote responsible relationship with the natural world, demonstrate and promote world sustainability, encourage experiential learning, creativity and playfulness, and cooperate with other organizations. The Centre’s target groups are school and kindergarten children, their families, local educators, tourists and other conservation-oriented public groups. Staff members fulfil the Centre’s educational mission by interpreting studies of conservation and environmental protection in both field and classroom environments.
The eco-centre held 89 ecological events such as lectures and seminars, public educational excursions and a variety of environmentally oriented actions for 1,927 children in age between 4 and 17; produced and distributed informational materials devoted to big cats of Primorye, local fauna, Amur tiger and its habitat, food chains, and tiger monitoring methods.
In August, the educators organized annual celebration of Tiger Day holiday twice. First celebration was held on August 8 on the sea shore of Petrov Bay. The specialists of the Educational Department of the Lazovsky Nature Reserve together with young activists entertained the holidaymakers with various contests, quizzes and interactive games. As many as 140 children and adults became active participants of the Tiger Day Festival and demonstrated their good knowledge of tiger conservation issues. On August 21, the Tiger Day Festival was celebrated by residents of Preobrazhenye village. Over 350 people dressed up in tiger costumes participated in a festive procession and competed in numerous contests. As always, the holiday drew much attention by people in Lazovsky district and proved to be success.
Healthy Planet’s Conservation Community allows you to support grass root conservation projects around the world. It is a fun and engaging way for anyone, anywhere to support real conservation projects that are helping to make a healthier planet.