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Female Amur Tigers Detected Mostly in Protected Areas Had 90% Estimated Annual Survival, Versus 51% in Hunting Leases

Wild Amur tiger photographed by a camera trap in the Russian Far East
Conservation · Habitat protection

A four-year camera-trap study in the Central Sikhote-Alin Mountains of the Russian Far East estimated much higher annual survival for female Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) detected mostly in protected areas than for females detected mostly in hunting leases. Estimated annual survival was 90% for females centred on Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve and Udege Legend National Park, compared with 51% for females centred on surrounding multiple-use lands where hunting and selective logging were permitted.

The researchers monitored 504 camera-trap sites across an 8,322 km² landscape during four consecutive autumn–winter seasons from 2018–2019 to 2021–2022. They identified 69 adult tigers and used the repeated detections to estimate survival, recruitment and population density.

Protected areas were linked to much higher female survival

The female survival contrast was the clearest demographic difference between land-management types. Females detected mostly inside protected areas had an estimated 90% probability of surviving from one year to the next, compared with 51% for females detected mostly in hunting leases.

Females with cubs were also recorded more often relative to females without cubs in protected areas: the ratio was 9:23 inside protected areas and 4:24 in hunting leases, a 2.3-fold difference. Cub detection with camera traps is difficult, however, and this difference was not statistically clear.

Male tigers showed a different pattern. Their overall estimated annual survival was about 54%, and the study found no clear survival advantage for males detected mostly inside protected areas. The authors suggest that males’ larger movements may expose them more often to risks beyond reserve boundaries.

The population persisted, but remained far below recovery targets

Tiger density remained stable and low. In high-quality habitat away from main roads, the study estimated about 0.27 tigers per 100 km², still far below the recovery target of at least 0.63 tigers per 100 km² cited for the study area.

The authors describe the landscape as showing source–sink characteristics. Protected areas provided enough refuge for females to survive and reproduce at rates that helped retain a low-density tiger population across the wider landscape, while tigers using surrounding multiple-use lands faced much greater mortality risk. The protected areas therefore supported persistence, but were not sufficient to drive population recovery.

Human access outside reserves remained a major concern

The researchers mapped 7,828 km of roads, most of them forest roads outside protected areas. Tigers exposed to more intense logging traffic were less likely to be detected again in later years, although this relationship was imprecise. The authors interpret logging activity as a threat mainly because roads and concentrated human activity can increase opportunities for poaching.

The study could not estimate prey abundance accurately enough to separate the effects of prey availability from differences in human-caused mortality between protected and multiple-use lands. The authors therefore conclude that stronger law enforcement outside protected areas is needed alongside protection inside reserve boundaries if the Central Sikhote-Alin population is to recover rather than merely persist.

Sources and image credit

  1. Waller, S. J., Rybin, A. N., Nikolaeva, E. I., Semyonov, A. V., Soutyrina, S. V., Slaght, J. C., Seryodkin, I. V., & Miquelle, D. G. (2026). Protected areas sustain Amur tiger populations in the Russian Far East’s multiple-use landscapes. Global Ecology and Conservation, 66, e04099. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2026.e04099Primary peer-reviewed open-access article. Available online 1 February 2026. CC BY-NC 4.0.

Image: Ministry of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East — wild Amur tiger photographed by a camera trap in Russia, dated 28 February 2019; representative camera-trap image, not from the study. Source: Wikimedia Commons. · Attribution only — reuse permitted for any purpose with attribution · Source

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