08/02/2005 - Expanding
its conservation efforts in the Far East,
WWF, the global conservation organization,
is cooperating with North Korea on endangered
species and forest ecosystem assessments.
Following a recent WWF expedition to North
Korea’s forested areas along the Chinese and
Russian border, WWF Russia signed a protocol
with the North Korean Public Committee for
the Free Trade and Economic Zone outlining
possible directions for future cooperation,
including tiger and leopard conservation.
“We have received a unique opportunity to
visit areas where according to our estimates
not a single foreign naturalist has worked
since 1932,” said Denis Smirnov, Coordinator
of WWF-Russia’s Forest programme. “Our experts
think that there are still significant numbers
of big cats living in this area.”
During the one week expedition at the end
of January, WWF experts examined different
plots of the North Korean taiga including
restored coastal forests and Japanese red
pine (Pinus densiflora) forests on the Muchang
mountain range.
In the early 1900s this extreme north-east
corner of the Korean peninsula was covered
by virgin coniferous-broadleaved forests and
inhabited by substantial populations of Far
Eastern leopards and Amur tigers. But, after
years of war (World War II and the Korean
War) and industrial development, the area
has been severely damaged.
Despite the species’ habitat loss, there
are signs that they still exist in this part
of their range.
“On the first day of research around the
Hwadae Mountain the expedition found prints
which we believe belonged to a big cat,” Smirnov
added. “We were also happy to see healthy
deer populations which at first glance should
be sufficient to feed the Amur tiger and the
Far Eastern leopard.”
In addition, there have been sightings by
locals. One North Korean forester working
in the Sonbong forestry unit for 20 years
observed the Far Eastern leopard a few years
ago, and a hunter near Muchang Mountain told
the expedition team about a leopard caught
in a snare two years ago.
“Even this short trip has given us some ideas
on the principles of forestry and nature protection
in North Korea,” Smirnov said. “Together with
our North Korean colleagues we hope to expand
our cooperation in conservation of the rare
species and their habitats.”
NOTES:
• The Amur (or Siberian) tiger is the largest
living cat in the world. A typical male Amur
tiger may weigh more than 250kg and measure
nearly three meters from nose to tip of the
tail. Each adult tiger needs a territory of
300–500km2.
• In the 1940s the Amur tiger was on the
brink of extinction, with no more than 40
tigers remaining in the wild. Thanks to vigorous
anti-poaching and other conservation efforts
by the Russians with support from many partners,
including WWF, the Amur tiger population has
remained stable throughout the last decade
or so. Today, about 450 individuals live in
the southern Amur-Ussuri region of Russia’s
Primorski and Khabarovski Krais provinces,
with a few found across the border in northern
China and Korea.
