Fear not a factor for protector of Hunchun's big cats

After nine years working to protect Siberian tigers in northeastern China's Jilin province, ranger Yang Jun says courage and passion, rather than knowledge and skills, are the most important qualities needed for the job.

Yang, head of the wildlife protection department in the Hunchun forestry bureau, had his efforts recognized by the Wildlife Conservation Society at its annual award ceremony in Beijing on Nov 30 when it named him a "wildlife protector". The international conservation organization also bestowed the honor on 33 other rangers and groups from around the country.

In the past decade, under the protection of local people, the population of the endangered Siberian tiger has increased from about 10 to 27 in Jilin, where the country's only national reserve specifically for Siberian tigers is located.

Yang, 42, is responsible for recruiting volunteers from among local villagers.

He recruited 10 local volunteers for his patrol team in 2015. Over the years, three of them quit because "they said they were so scared by the tigers' roars", which resounded in the mountains and throughout the forests.

"One refused to go up the mountains after hearing the tigers roaring," he said.

Yang said he is "not afraid at all" as he raised a few cats at home when he was a child, adding that a "tiger is a cat, just much bigger".

Now, protecting them has become an interest as well as a job.

"They are cute and just seeing them in pictures makes me happy," he said. "The most rewarding thing for me is to spot their traces on infrared cameras that we have installed in the wild."

When Yang and his team patrol the mountains, they walk 15 kilometers every two days to clear traps set for other animals by poachers, compensate villagers for livestock eaten by tigers, and install infrared cameras. They have set up 104 so far.

"In November 2013, we were surprised to find a female tiger and her three cubs in Hunchun," he said. "It was the first time we discovered a tiger having cubs in Chinese territory. It was very encouraging to find the newborns."

Other discoveries made by his team have been less pleasant. One night in 2016, Yang received a phone call from a villager saying that a Siberian tiger had killed a cow and was hanging around guarding its food. Yang went to investigate immediately, accompanied by other rangers and volunteers.

"As we walked toward the dead cow, the tiger thought that we were going to take its food and roared in a very terrifying way," he said. "It was about 30 meters away from us in the bush. The four of us did not carry any weapons because we were not allowed to do so.

"So, what we could only do was to throw stones toward the bush to threaten it with sound. Then, the tiger walked away. Usually, this method is quite useful."

The Hunchun forestry bureau oversees about 400,000 hectares of protected land, about three-quarters of which is Siberian tiger habitat, according to its website.

With such a big area to cover area and various tasks to perform, Yang said that the forestry bureau does not have enough people on the wildlife protection team.

"The challenge now is that my department has 12 people, including volunteers, and it is not enough to do this work," Yang said. "Also, most villagers think it's not their job to protect wild animals.

"I hope they will realize people and tigers are living under the same sky, and will voluntarily take part in this conservation work."