A camera trap in the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park has recorded the country's first-ever footage of a wild Amur tigress nurturing five cubs, providing powerful evidence of progress in rebuilding the species' fragile wild population.
This extraordinary sighting, recorded in November 2025 in a part of the world's largest tiger reserve in Hunchun, Jilin province, was disclosed by the World Wildlife Fund China on Friday.
Based on analyses of physical traits and gait, the adult tigress is estimated to be about 9 years old, with her five cubs aged 6 to 8 months, a media release from WWF China said.
The organization noted that litters of five are "extremely rare" for wild Amur tigers, which typically birth one to four cubs, even under ideal conditions with abundant prey. It stressed that the fact that all five have survived in an area with recovering prey populations makes this case particularly remarkable.
The release noted that rangers also captured images of another Amur tigress, which is estimated to be 5 to 8 years old, and its four cubs, which are believed to be 6 to 8 months old, in Hunchun last month.
As an apex predator, the Amur tiger is highly sensitive to the integrity of its habitat and the health of its food chain. Therefore, the sustained sightings of tiger families and robust reproduction within the Hunchun protected area underscore the effectiveness of long-term conservation efforts in the region, WWF China stated.
"This demonstrates both the high quality of the tiger's habitat and the sustained effectiveness of long-term conservation measures, including habitat protection, enhanced patrolling, anti-poaching measures, and human-wildlife conflict management," it said, adding these efforts have collectively fostered a marked recovery in biodiversity.
Also known as Siberian tigers, 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, with only 12 to 16 believed to have been living wild in China in 1998.
There are now about 70 wild Amur tigers in the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park.
