Rangers of the Hunchun forestry bureau patrol the mountains, which are a sanctuary for Siberian tigers. (Photo: XU CHANG/XINHUA)
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."
