News Archive

(June 05, 2018)   -   Our Sikhote-Alin Research Center hosted one more 5-day workshop. This time we taught population ecology, namely methods to estimate population abundance and then analyze these data. 'How many individuals are out there?' That is a question which is often asked by researchers and public. However, it is a very challenging task to obtain realistic estimates of population density. We discussed transect and plot surveys, methods of capture-recapture, spatially-explicit methods, and surv...

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(April 26, 2018)   -   First in several years a workshop on geo-information technology and spatial analysis, ‘Intro to GIS’, was held in Terney on 15-21 April 2018. Participants spent 7 days working with free software QGIS. To make learning efficient, every participant analyzed their own data.Participants included professionals from various protected areas of Russian Far East as well as students of Far Eastern Federal University.

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(April 12, 2018)   -   On April 6-9 WCS Russia held a workshop on spatially-explicit capture-recapture (SECR) based on Sikhote Alin Research Center. This method uses camera trap data to estimate population density of individually recognizable animals, for example, tigers and leopards. Pictures of the same animals serve as 'recaptures'. Geographic coordinates of camera traps allow to conduct spatial analysis and calculate home range size and probability of recapture, which in turn is used to estimate density and a...

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(April 05, 2018)   -   Recently, we added a new page to our website to feature our Training program based in Sikhote-Alin Research Center, Terney, Primorski krai, Russia. Our traininings and workshops are developed for wildlife researchers to provide them with all skills necessary for research and management of endangered species and other aspects of nature protection. You can read about the program in general, past workshops (2016-2017) and upcoming trainings.

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(April 04, 2018)   -   As part of a small carnivore project at Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Zapovednik, specialists of ANO WCS in cooperation with SABZ are monitoring activities around den sites to understand population dynamics of badgers. To our surprise,  this video (below)  captured a young lynx practicing his hunting skills on an unsuspecting badger. Lucky for the badger, this lynx was not prepared to exploit this opportunity. 

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(March 28, 2018)   -   Like old friends meeting for lunch, a cinereous vulture and a juvenile Steller’s sea eagle pose for a camera trap set along a game trail in the Sikhote-Alin Reserve in Russia.  While both cinereous vultures and Steller’s sea eagles are winter visitors to this corner of the southern Russian Far East, it’s possible that these two individuals had never encountered a member of the opposite species before.

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(March 19, 2018)   -   Camera traps have become a useful and common tool used by biologists to study wildlife.  In fact, it has become one of the most commonly used ways to observe and monitor elusive species of wildlife. But with this explosive use of camera traps to study wildlife, a new problem has arrived - what to do with all those photographs, and how to manage the huge volume of information in them. From March 13-15 ANO WCS was holding a training seminar for its own staff and interested parties (Zavpo...

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(December 22, 2017)   -   On December 15, 2017, WCS organized a staff training session on first aid in Terney at the Sikhote-Alin Research Center (SARC).Working in the field, especially with wild animals, poses a large number of health risks and potential dangers. Being prepared to deal with such situations can be critical when in the field. Therefore, being able to competently provide first aid to an injured colleague is a vital skill and mandatory requirement for employees of WCS Russia.

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(July 12, 2017)   -   A hands-on workshop, the first of its kind in the Russian Far East devoted to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones), was held in the Land of the Leopard National Park last week. Over 20 specialists from various national parks and nature reserves of the southern Russian Far East gathered to participate in the training session organized by the Phoenix Fund and Wildlife Conservation Society, with funding from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). The workshop let forest guardians de...

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(March 27, 2017)   -   In late March the Visit Center of the Annui National Park hosted yet another SMART seminar organized by WCS. Staff of the park and WCS specialists discussed the latest SMART quarterly patrol performance report.  One year ago WCS introduced SMART at Annui National Park, making this already the sixth  protected area in Amur tiger habitat that is using SMART to help manage anti-poaching work. During the seminar WCS representatives discussed the patrol efforts during the previous quar...

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