Authorities in Russia's far-eastern Khabarovsk region are to count the local population of endangered Amur tigers, according to a statement published on the regional government's website Thursday.
The census, held every 10 years, will be conducted in the winter. The government estimates there are currently 70-80 tigers in the region.
The Amur tiger, also known as the Siberian tiger, is found in Russia's Far East and is classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as an endangered species. The tiger's total population in the Far East is estimated at about 400.
President Vladimir Putin oversees an Amur tiger conservation program. In 2008 he visited a reserve, where he famously shot a tigress with a tranquilizer dart.
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