Amur tiger conservation challenges and strategies in China

China is effectively achieving the rapid recovery of the wild Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) population and has a strong chance of reestablishing a sustainable population of over 300 individuals. However, to achieve more ambitious conservation goals, China needs to focus on enhancing the resilience of the population as it attempts to further increase its size, because only isolated, high-density populations are increasingly threatened by factors such as inbreeding, disease, and human-wildlife conflict. Successful conservation experiences and the application of AI and new monitoring technologies in tiger conservation provide excellent opportunities to address these issues. Based on the current conservation challenges faced by China, this article proposes future conservation efforts in several areas, including habitat restoration, prevention of inbreeding and disease, environmental pollution prevention, protection and community development, cross-border and interdisciplinary cooperation, and tiger conservation and carbon sequestration. We emphasize the need to promote a refined, efficient, intelligent, and community-friendly development in tiger conservation through new measures, such as tiger-friendly forest transformation, evaluating the potential impact of pollutants, developing “nonlethal pain stimulation deterrence” technology developed for human-tiger coexistence, applying AI, and combining tiger conservation with a carbon-neutrality plan.