GG Professor : Hang Lee from Seoul National University to save the Amur tigers

Prof. Hang Lee from Seoul National University is a renowned researcher of Tigers which were extinct in South Korea. Great Geography and GG club will support his efforts to conserve the Amur tigers. 

The Amur tiger, Panthera tigris altaica also known as the Siberian tiger, is one of the largest cats in the world.  The most recent IUCN Red List assessment published in 2022, estimated the population at 265–486 in the Russian Far East with a further small number ranging across the border into China and possibly North Korea.

In the 1940s, it was on the brink of extinction with fewer than 50 individuals remaining in the wild. This was due to decades of almost continual political instability with the Russian Revolution and the formation of the Soviet Union.

In 1947 after WW2, Russia became the first country to ban tiger hunting and offer tigers full protection. Hunting of the main prey species, boar and deer, became restricted by annual quota based on the results of population counts. Poaching of tigers became relatively rare, because there was no market for skins and other tiger products, although hunters on occasion killed their “competitor” when an opportunity presented itself. (source: Amur Tiger Facts - WildCats Conservation Alliance)

Amur tiger sampling sites and distribution (from Prof. Hang Lee's research)

Dr. Hang Lee served as the professor of veterinary biochemistry at Seoul National University College of Veterinary Medicine from 1993 to 2021 and currently remains as a professor emeritus. His main research area has been wildlife conservation including topics such as phylogeography, genetic diversity, conservation genetics, conservation biology, conservation medicine of wild mammals in East Asia and Korean Peninsula especially focusing on conservation and restoration of big cats in Korean Peninsula and East Asia. He also has been involved in developing and improving various wildlife-related policies in South Korea, eg., developing national wildlife health programs, improving national wildlife quarantine system, reducing illegal wildlife trade, developing zoo legislation etc. Dr. Lee graduated Kyeonsang National University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1987 and earned Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania in Biomedical Sciences in 1992. At present he is serving as the representatives of two conservation organizations: Conservation Genome Resource Bank for Korean Wildlife (CGRB) and Tiger & Leopard Conservation Fund in Korea (KTLCF).

Let's save the Amur tigers together with GG Club!!!