Tiger that attacked villager caught in Heilongjiang

A wild Siberian tiger that entered a village in Mishan, Heilongjiang province, and hurt a villager on Friday has been caught and sent to the China Hengdaohezi Feline Breeding Center in Mudanjiang.

At around 6 am on Friday, local police received a report that a tiger had been found in an abandoned house in Linhu village, Mishan, and had hurt a female villager working on farmland.

A group of police officers quickly arrived at the village to secure the scene and evacuate residents.

Soon after getting the news, three wildlife experts from the Heilongjiang Endangered Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center set out from Yichun for the village.

After arriving at around 7 pm, the experts tranquilized the tiger and put it in a cage.

"If we find a Siberian tiger in the wild, we just drive it into the mountains," Cui Yan, head of the team, told Science and Technology Daily. "But this tiger strayed into the village and might hurt more people, so we had to catch it.

"It was estimated to weigh over 200 kilograms. We strictly followed anesthetic procedures and finally caught it successfully.

"The tiger suffered no trauma and can move quickly. We judged that it was not from neighboring Russia because it isn't wearing a collar. It may come from the nearby administrative region of the China Tiger and Leopard National Park."

Experts have collected the tiger's blood for DNA identification.

"Mishan city is not part of the protected area of the China Tiger and Leopard National Park," Zhou Shaochun, an expert with the Heilongjiang Academy of Forestry, told Xinhua News Agency. "The tiger's appearance in Mishan indicates the expansion of their activity range."

Data from the park shows that at least 27 wild Siberian tigers and 42 Amur leopards have been found in the park, which stretches across the provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang.

The ecology has greatly improved since the natural forest protection project started in 1998, and all commercial logging has been stopped, which has helped to protect tigers and leopards.

Wildlife protection personnel in Heilongjiang have also taken various measures, such as increasing patrols and monitoring, to strengthen the protection of wild animal populations.

Experts said wild Siberian tigers have been sighted frequently in Northeast China in recent years thanks to its improving natural environment. As wild boar and roe deer populations were gradually restored, the food chain for the tigers became more stable.

The captured tiger was transported to the China Hengdaohezi Feline Breeding Center on Saturday for medical examination and health monitoring.

The injured villager underwent surgery at Mishan People's Hospital on Friday.

"She suffered some muscle damage and is now in stable condition," a nurse from the hospital said.

Liu Dan, the center's chief engineer, said departments should raise public safety awareness about large animals such as tigers, especially in villages near the protected area.

"Villagers should report to the police or wild animal protection departments immediately once they encounter such animals," Liu said.

zhouhuiying@chinadaily.com.cn