Amur Tiger Terrorising Siberian Village

Russian forest officials are searching the frozen countryside in a frantic bid to locate a Siberian tiger that is hunting local dogs in remote Siberian village. The Amur tiger is an endangered species and the tiger that is killing the dogs was actually bred in captivity and then released into the wild as part of a conservation program that has been personally endorsed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Not the first time this has happened

This isn’t the first time that a captively bred tiger that was released into the wild as part of Putin’s conservation campaign has caused concern with local communities. In 2014 another tiger crossed the border into China and killed five chickens. This time residents of the Russian village which is also close to the border with China in Russia’s Eastern Primorye region claim that a tiger has been hunting dogs and dragging their carcasses away.

Conservation department investigating

Two groups have been set up within the Department of Hunting and Supervision in Primorye region to search for the tiger with the assistance of local conservationists said department spokesperson Dmitry Pankratov to state news agency RIA Novosti. Mr Pankratov says that the department has confirmed that the big cat has already carried away four dogs from the village. The situation is genuinely worrying and that is why it has been decided that the tiger must be removed from nature and the reasons for its behaviour must be determined.

Tiger could be a mother with a cub to feed

Mr Pankratov adds that such behaviour from the tiger is most unusual. There was one instance where the tiger dragged the carcass of a dead dogs for almost two-and-a-half miles.  Such behaviour has led experts to speculate that the tiger may well be a female with cub, but they are yet to confirm the theory.