Experts seek origin of tiger that entered village

The origin of a wild Siberian tiger that entered a village in Mishan, Heilongjiang province, cannot be identified yet, experts said at a news conference on Monday.

"According to information obtained from Siberian tiger experts with the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Russian administrative departments monitored the tiger as it entered Russia from China on Thursday and as it returned to China early on Friday," said Zhang Minghai, director of the Feline Research Center of the Natural Forestry and Grassland Administration. "Therefore, it is inferred that the tiger recently moved in the border area between China and Russia, but we can't reach any conclusion about which side it comes from before we get the result of provenance identification."

Bai Xuhui, an official with the provincial government, said, "A preliminary examination was carried out immediately after we caught the animal on Friday night. The male tiger, aged around 3 years, suffered no trauma. It weighs 225 kilograms, with a strong body, having had good nutrition."

He added that the tiger had been named Wandashan-1 by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

It was found in an abandoned house in Linhu village on Friday morning after hurting a female resident working on farmland.

With the joint efforts of local police, tiger experts and emergency personnel, the tiger was caught and caged after being injected with an anesthetic on Friday. It was then sent to the China Hengdaohezi Feline Breeding Center in Mudanjiang on Saturday.

"It will be put under a 45-day quarantine in a designated area at the center," said Liu Dan, the center's chief engineer. "The area is monitored 24 hours a day, recording the tiger's activities, including diet, defecation, yelling and other behaviors."

"Now it is in stable condition and acting normally," he added.