A wild Siberian tiger has reportedly eaten two sheepdogs this month in Hunchun City, northeast China's Jilin Province, local forestry police said Friday.
A local resident called forestry police on Wednesday to report that his sheepdog had been eaten by a wild animal when it was guarding a wood frog breeding ditch.
Based on footprints and other clues, police have concluded that a wild adult Siberian tiger must have eaten the sheepdog.
The owner of the dog also said he spotted a Siberian tiger in the nearby mountains days before the dog disappeared.
Police believe the same tiger also killed a sheepdog on Dec. 15.
Siberian tigers, one of the world's rarest animal species, mainly live in eastern Russia, northeast China and northern parts of the Korean Peninsula. Less than 500 Siberian tigers currently live in the wild.
Huncun is located in the border region of China, Russia and the Korean Peninsula. With a forest coverage of 82 percent, the area is an ideal habitat for the wild Siberian tigers and Amur leopards.
In 2006, Jilin Province launched measures to compensate those who are injured or have their property damaged by the wild animals.
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