Fishermen fight off swimming tiger

Two brothers had a true "Life of Pi" moment when a wild Siberian tiger tried to climb in their fishing boat in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province.

Fuyuan county resident Zhang Mingyu said he first spotted the swimming feline early on June 11 as he and his brother sailed across the Ussuri River.

"At first I thought it was just a deer," said Zhang. "When we approached, this tiger suddenly let out a thunderous roar and started to claw at the side of our boat."

The startled Zhang repeatedly prodded at the tiger with his fishing rod until it eventually gave up and swam away.

The fisherman then recorded a 10-minute video on his mobile phone of the tiger paddling across the river and leaving clear paw prints as it climbed ashore.

The animal was later identified as a healthy wild Siberian tiger after researchers at China's Northeast Forestry University analyzed Zhang's video and examined the giant cat's tracks.

The Siberian tiger is an endangered species with only 500 remaining in the wild. The Ussuri River is located near the Sanjiang National Nature Reserve, which has recently become home to a population of Siberian tigers.