'Putin tiger' may spend winter in China

A Siberian tiger that is thought to have roamed into China after being set free by a Russian team that included President Vladimir Putin is likely to spend the winter in the country, experts said Saturday.

"Kuzya is tagged with a tracking device and is moving south, away from Russia," said Eugene Simonov, a coordinator with Rivers without Boundaries Coalition, a multinational nongovernmental organization.

"We have to prepare ourselves that he will spend the winter in China," said Simonov, the Russian coordinator of the joint program to locate the beast.

"Russian experts have called for local Chinese not to feed the tiger with any poultry, which is vital to keep its wild survival ability," he said.

Kuzya was one of three tigers released by Putin in May.

Jiang Guangshu, executive deputy chief of the felid research center under China's State Forestry Administration, said the Russian side had kept the center up to date with its findings.

"The tiger received special training before being released. The food it needs, such as wild boars and rabbits, can all be found in the area where it is staying," Jiang said.

Hair, feces and tracks possibly left by Kuzya were discovered in areas where he is thought to have traveled in the vast forest area of the Lesser Hinggan mountain range in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

Siberian tiger experts have arrived in the area to monitor and protect the tiger, he said.

Fewer than 500 Siberian tigers remain in the wild, mainly in eastern Russia, northeast China and northern parts of the Korean Peninsula. China puts its own number of wild Siberian tigers between 18 and 22, mostly living in the border areas.