Wild Siberian tiger spotted in NE China  

黑龙江新安镇现野生东北虎踪迹 牛犊被咬死(图)

A footprint of a suspected wild Siberian tiger is seen in a village in northeast China's Heilongjiang province. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

A wild Siberian tiger has reportedly attacked a calf in a village in northeast China's Heilongjiang province, local authorities said Thursday.

Zhao Fenglu, a man from Beiwaizi Village, Hailin City, spotted the tiger on his farm on Tuesday morning and concluded that a calf was killed and eaten by the big cat a day earlier.

The animal is believed to be a young wild Siberian tiger after analysis of its footprints and the dead calf, according to Jiang Guangshun, deputy director of the feline animal research center under the State Forestry Administration.

Siberian tigers, one of the world's rarest animal species, mainly live in eastern Russia, northeast China and northern parts of the Korean Peninsula. Fewer than 500 Siberian tigers are believed to live in the wild.

A tiger named Kuzya that allegedly roamed into China after being set free by Russian President Vladimir Putin in May might spend the winter in China as the animal has been detected moving southward and further away from Russia.