Traces of wild Siberian tiger found near Harbin

Authorities in northeast China said Thursday that they had found traces of a wild Siberian tiger in a tree farm some 160 kilometers from Harbin city.

It was the first time evidence of the endangered species has been found so close to Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang, an official with the Heilongjiang Forest Industry Administration said.

Villager Xu Baogui, a worker at Chonghe tree farm, told authorities on Monday one of his cows had been seriously injured and a calf had gone missing.

The calf's body was later found with injuries that support the theory of an attack by a large cat. Paw prints, which authorities later confirmed to those of a Siberian tiger, were also found nearby.

People in the area have been told to be vigilant.

Since June, evidence of wild Siberian tigers has been found in the hinterlands of Heilongjiang thanks to a reduction of human activity in forests and habitat restoration.

Siberian tigers, one of the world's rarest animals, mainly live in eastern Russia, northeast China and northern parts of the Korean Peninsula.

Fewer than 500 Siberian tigers are believed to be left in the wild.