Outdoor surgery saves life of injured Siberian tiger

An injured wild Siberian tiger was saved after four hours of surgery performed outdoors at a forest farm in Yichun, Heilongjiang province.

Cui Yan, an expert from the Heilongjiang Endangered Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, said it was the first time Chinese wildlife experts had performed such an operation on a Siberian tiger in the wild.

"Thanks to the swift action, the tiger was saved. Otherwise, it may have died within a couple of days," he said.

The 4-year-old male weighs about 150 kilograms and is about 2 meters long.

The city's forestry bureau received a report on Saturday that a farmer at Liushuhe Forest Farm, about 100 kilometers from central Yichun, found traces of a wild tiger and suspected it was injured.

"Soon after we got the news, three wildlife experts and I set out for the farm," Cui said.

Meanwhile, two experienced veterinarians arrived from the Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin and the Zoological and Botanical Garden in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang province.

"On Sunday morning, we set up two infrared cameras in the area the farmer pointed out," he said. "Two hours later, the cameras caught images of a wild Siberian tiger with obvious traumatic injuries. We drove to track it and finally found it on Monday morning."

After tranquilizing the animal from a safe distance, the experts and veterinarians began the surgery on the open ground despite temperatures as low as -20 C.

"To keep the tiger warm, we prepared some hot water bags and build fires around it," Cui said. "We operated as soon as we could. We strictly followed surgical procedure and finally finished successfully," he told China Daily.

The tiger was in stable condition and was sent early on Tuesday to the Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin, where it will continue receiving treatment.

A research team has been created to investigate the cause of the animal's injuries, the local government said.

Siberian tigers, also known as Amur or Manchurian tigers, are the world's largest cats living in the wild. They mainly live in eastern Russia, northeastern China and the northern parts of the Korean Peninsula.

The species was classified as one of the world's 10 most at risk in 2008. Fewer than 500 Siberian tigers are believed to remain in the wild.