Wild tiger injures villager in Northeast China

HARBIN -- A wild tiger was spotted in a village in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province and injured a local resident on Monday, authorities confirmed to Xinhua.

According to the forestry and grassland administration of Boli county, Qitaihe city, the tiger appeared at around 6 am in Changtai village, where it bit a villager on the left hand. The injured resident is currently receiving medical treatment, officials said.

According to a live broadcast report from local television Monday evening, doctors confirmed the villager is now in stable condition, with a fracture in the left hand.

Experts from the administration told the television that they are still tracking the tiger which will not be killed unless it poses an immediate threat to human safety.

The administration also said that the tiger was attempting to charge at another villager in the same village, but it was halted by a gate.

Siberian tigers, also known as Amur tigers, are primarily found in Russia's Far East and Northeast China. As one of the world's most endangered species and a flagship species of the forest ecosystem, only 12 to 16 wild Siberian tigers were believed to have been living in China in 1998.

China officially established the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park in 2021. The park spanning Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces now provides a sanctuary for around 70 wild Siberian tigers, reflecting a significant conservation milestone.

Markus Radday, a Tiger Programme Officer of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), told Xinhua in an interview in July during an event marking the 14th International Tiger Day that China has made remarkable strides in tiger conservation over the past 12 years. He emphasized that local communities can play a crucial role in mitigating human-tiger conflicts by implementing early warning systems, boosting populations of tiger prey and raising awareness about tiger behavior.