Chinese villager survives wild tiger encounter

CHANGCHUN  -- What should you do when confronted by a tiger in the forest? A villager in northeast China last week survived such an encounter after shouting at the beast.

Cao Bingguang from Chunhua Town in Hunchun, Jilin Province, was picking wild edible plants in a local forest with fellow villager Xiang Laoqi on May 5. After they split up, Cao suddenly heard footsteps nearby. He looked up and saw a tiger less than 20 meters away.

"I was petrified," Cao recalled. "I thought, 'That's it. I'm done!'"

He had never seen a real tiger before. He found the big cat to be about 80 centimeters tall with very strong legs. It was so near that he could clearly see the stripe on its face.

Terror gripped him, but he remembered some guidance from the local forestry department: Don't run from a tiger. Look it straight in the eyes and shout at it. That might scare it away.

Cao began calling his friend Xiang as loudly as he could, and backed away slowly. To his surprise, the tiger stared at him for a few seconds, turned around and leaped into the woods.

As the animal disappeared, Cao ran for his motorcycle and rode back to Chunhua nonstop. "I fell down several times. I even didn't realize I had scraped my legs," he said.

Cao called the police when he arrived at the village. Policemen and other locals began a search of the forest. They found Xiang safe and sound, but the tiger was nowhere to be found.

Bordering Russia, Chunhua is located in Hunchun National Siberian Tiger Nature Reserve. Cases of tigers injuring domestic animals are occasionally reported.

Siberian tigers almost died out in China in the 1950s. But they have been spotted in greater numbers in recent years thanks to conservation initiative. According to an official survey, the number of Siberian tigers in Jilin Province has increased from less than 10 in 1998 to about 27 in 2015.

Forestry experts suggest anyone encountering a tiger should resist the urge to turn and run or lower their heads, as such behavior would lead the predator to regard you as prey. The best thing to do is stay still. If the tiger comes close, you should protect your head and neck with both arms and shout for help.