After a video of a farmer in China narrowly escaping a Siberian tiger attack, authorities in north China’s Heilongjiang province have asked locals to be on alert for these tigers.
WATCH：A surveillance video taken on early Monday (November 18) showed the moment when a wild Siberian #tiger rammed itself into a large iron gate, narrowly missing a farmer in north China’s Heilongjiang province. @visitheilongji1 pic.twitter.com/jPolsvrPyb
— ShanghaiEye🚀official (@ShanghaiEye) November 20, 2024
A video that was initially shared on Weibo — a Chinese social media platform — showed CCTV footage of a man who had stepped into the street and ran back in after he spotted the tiger. He quickly shuts the iron gate just as the massive cat lunges towards him.
According to a Reuters report, two men had been attacked, including a 65-year-old cattle farmer, Zhao, who required surgery to save his left hand. His son said that two tigers were on the loose, although officials did not confirm the number of tigers and whether they were caught. However, authorities had warned locals to report tigers if they spot any and also urged them to protect their livestock.
Several counties have issued notices encouraging locals to report sightings of tiger droppings or footprints, keep tabs on their livestock and organise village patrols. “Siberian tigers are generally more active in the early morning and dusk hours,” one notice said, as per Reuters. It further said that compared to other big cats it can “coexist with humans” and at not considered very aggressive.
China has approximately 70 wild Siberian tigers, and these are considered protected species.
In 2021, China created the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park which was approximately 14,100 sqkm across the Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces in the country. It was established to protect and restore the habitats of the Siberian tiger and Amur leopard. The Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park spans across the southeastern region of Heilongjiang and the eastern region of Jilin province in China.
