A toothless Russian tiger that had switched to eating pet dogs and attacked a policeman who was following its tracks has been caught.
The police officer was pounced on by the tiger when he disturbed it as it was in the middle of eating a pet dog for dinner.
The incident occurred in the vicinity of the village of Mayak, in Nanai district in the Russian Khabarovsk Krai, when local residents found tiger tracks on their territory on 12th July.
The predator had managed to drag away two dogs and a goose, warning people to stay away from the forested area. It was also recommended to have personal protective equipment and not to leave the house at night.
But that did not deter a police officer called by locals after the tiger had stolen another dog, with the official following the tiger stripes into the woods.
The unidentified 36-year-old was severely injured when he was attacked following the tracks of the big cat.
But the tiger has been caught on 25th July, the Amur Tiger Center reports.
They confirmed: “The predator was caught in the vicinity of the Mayak village of the Nanai district and taken to the Utes rehabilitation center. A thorough examination is to be carried out, which, as experts hope, will make it possible to establish the reason that pushed the beast to pick up dogs.”
However, they confirmed the provisional report indicated that the tiger was suffering from exhaustion and that one of its fangs was missing and the rest had been broken off.
They added however that it was probably still possible for it to hunt although there have been more difficulties.
The absence of fangs might have played a role in the fact that the officer survived the tiger attack. The administration of the Nanai district reports that the injured officer suffered only moderate injuries.
They said: “The inspector has been treated and has already been discharged from the hospital.”
The trapping was carried out by employees of the Department of Game Management of the Government of the Khabarovsk Territory and the KGBU “Service for the Protection of Wildlife Objects and Protected Areas of the Khabarovsk Territory” with the support of the Amur Tiger Center.
It will now be decided whether the tiger can be released back into the wild or will need to be kept in captivity.
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Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
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