Boer in Heilongjiang provincie (China) vindt jong zeldzame Syberische tijger onder stapel hout - Slechts ongeveer 10 tijgers in wild in provincie

Siberian tiger found in farmer's woodpile

01-03-2010 Jane Macartney in Beijing, The Times, UK


One of the rarest animals in the world has been found trapped in a farmer’s woodpile in snowbound northeastern China.

The Siberian tiger cub is the first to be seen in its mountainous home in the 60 years since the Communists took power in China and the discovery of evidence that the endangered animal is reproducing in the wild has delighted experts.

Only about 20 Siberian, or Amur, tigers, still roam wild in forests and mountains along the China-Russia border.

A forestry worker got a shock at dawn on February 25 when he heard a series of roars emerging from his woodpile. His three dogs were barking incessantly. He saw a large animal trapped inside. He thought the beast could be a tiger, an animal so rare that he refused to believe his eyes.

He called in the police and four hours later a team of eight men arrived. They realized that the animal had been trapped by a log that had fallen but each time they approached it roared. Police team leader Sun Chengli decided to call in wildlife experts.

It would take them a day to reach the remote farm. Policeman Sun tossed a chicken to the frightened animal, which managed to eat only about half. Then he and his men kept watch all night. He said: “The tiger didn’t sleep and so we never closed our eyes. It was very nervous, any time we approached, it roared.”

The following morning two veterinarians arrived. They assessed the size and age of what the police were now certain was a tiger cub and used a blow pipe to shoot a tranquilliser dart. Eight minutes later the cub was unconscious.

The cub, a female, was given a checkup and was found to have no injuries other than the loss of some fur from one leg. She still had her milk teeth, was estimated to be about eight or nine months old, measured just under one metre and weighed 28.9 kilograms – compared with 40 kilograms for a cub reared in captivity.

Aa local reporter said the buc, monitored by television cameras around the clock, was lying quite still in its cage inside a garage of the police station. It had been given food, but in two days had drunk 300 millilitres of milk and 200 millilitres of water and eaten two eggs.

After being loaded into a cage, the cub was revived. The frightened animal scrabbled at the bars and roared. She was transferred to the local police station, reckoned to be both secure and quiet for the terrified animal.

Experts guessed that she had followed her mother down from the mountains to hunt because prey was probably scarce after more heavy falls of snow after one of the harshest winters in years.

Sun Haiyi, deputy director of the Wildlife Research Institute of Heilongjiang province, said: “There are only 20 wild Siberian tigers living in China in recent years, with 10 to 14 living in Heilongjiang Province and eight to 10 living in Jilin Province. The number is stable without significant changes." Only about 3,200 tigers survive in the wild worldwide.

He said he had long believed the area was a natural breeding ground for Siberian tigers and the discovery of the cub had confirmed his belief. She will be released back into the wild in the area where she was found as soon feasible, officials said.

(Bron: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/)