Experts from the Russian Academy of Sciences' Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution have launched a hunt for an Amur tiger that has been attacking cattle near the federal game reserve Leopardovy (Leopard).

"It's interesting to note that the tiger, named Gryaznulya (The Dirty One), hunts both wild and farm animals and has eaten at least ten of them, including horses, cows and bulls, in the past twelve months," said Viktor Lukarevsky, a member of the Academy's Permanent Expedition. He said the predator had been fitted with a Russian tracking collar proving that it had killed the farm animals.

"The public's complaints have forced a decision to trap the tiger and to relocate it to the north of the Primorye Territory, far away from communities and pastures. This shouldn't be a problem for him because he easily hunts wild animals," Lukarevsky noted. He also said the experts will try to snare the tiger along the routes it follows. "Right now, it is very important to perfect the tiger-trapping technique using online satellite data about his movements. After the animal is caught, we will follow up on the speculation that felines often return to their native habitat. Moreover, it will be interesting to see if this tiger will stop hunting cattle or not," Lukarevsky explained.