The Amur tiger Kuzya, who was released into the wild in May and has moved around the Amur Region and Jewish Autonomous Region, has crossed into China, the Severtsov Institute of Environment and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences has reported.

After wandering in the two regions, the tiger approached the Amur River, walked along it for several days and then swam towards China. The tiger’s movement is monitored by experts of the Severtsov Institute via its GPS collar. They also notified the regional authorities in Russia and China about the tiger’s location.

The Chinese news agency Xinhua has announced, citing Chen Zhigang, the director of the nature reserve, that the local authorities hope Kuzya would be safe in China.

Chen Zhigang said the tiger entered the Taipinggou Nature Reserve in Heilonjiang in northeastern China. The police have notified the local farmers about the tiger. Sixty infrared camera traps installed in the Taipinggou reserve will record the tiger’s movements. The tiger should have enough to eat because various animal species live in the reserve on an area of 20,000 hectares, Chen Zhigang said, adding that, if necessary, they could release cattle into the reserve.

According to experts, tigers often cross the Russian-Chinese border. The staff of the Russian Academy of Sciences Permanent Expedition for the Study of Red Data Book Animals and Other Important Wildlife in Russia previously recorded tigers and brown bears with GPS collars crossing into China southwest of the Primorye Territory.