Game managers and specialists of the Khabarovsk Territory Ministry of Natural Resources are trying to capture the Amur tiger that attacked dogs near the villages of Blagodatnoye and Knyaze-Volkonskoye.

On 21 December, using tracking technique, members of the rapid response group forced the tiger into the Khekhtsirsky Nature Sanctuary and decided to wait for him in the villages. They started hunting down the tiger when it left the reserve again.

“The tiger is constantly on the move, and it is hard to determine its location for this reason. Local residents are making our task more complicated by refusing to keep their dogs away. We are hoping they will eventually help us,” said Dmitry Styazhkin, manager at the Amur Tiger Centre for environmental projects in the Khabarovsk Territory.

Service members of the Knyaze-Volkonsky garrison in the Khabarovsk Territory have been instructed on what to do if they accidentally encounter the tiger.

Special instructions have been given to the mounted guards, military personnel at checkpoints and units at the Knyaze-Volkonsky testing grounds.

The service members are not allowed to move about alone and should take special caution until the tiger is caught. “If they see the tiger, they should promptly report this to the services on duty rather than use weapons.”

Local residents have been also advised to follow certain rules of conduct in the predator’s habitat, report all of its attacks on people and pets, and not to prevent game managers from catching it.

“For the time being, experts believe that the tiger attacked pets because it was sick or injured, or because it is a teenager. In this case it will return. The tiger should be by all means removed from the wild for its own safety and put into a rehabilitation centre where a decision on its fate will be made,” said Sergei Aramilev, director General of the Amur Tiger Centre.