On 5 January, an Amur tiger attacked a dog in the village of Innokentyevka, the Khabarovsk Territory. A similar attack happened on 14 January in the village of Slavynaka. Experts of the Wildlife Conservation Department of the Hunting Committee at the Khabarovsk Territory Ministry of Natural Resources, found the animal carcasses and the tiger’s paw prints at the scene and decided to bring the situation with the conflict-prone predator under control.

“Our experts are on site monitoring the situation and patrolling the area on snowmobiles in order to prevent the tiger from going into the village again and to protect its residents and their property. The situation is completely under control. The local administration and residents are recommended to keep dogs leashed and animals in covered cages so as not to provoke new attacks. We can say from experience that if there is nothing for the tiger here it will leave the village. We hope that is what will happen this time,” said Yuri Kolpak, head of the Khabarovsk Wildlife Conservation Department.

According to him, if the tiger comes into the village again, the experts will ask the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources for permission to capture the tiger to find out the cause of such unusual behaviour.

“The unusual behaviour is probably related to the low number of hoofed animals in the densely populated area. However, this version should be checked. So far there are no signs that the tiger has been injured,” added Sergei Aramilev, general director of the Amur Tiger Centre.