A Russian whose dog was killed by a Siberian tiger was later killed by the same animal.
A 76-year-old villager living in a remote part of the country followed the animal’s tracks after the tiger wandered into the enclosure and dragged the man’s dog away, according to a Monday Telegram post by the Amur Tiger Center, a non-profit animal protection organization.
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After the Siberian tiger was found in a nearby forest, the victim, who has not yet been publicly identified, was also mauled to death. His body was found with signs of an animal attack in the remote Khabarovsk region, police in the region said.
The elderly man followed the big cat for “quite a distance” before suffering the same fate as his dog. Police said an “animal impact” could be observed.
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tiger.
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“The animal probably saw it as a threat” and fatally attacked the man, the center said. The man was found dead near the remains of his dog, officials said.
“We express our sincere condolences to the relatives and friends of the deceased,” the tiger center said in a statement.
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Local officials and experts from the Khabarovsk Region Hunting Authority are investigating the incident and will decide whether the tiger should be removed from the wild.
According to the Amur Tiger Center, Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers, are the largest and one of the rarest subspecies of tigers. They are the only subspecies of tiger that can live in snow at severe negative temperatures.
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tiger. Georg Wendt/picture alliance via Getty Images
The Denver Zoo adds that Siberian tigers’ retractable claws can reach “up to 4 inches in length.” Their fangs “are 2.5-3 inches long—longer than any other predator,” and can grow to enormous sizes.
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Males can reach lengths of up to 12 feet, including a two- to three-foot tail, while females grow up to 9 feet. Male Siberian tigers can also weigh anywhere from 400 to 700 pounds, while females can weigh up to 370 pounds.
The large animals are listed as endangered and fewer than 500 Siberian tigers remain in the wild, although several hundred are in captivity, CBS News reports.
“Authorities in the Khabarovsk region have reported nearly 300 cases of tigers entering populated areas this year, and in some cases the wild animals have killed dogs and attacked people,” Moscow Times reports.
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Source: HIS Education