Siberian Tiger Released by Putin Strays into China

A  Siberian tiger released into the wild by Russian President Vladimir Putin has wandered into China.

Russian authorities informed Chinese forest officials that the tiger, which was tagged with a tracking gadget, was seen in a nature preserve in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province, reports the Associated Press citing Xinhua News Agency.

Chinese officials have removed possible traps and put up more than 60 cameras for tracing the tiger.

Putin was photographed in May releasing 19-month- old Kuzya and two other tigers named Borya and Ilona in the Zhelundinsky nature reserve.

The three tigers were among the five tiger cubs rescued by the Russian zoologists after they were abandoned by their mother. The starving cubs were taken to a rehabilitation centre by the zoologists.

Valery Pagasienko, head of the region's hunting control directorate, said he doubted the opinion of some people that the tiger had gone to China in search of food.

"We were tracking them and they were feeding well," he said. "Ilona began hunting first and then Kuzya killed a wild boar." The tiger had moved abroad because of its natural "roaming character", he added, reports The Telegraph.

Chen Zhigang , director of the Taipinggou nature reserve in northeastern Heilongjiang province of China, said that the tiger would not go hungry as there would be plenty of prey in the natural reserve. However, officials would release cattle into the area if necessary, he said.

Putin is known for his love of nature and outdoor animal stunts. Some of his stunts include flying with cranes in a motorized hang-glider, firing a tranquillizer dart into a grey whale using a crossbow, and measuring a sleeping polar bear.