Siberian tiger creates panic in China

The tiger, believed to have been hunting for a wild boar at the time, came face to face with several workers late in the afternoon on a forestry farm in the eastern part of the province, state news agency Xinhua quoted forest officials as saying.

The farm is located on the scarcely populated Wandashan Mountain, where wild Siberian tigers have been spotted many times, but it was the first time for such an animal to come so close to human beings.

"We had just finished work in the forest when the tiger appeared out of nowhere," said Shi Chun, one of the workers who saw the tiger.

Upon seeing the animal, the workers rushed to their tractor to avoid possible attacks. The tiger followed the tractor for several hundred meters before going away, Shi said.

It is estimated that about Siberian tigers 500 currently live in the wild, with about 12 in Heilongjiang Province and eight to 10 in neighbouring Jilin Province.