Cat eating dog making news .... Putin's Siberian Tiger returns to Russia

A cat eating dog is making news ~ International ramifications – as it is a Siberian Tiger (big cat) eating a Chinese dog. The Amur River or Heilong Jiang  is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China. The Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), also known as the Amur tiger, is a tiger subspecies inhabiting mainly the Sikhote Alin mountain region.  The declining population has been a  cause of concern for many.

Kuzya is a free and open source, cross-platform IDE. It is developed in C++ using Qt as the GUI toolkit.  In the animal World, it is the name of a 2 year old  Siberian tiger – virile, canny with boundless appetite for red meat.  It is a special tiger, which was reintroduced into wild by President Vladimir Putin of Russia.   In October this year, satellite tracking signals from a special collar indicated that he swam across the Amur River border and crossed over to China.  Ecologists suggested that the endangered Siberian tiger was probably looking for better nutrition amidst fear of its safety.  It was stated that the tiger was used to keeping away from humans but in the agricultural China, more populated, it ran the risk of entering human habitat and putting itself to peril. 

Last week newspaper reports suggested that the prestigious tiger of Putin had returned to Russian territory.  The news of Kuzya's return to Russia was reported by the the official Xinhua news agency.  But it was stated that Kuzya would still revisit China.  The Vice- director of the Feline Research Centre at China's State Forestry Administration was quoted as saying that China has a sound forest ecosystem and plenty of food - although Xinhua noted that the tiger 'never ate domestic animals' during his two-month visit.

Concern over Kuzya's fate prompted diplomatic contacts between the two countries to ensure his safety as far as possible. Kuzya was one of five orphaned tigers found and cared for by wildlife officials in the Far East of Russia.  After being trained how to hunt, they were released into the wild.Kuzya's brother Ustin - not released by Putin - also ventured into Chinese territory last month. He was accused of killing 15 goats in a remote  village as reported by Siberiantimes.com

Now MailOnline reports that Putin’s tiger continues its killing spree.  The beast  released into wild by Russian president now filmed feasting on a pet dog as it terrorises Chinese villages . The beast, who has also killed a flock of chickens on its rampage across north-east China, is now believed to have returned to Russia. Kuzya, wears  a GPS tracking device, and its movements are tracked through satellite.  The tracking showed the rare Amur cat swam across a river - evidently in search of a Chinese meal after a shortage of its staple of deer in eastern Russia.  Reportedly, animal remains were found near the tiger's tracks, and feathers and blood near a smashed hen house. The big cat was spotted again in Taipinggou nature reserve in Heilongjiang province and some 60 cameras have been set up in a bid to track him. The Russians alerted Beijing through diplomatic channels amid fears angry farmers might shoot the tiger.  A wildlife protection expert has warned people not to throw food at the tiger if spotted. Despite the attacks, the foreign ministry in Beijing pledged that Putin's tiger would be protected, citing an existing agreement on cross-border protection of Siberian tigers.

Mr Putin was praised by Russian media for saving a television crew from an attack by a Siberian tiger back in 2008. The Russian president apparently saved the crew while on a trip to a national park to see how researchers monitor the tigers in the wild. Just as he was arriving with a group of wildlife specialists to see a trapped Amur tiger, it escaped and ran towards a nearby camera crew, the country's main television station said. Mr Putin quickly shot the beast and sedated it with a tranquilizer gun.

The Siberian Tiger is on the Red List of Threatened Species. Reportedly Kuzya,  knows how to avoid people and did so well in Russia but in that agricultural area of China, it will be hard for him. In 2010, Russia launched a national strategy to protect the Siberian tiger, the largest of the five tiger species. According to World Wildlife Fund, just 450 Siberian tigers are left on the planet.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

16^th Dec 2o14.