Siberian Tiger, Freed to Roam by Putin, Returns From China Sojourn

Beijing: Kuzya, the peripatetic Siberian tiger who two months ago wandered into China from Russia, prompting an international incident of sorts over concerns he might become the quarry of Chinese poachers, has reportedly returned to his native land, at least for the time being.

Russian and Chinese conservationists Wednesday reported that Kuzya, one of three rescued cubs that President Vladimir Putin of Russia released into the wild in May, had crossed the frozen Amur River that separates the two countries, according to the tracking device he wears.

Experts say there are fewer than 450 Siberian tigers left in the taiga of Russia's far east. Across the border in China, illegal hunting has reduced their numbers to fewer than 30. Much of the demand comes from the Chinese side, where tiger parts are prized for their perceived medicinal value and a single carcass can fetch $10,000.

Putin, who has sought to soften his image by publicly cavorting with endangered animals, has made tiger conservation one of his trademark issues. It was Putin who pulled the rope that freed Kuzya from his enclosure and unknowingly set him on a transnational journey of several hundred miles.

The fact that Kuzya managed to survive his Chinese sojourn was seen as something of a triumph, given the ubiquity of snare traps, the large number of human settlements in China's northeast Heilongjiang province and what Russian tiger experts feared would be a shortage of natural prey.

"I can't tell you he's going to stay in Russia but the good news is that during his time in China, he was very well behaved," Maria Vorontsova, director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare in Russia, said in a phone interview Wednesday.

The same cannot be said for Ustin, another rescued Siberian tiger from Russia who, since arriving in China last month, has been feasting on livestock, to the consternation of local farmers. Two weeks ago, wildlife officials in Heilongjiang blamed Ustin for the demise of at least 18 goats, some of which were found with their skulls crushed or riddled with finger-size holes, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

By contrast, the scientists tracking Kuzya's movements - and examining his scat - say he largely sustained himself on wild boar.
Whether Kuzya will stay in Russia is anyone's guess. But Zhang Minghai, vice director of the State Forestry Administration Feline Research Center in Heilongjiang, suggested that Kuzya's latest border crossing was temporary.

"Kuzya is very likely to visit China again as it marked the areas he visited with his urine, designating his 'territory,'" Zhang told Xinhua. "China has a sound forest ecosystem and plenty of food."