An elderly man has been mauled to death by an Amur tiger in Russia’s far-eastern Khabarovsk Region, local law enforcement authorities confirmed on Monday. The man was reportedly attempting to rescue his dog from the predator.
The big cat strayed into a remote settlement of Obor, located in the sparsely populated Lazo district early on Monday, according to the media outlet Mash. The predator then attacked a dog and dragged it away to a nearby forest.
The dog’s owner heard the noise and followed the tiger, but eventually only stumbled upon the dog’s remains. That was when the big cat attacked him as well, according to Mash.
The man’s mauled body was found later in the day, the local Investigative Committee Department said in a statement on Telegram, adding that an investigation was launched into the incident.
The Amur Tiger Center – an organization studying and preserving the tigers in Russia – said that the predator must have considered his pursuer to be a threat and attacked him for that reason.
A video published by Mash showed several people apparently searching for the dog and its owner. One of the men can be heard saying on the video that the tiger dragged the dog away with a metal chain. The same man then stumbles upon the tiger footprints and can be heard saying they were “really big.” The clip also shows the search party discovering blood stains on the show.
The identity of the tiger’s victim was not revealed. Russian media only described him as an “elderly man.” It is also unclear if he was armed.
Local authorities are now considering tracking the tiger down and potentially removing it from the wild. Residents of the Obot settlement were called upon to remain at home for at least 24 hours and “stay alert.”
According to the outlet Izvestia, Khabarovsk and the neighboring Primorsky regions have seen increased tiger activity near human settlements. Local residents reported spotting footprints of the big cats within their villages.
Tigers have also killed a number of dogs in the area. On one occasion, a big cat even made off with a guard dog from a military base, according to local media.