A wild Siberian tiger has been found dead in Manchu Autonomous County of Xinbin, Fushun City of northeast China's Liaoning Province.

It is the first such case in which a wild Siberian tiger has actually been spotted. Previously, there have been only reports about damage done and traces left by the endangered tiger species, but no one has ever spotted a wild Siberian tiger.

Qu Jianjun, head of the wildlife and wild plant protection department of the Liaoning Provincial Bureau of Forestry, told Xinhua that the dead Siberian tiger was discovered by a local forest worker at the foot of a cliff in Xinbin.

The tiger was lying on its side, with its eyes wide-open and its neck almost broken, and one steel rope was stuck in the flesh of the neck. Blood was visible from the chest through to the belly, mixing together with the fur, said witnesses.

Wildlife protection workers concluded that the Siberian tiger might have died from too much blood loss after getting his neck caught by the steel rope planted by hunters, and food shortage could be another reason for its death.

The dead tiger was taken indoors and is being protected by a relevant local department, according to Qu.

(Xinhua News Agency February 4, 2004)