Putin's rare tiger in danger after defecting

A rare Siberian tiger released into the wild by Vladimir Putin earlier this year appears to have defected across the border into China, Sky News reports.

State media said the tiger, named Kuzia, had swum across the Amur River, most probably in search of food.

Kuzia was one of three endangered tigers released under the president's supervision in a remote part of eastern Siberia in May.

The tiger's tracking device picked him up close to China's Taipinggou nature reserve in northeastern Heilonjiang province, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Chinese officials have reportedly been alerted via foreign ministry channels and are now scrambling to remove hunting traps from the area and notify local farmers, in an effort to avoid Putin's tiger being poached.

"A Russian expert called to tell us the location of the tiger and expressed the hope that we can protect it," nature reserve director Chen Zhigang told Xinhua.

Mr Chen said forestry officers would set up dozens of cameras to try to capture images of the tiger and that they were prepared to "release cattle" into the area to feed it.