Photos of 'Putin tigers' in NE China released

(ECNS) -- Images of the "Putin tigers" that have roamed from Russia to China hit headlines in China on Monday.

An animal photographed by infrared cameras in Heilongjiang's Taipinggou Nature Reserve on November 9 has been confirmed by experts to be Kuzya, one of three tigers set free by Russian President Vladimir Putin in May, the Heilongjiang Morning Post said, adding its photos were released.

Kuzya was reported to be several hundred meters from the Sino-Russian border river last Monday, according to GPS satellite data.

Experts estimated that Kuzya was walking along the bank of the Heilongjiang River possibly looking to return to Russia, but the river was not yet frozen over. The big cat had swum across from Russia to China in October.

Meanwhile, China News Service on Monday said another tiger freed by Putin was spotted last Friday by military officers at Heixiazi Island, a border island linking China and Russia. A four-minute video recorded its movements and a screenshot was posted on Sina Weibo.

A staff member at the Felidae Animal Center under the State Forestry Administration said the tiger, named Ustin, had roamed across the China border.

Jiang Guangshun, deputy executive head of the center, said they had sent experts to help investigate and collect traces of the animal.

Fewer than 500 Siberian tigers remain in the wild, mainly in eastern Russia, northeast China and northern parts of the Korean Peninsula. China puts its own number of wild Siberian tigers between 18 and 22, mostly living in border areas.