Tigers: Lost in the Wild, Lasting in Culture

On April 23, a wild male Siberian tiger appeared in a village in Heilongjiang Province in China’s northeast. It injured a local woman working on farmland and smashed the window of a passing car. It was later captured by police and forestry authorities. It will remain under a 45-day quarantine check-up before it is released back into the wild. Footage showing how it was captured went viral online. But China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation pushed for the tiger’s immediate release, as 45 days is long enough to make a wild tiger accustomed to captivity. It is yet to be confirmed where the tiger came from, as the area it was found borders China and Russia.  There are no more than 4,000 wild tigers around the world, with about 30 tracked in China annuall. Tigers have played significant roles in Chinese culture for thousands of years.