Wild Siberian tiger signs found in northeast China after cub's death (2)

On Feb. 25, a female cub was found trapped in a pile of firewood in a yard of an employee of the Dongfanghong Forestry Bureau, and died of malnutrition and stress two days later.

The cub's mother was not traced.

"We didn't know whether it had died or left after its baby was dead until now," Dong said.

Tiger tracks were found on a riverbank after the calf was eaten, and the prints were clear thanks to rain, which had smoothed the sand, he said.

No traces were found of the male tiger, which possibly left for the Russian territory, or other cubs. The dead cub may have been a litter of one, or another might still be alive in a cave, he said.

Siberian tigers are one of the rarest species in the world. China has only about wild 20 Siberian tigers living in the regions of Changbai mountains in Jilin Province and the Wanda mountains of Heilongjiang Province near China-Russia border.

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