Siberian Tiger, Released Into the Wild by Putin, Returns From His Sojourn in China
By ANDREW JACOBS

BEIJING — Kuzya, the peripatetic Siberian tiger who two months ago wandered into China from Russia, prompting an international incident of sorts over concerns he might become the quarry of Chinese poachers, has reportedly returned to his native land, at least for the time being.

Russian and Chinese conservationists on Wednesday reported that Kuzya, one of three rescued cubs that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia released into the wild in May, had crossed the frozen Amur River that separates the two countries, according to the tracking device he wears.

Experts say there are fewer than 450 Siberian tigers left in the taiga of Russia’s far east. Across the border in China, illegal hunting has reduced their numbers to fewer than 30. Much of the demand comes from the Chinese side, where tiger parts are prized for their perceived medicinal value and a single carcass can fetch $10,000.

Mr. Putin, who has sought to soften his tough-guy image by publicly cavorting with endangered animals, has made tiger conservation one of his trademark issues. It was Mr. Putin, in fact, who pulled the rope that freed Kuzya from his enclosure and unknowingly set him on a transnational journey of several hundred miles.

That Kuzya managed to survive his Chinese sojourn was seen as something of a triumph, given the ubiquity of snare traps, the large number of human settlements in China’s northeastern Heilongjiang Province and what Russian tiger experts feared would be a shortage of natural prey.

“I can’t tell you he’s going to stay in Russia, but the good news is that during his time in China, he was very well behaved,” Maria Vorontsova, director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare in Russia, said in a phone interview on Wednesday.

The same cannot be said for Ustin, another rescued Siberian tiger from Russia who, since arriving in China last month, has been feasting on livestock, to the consternation of local farmers. Two weeks ago, wildlife officials in Heilongjiang blamed Ustin for the demise of at least 18 goats, some of which were found with their skulls crushed or riddled with finger-size holes, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

By contrast, the scientists tracking Kuzya’s movements — and examining his scat — say he largely sustained himself on wild boar.

Whether Kuzya will stay in Russia is anyone’s guess. But Zhang Minghai, vice director of the State Forestry Administration Feline Research Center in Heilongjiang, suggested that Kuzya’s latest border crossing was temporary.

“Kuzya is very likely to visit China again as it marked the areas he visited with his urine, designating his ‘territory,’ ” Mr. Zhang told Xinhua. “China has a sound forest ecosystem and plenty of food.”

到大陸「玩」2個月 普亭虎回俄羅斯

到中國「遊玩」多日的「普亭虎」庫賈，返回俄羅斯了。俄羅斯之聲12日表示，庫賈身上攜帶的追蹤裝置發出的信號顯示，牠已越過結冰的黑龍江，返回俄羅斯境內。而此前，庫賈被發現在黑龍江太平溝自然保護區逗留。

鄭州晚報報導，生態學家提供的資料顯示，庫賈於10月初離開俄羅斯，穿越黑龍江後到達中國。此後確定庫賈位於黑龍江太平溝自然保護區。

黑龍江蘿北縣林業局長兼太平溝自然保護區主任陳志剛證實，庫賈已經回到俄羅斯境內，庫賈的領地橫跨俄羅斯和中國境內，上一次監測到庫賈時，牠正進行第二圈領地巡視，這一次返回俄羅斯，也是領地巡視的一部分。

「動物領地橫跨多國很常見，動物在自己認定的領地內來回巡視是很自然的事，很有可能巡視完俄羅斯境內的領地，又返回中國巡視中國境內部分的領地。」 陳志剛說。

衛星監測顯示，另一隻名為烏斯京的「普亭虎」，11月2日也從俄羅斯過境到黑龍江。昨天上午，撫遠縣正陽邊防派出所民警王繼聰表示，烏斯京目前還留在中國境內。

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/11/world/asia/siberian-tiger-freed-to-roam-by-putin-returns-from-china-sojourn.html

紐約時報中文版翻譯：
http://cn.nytimes.com/science/20141211/c11tiger/zh-hant/

2014-12-13．聯合新聞網 數位新聞中心