A man-eating incident involving a Siberian tiger recently occurred in a village in eastern Heilongjiang. Official information indicates that two years ago, a Siberian tiger was active 60 kilometers away from the village.
On November 18, a tiger was ramming the gate of a courtyard in Jixing Township, Boli County, Heilongjiang. Video screenshot.
On November 18, the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Boli County, Qitaihe City, issued a “Safety Notice” stating that at 6:38 a.m. that day, the county’s 110 command center received a report: “At around 6 a.m., tiger tracks were found in Changtai Village, Jixing Korean and Manchu Ethnic Township, Boli County.” Upon initial verification at the scene, a villager from Changtai Village had been bitten on the left hand by the tiger and was currently receiving medical treatment. The injured person was in stable condition with stable vital signs. Personnel from the county public security bureau, forestry and grassland bureau, emergency management bureau, and local township had arrived at the scene to track the tiger’s whereabouts.
The Boli County Forestry and Grassland Bureau urged residents to take safety precautions and increase protection of wildlife. Residents of neighboring townships, if they discover traces of large wild animals, should promptly take evasive actions and, while ensuring their own safety, immediately report it.
Boli County is located in eastern Heilongjiang, with a total area of 2,390 square kilometers. It governs five towns, five townships, 133 administrative villages, and 11 state-owned forest farms. It has 1.74 million mu of cultivated land and 1.46 million mu of forest land, with a forest coverage rate of 40.7%.
Public information reveals that when Siberian tigers or leopards are found or reported to be roaming in Boli County and its surrounding counties and cities, the “Emergency Response Plan for Siberian Tiger and Leopard Rescue and Safety Prevention and Control in Boli County” will be activated.
The emergency response plan categorizes incidents into three levels based on the severity of conflicts between tigers/leopards and humans and their respective safety risk levels: Level III: General Emergencies, such as occasional tiger/leopard attacks on humans and abandoned tiger/leopard cubs before they can survive independently, and tiger/leopard activities posing potential threats to community (village) residents. Level II: Major Emergencies, including seriously injured or ill tigers/leopards whose survival is compromised without assistance, tiger/leopard attacks near residential areas, and tiger/leopard activities posing potential significant threats to community (village) residents. Level I: Catastrophic Emergencies, such as severely injured or ill tigers/leopards endangering their lives, tigers/leopards entering villages or repeatedly attacking humans, and tiger/leopard activities significantly impacting the production and life of local community (village) residents.
According to the level of emergencies, the plan’s emergency response is divided into three levels (Level III, Level II, and Level I).
Level III Response: Immediately report to the county government and the county public security bureau, seal off the incident site, and promptly report to the emergency rescue command. When the safety of villagers and community residents is involved, coordinate with township governments or higher-level people’s governments to promptly issue information bulletins to surrounding community village committees and sub-district offices, detailing the incident. The local government and public security department shall immediately implement security cordons and封闭management in the tiger/leopard activity areas and distribute community guides for preventing conflicts between humans and tigers/leopards. Dispatch monitoring and assessment teams, medical rescue teams, and security teams to the site within 2 hours for tracking, assessment, monitoring, and rescue. If anesthesia is involved in the disposal measures, it must be authorized and approved by the emergency rescue command. Strictly control the interviews of news media and the scope of information dissemination.
Level II Response: On the basis of Level III response measures, the emergency rescue command shall report the information to the provincial party committee, provincial government, and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration within 3 hours of confirming the incident. Set up medical rescue and monitoring and assessment teams to go to the scene within 2 hours. The county government shall coordinate with relevant departments and the county public security bureau to jointly set up inspection stations at the entrances and exits of the incident site, prohibiting personnel and vehicles from entering the site and issuing warning notices to vehicles entering the site, prohibiting passengers from getting off at the incident site. When the safety of community (village) residents is involved, the county government shall issue emergency notices to the surrounding communities (villages) of the incident site. After the monitoring and assessment team provides emergency response opinions, continuous monitoring, capture and release in remote areas, rescue and recovery, and relocation to the wild shall be taken with the approval of the emergency rescue command. Official messages released to the public must be finally confirmed by the emergency command and uniformly released after being authorized and approved by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration through gradual reporting.
Level I Response: On the basis of Level II response measures, report the progress and handling measures of the incident to the municipal party committee, municipal government, and municipal forestry and grassland bureau daily. When the safety of community (village) residents is involved, coordinate with the local government and public security department to seal off the incident area and the entrances and exits to the incident site. The monitoring and assessment team shall provide emergency response opinions, and corresponding rescue measures shall be taken after confirmation by the emergency rescue command and approval by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration through gradual reporting. Media news reports and official releases must be uniformly released and implemented after approval by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.
The “Emergency Response Plan for Siberian Tiger and Leopard Rescue and Safety Prevention and Control in Boli County” also clarifies that necessary preventive measures can be taken to ensure the safety of people’s lives when Siberian tigers and leopards pose a threat to relevant personnel during the monitoring, rescue of Siberian tigers and leopards, and assistance to injured personnel.
The Paper noted that at the beginning of 2022, a Siberian tiger was active near Fangzheng County, Harbin, Heilongjiang, and Sandaotong, Linkou County, Mudanjiang, which is only 30 kilometers away from the border of Boli County. An incident of a Siberian tiger killing livestock also occurred within Linkou County. On January 30 of the same year, Boli County held a meeting on Siberian tiger protection and prevention of human-tiger conflicts via video conference.
The meeting required, firstly, to strengthen patrol work, clear traps in the mountains, and prevent Siberian tigers from being harmed; secondly, to control public opinion, and not to release any messages that have not been confirmed by the county government to avoid the spread of false statements; thirdly, to do a good job in propaganda and guidance, provide propaganda and warnings in areas where Siberian tiger tracks are found, take necessary measures to prevent harm to people and property; fourthly, to ensure timely reporting of emergencies, and immediately report to the county government’s emergency duty office and contact emergency departments to organize the evacuation of relevant people in case of Siberian tiger attacks on humans or livestock. All relevant units, townships, and state-owned forest farms should prioritize the protection and prevention of Siberian tigers, fulfill their responsibility to protect Siberian tigers in accordance with the law, and ensure that no incidents of Siberian tiger attacks on humans or Siberian tiger casualties occur.
The straight-line distance from Sandaotong, Linkou County, to Changtai Village, Jixing Township, Boli County, where this incident occurred, is about 60 kilometers. After the tiger was reported in Changtai Village, the Heilongjiang Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau held an emergency meeting on Siberian tiger protection on November 18. The meeting listened to the situation report from Boli County and arranged and deployed relevant work on Siberian tiger protection.
The meeting pointed out that with the continuous improvement of the ecological environment, the frequency of Siberian tiger appearances in various parts of the province has gradually increased. As a non-key distribution area for the Siberian tiger population, Boli County needs to pay special attention to and strengthen risk prevention after the incident of a Siberian tiger entering a village and injuring people. The party leadership of the Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau attached great importance to this incident. In accordance with the deployments of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the provincial party committee and government, the emergency response plan was immediately activated, and a working group consisting of responsible comrades from relevant departments, expert teams, and technical personnel from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration’s Felidae Research Center and China Hengdaohezi Felidae Breeding and Breeding Center was dispatched to assist the local government in carrying out disposal work.
The meeting emphasized that all localities and departments must attach great importance to it, conscientiously implement various requirements, and do a good job in the prevention and protection of Siberian tigers.
Firstly, strictly implement the primary responsibility of local governments, enterprises, and units for the protection of Siberian tigers and other wildlife. From the political height of being responsible for the safety of people’s lives, adhere to the principle of prioritizing life and fully address the prevention and protection of human-tiger conflicts.
Secondly, increase publicity efforts. By distributing宣传materials, setting up warning signs at key locations such as mountain entrances and village checkpoints, popularize safety precautions for human-wild