Rare tiger shot dead by hunter who claims he was 'attacked' by the predator which 'killed his dog'

An unnamed hunter said he was mauled by the rare Amur tiger which bit his legs after killing his dog. The man claimed he was hunting wild boar when the tiger pounced. He killed the big cat in self defence, he said. 

But investigators are now checking this version for any clues that the 60 year old could have been a tiger poacher. Hunting the Siberian or Amur tiger is illegal but the animals are valuable on the black market, especially for export to China for medicinal cures. The hunter was rescued and rushed to hospital after he used his cell phone to alert relatives of the attack.

Director of the Primorsky branch of the centre 'Amur Tiger' Sergei Aramilev commented: 'The true picture of events will be found out when we match a map of the scene, the hunter's testimony, autopsy results and a follow-up examination.'

He said Siberian tigers 'very seldom attack people without a reason. There have been cases when people killed tigers to sell them and made up stories about self-defence,' he said. Tigers have attacked when they have been wounded by hunters, he said.