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Putin's tiger breaks surveillance camera in Russia's Far East

The female tiger tore the camera from a tree, breaking it with her fangs, the reserve's employees said

BLAGOVESHCHENSK, January 19. /TASS/. Ilona, one of the three tigers released into the wild by President Vladimir Putin, has broken a surveillance camera at the Khingan nature reserve in Russia's Far East, the reserve's employees said on Monday.

The female tiger tore the camera from a tree, breaking it with her fangs. The memory card has gone missing, the reserve told TASS, adding it was the tiger's first attack on a surveillance camera.

Ilona is one of the five tiger cubs found in the Far Eastern taiga some two years ago and taken to a special rehabilitation center. She and two other tigers were released into the wild by President Putin in May. The two others were set free in June.

The Siberian tiger, also known as the Amur tiger, is on the Red List of Threatened Species. In 2010, Russia launched a national strategy to protect the Siberian tiger, largest of the five tiger species. According to the World Wildlife Fund, some 450 Siberian tigers are left on the planet.