A starving tiger that started living off stray dogs in landfill sites as well as other local pets has been captured and given a GPS collar before being released back into the wild.

The tiger had been terrorising a remote Russian village for two weeks and eaten at least seven pets before it was caught after authorities were forced to act because of the danger to people, as well as pets.

They said that the tiger started hunting stray dogs in landfill sites in the Pozharsky district of the Primorsky Krai region of Russia before moving up to pets and tearing through seven dogs from private homes in the village of Nagornoye.

Sergei Aramilev, the Director of the Amur Tiger Centre, said that the tiger named Gorny started eating stray dogs before upgrading to “domestic dogs”.

But the tiger was caught on Saturday 4th December before being returned to the wild the following day after having been identified as a two- to three-year-old male and given the name Gorny. It was also fitted with a GPS transmitter to monitor the animal.

The Amur Tiger Centre said in a statement: “The predator was caught on the evening of December 4, 2021 in the Pozharsky district of the Primorsky Territory. The tiger was examined and, without finding any injuries, the very next day was returned to the wild in the vicinity of the Call of the Tiger National Park.”

Alexei Surovy, First Deputy Minister of Forestry and Wildlife Protection of the Primorsky Territory, said: “Permission for the forced removal of the tiger from its natural habitat was requested from Rosprirodnadzor in order to ensure the safety of both the population and the tiger itself.”

He added that the decision was made after “the tiger began to behave too defiantly.”

Staff at the Amur Tiger Centre reportedly said that local tigers do not have enough food in the forest and due to the low number of wild boars, they have been forced to switch to other animals.

A large amount of snow in the area has also forced the animals to move closer to the fields that are usually located next to settlements.

Local media reports that the tiger was not afraid of the locals and would wander around the village during the day as well as at night.

Amur tigers, which are also known as Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris tigris), are listed as endangered on the IUCN’s Red List of Endangered Species.