A Siberian tiger, the world's largest feline, has been
discovered in captivity at a woman's home in Russia's central Urals
region, authorities said on Wednesday.
The inquiry began when prosecutors learned the woman was keeping
the animal, also known as an Amur tiger in honour of the famous
Siberian river, in a semi-free state on her property in the city of
Yekaterinburg.
"The woman kept the animal without authorisation, and without
respect for sanitary regulations," said the Yekaterinburg
prosecutor in a statement Wednesday.
Officials were likely to confiscate the animal from the woman
and then decide what to do with it next, the statement said.
It is not known how the woman got hold of the Siberian tiger --
there are only about 450 left in Russia's Far East, their natural
habitat. Hunting tigers has been banned since 1947 and the Amur has
been entered in Russia's Red Book of protected animals.
The WWF said in March the population of Amur tiger fell 15
percent in 2009 compared with the year before.
A summit of 13 countries which are home to wild tigers will be
held in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg on November 21-24.