The tiger of Russian President Vladimir Putin crossed into China's territory and mauled a number of goats, according to Chinese news site Xinhua.
Ustin, the tiger released by Putin earlier this year into the wild, managed to wander into China's Heilongijang Province on Tuesday. The tiger then entered a goat farm and attacked the animals.
Experts from Siberia who investigated the matter confirmed that Ustin killed two goats based on the footprints found near the farm. Locals are still looking for three goats that went missing after the attack.
According to reporters from the Chinese news outlet, the skull of the dead goats had holes as big as a human's finger. They believe the holes were made by Ustin's powerful jaws.
Ustin is one of the three Siberian tigers rescued by a Russian conservation group in 2012 in a forest near the border between Russia and China, The Atlantic has learned.
The animals were nursed back to health and taught how to hunt before they were brought back to the wild in May of this year. Putin presided over the ceremony for the animals' release.
China assured the Russian government that it will enforce measures to ensure the protection of the animals from poachers, the New York Times reported.
"We will make joint efforts with the Russian side to carry out protection of wild Siberian tigers which travel back and forth between China and Russia," ministry spokesperson Hong Lei said in a statement.
This isn't the first time one of the rescued tigers was involved in a killing spree in China. Kuzya, another Siberian tiger, crossed the border and entered the same province that Ustin wandered into. Local officials said Kuzya killed and ate five chickens at a farm.
Despite China's statement regarding the protection of the animals, the attacks by Ustin and Kuzya might force local authorities to hunt them down.
