Siberian tiger escapes from China zoo

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HEFEI, China, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- A Siberian tiger escaped from an unlocked cage in Wuhu, China, and roamed a public park before being shot and killed by police, officials said.

The female tiger escaped late Monday from a public zoo after a zookeeper who had fed the nine-year-old endangered animal forgot to properly lock the cage, the official state-run Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday.

The tiger frightened a number of people in the park before it was tracked down by a dozen armed police officers, who shot and killed the animal before it could attack anyone, the news agency said.

Xinhua said the incident was the latest in a series of escapes involving tigers at Chinese zoos in recent years. Most of the roaming big cats were killed by police when they weren't easily captured.

Siberian tigers are highly endangered, with about 500 estimated left living in the wilds of eastern Russia and northeastern China.