© Burt HermanLutiy, an endangered Amur tiger, roams in his cage at the Wild Animals Rehabilitation Center at the Sikhote-Alin Nature Monument, Russia on Monday, December 5, 2005
The villagers and their pets are being attacked by Amur tigers, which are seriously endangered and have been the focus of conservation efforts for years by Russian president Vladimir Putin.
In December last year a man and his dog were attacked and killed in the village of Obor, in the eastern region of Khabarovsk, the Moscow Times reported.
According to local police the tiger wandered into the village and killed the man's dog. The man, who has not been named, followed the tiger into the forest and his body was later found by villagers.
There have been almost 300 cases of tigers entering the area, according to local authorities in the region.
Comment: Perhaps because of the acute weather conditions in the region recently, are tigers experiencing difficulties finding their natural prey in the colder than normal temperatures and subsequently forced to target easier domesticated animals in and around local villages?
But, hey, don't mention climate change unless it's at the hot end of the spectrum. See also:
Coldest start to winter in decades for Russia: Parts of Siberia are enduring extreme cold below minus-70 degrees Fahrenheit