A Chinese peasant woman who was attacked by a wild Siberian
tiger last week is expected to become the first person to receive
government compensation for injuries incurred by a wild animal.
Che Jinxia, 25, suffered six bone fractures in her hands and
arms after she was attacked by the tiger in the northeastern Jilin
Province last Saturday. She was picking herbs near her home village
of Wudaogou in Chunhua township, close to a nature reserve for wild
Siberian tigers.
"I was concentrating on my work and didn't see it approach," Che
recalled on her hospital bed, her arms bandaged. "When I saw it, it
was very close."
Che screamed and instinctively covered her head with both hands.
"It pounced on me and bit me on the arms, but my screams must have
scared the tiger and it ran away."
The tiger was gone when her husband, Li Yongxiang, who was also
picking herbs nearby, rushed to the site.
Local zoologists said the tiger could have mistaken Che for an
animal. "She was crouching near the ground and the color of her
jacket was similar to cattle," said Wu Zhigang, a researcher on
wildlife protection with the Jilin Provincial Institute of Forestry
Science. "But when it saw her stand up, it was scared and
fled."
Che underwent surgery at Hunchun City Hospital on Saturday
night.
Jin Xuanshan, a spokesman with the city government, said Che
would be the first victim to receive government compensation for
injuries incurred by a wild animal under protection.
Jin said the amount of her compensation would be determined
after an assessment by the provincial labor and social security
department.
Regulations that took effect on May 19 require provincial and
local governments to compensate farmers for injuries and losses
incurred by wild animals.
The compensation should be equivalent to 10 times the victim's
average annual income in case of death or serious injury that
disables the victim and prevents them from earning a
living.?The minimum amount for slight injuries is calculated
at the average daily wage, multiplied by the numbers of days the
victim is absent from work.
The regulations, which also require governments to cover 80
percent of the victims' medical expenses, were approved last
October amid growing complaints from farmers about wild animals
preying on their cattle.
Hunchun city, located in the border area between China, Russia
and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is home to a
national nature reserve for wild Siberian tigers and leopards. A
survey by wildlife preservation experts from the United Nations
indicated at least five to seven wild Siberian tigers and two to
four leopards roamed the area.
Some locals, worrying about their personal safety, have
requested government compensation to be relocated to areas away
from the reserve. But reserve officials said it would be difficult
the government to raise the necessary funds anytime soon.
"We have started by warning locals to be more alert and avoid
entering the wilderness close to the reserve," said Hu Shaofeng, an
official in charge of wildlife preservation at the provincial
forestry bureau.
Siberian tigers, also known as Amur or Manchurian tigers, mainly
live in northeast China and Siberia, and are listed as one of 10
species on the verge of extinction by the World Wildlife Fund.
(Xinhua News Agency May 24, 2007)
