Three tigers are roaming the famous Mount Tai tourist site in Shandong Province. The government has closed two tourist attractions and sent hundreds of armed police to find the animals.

Mount Tai tourism administration officials said on Monday that one adult tiger and two cubs escaped from a zoo into the mountains of Dong Lu, possibly near Tianzhu Peak. They have temporarily closed two surrounding tourist sites and plastered warnings in nearby villages, where more than 1,000 people reside.

Officials on Mount Tai declined to give more details about the tigers or the search. But a source close to the administration said snipers and paramilitary units were sent to hunt down the animals.

The source said two wildlife experts from the Jinan Safari Zoo in Jinan, Shandong's capital, were also involved in the search. Both are armed with tranquilizer guns.

No one was sure from where the tigers escaped. Some villagers said the animals might have escaped from a tiger zoo near Mount Tai while others said they might have come from the Jinan Safari Zoo.

The source said the tigers could be extremely hungry as there was not much wildlife on Mount Tai, adding that the tigers might attack humans.

However, there is a major tourist attraction about nine kilometers away that has not been closed off. No warnings have been posted either.

Visitors were found in the area. Although many had heard about the escaped tigers, few were worried about them.

(Shanghai Daily June 15, 2005)