Three tigers were loose in the famous Mount Tai tourist site in Shandong Province, prompting the government to close two tourist attractions and send hundreds of armed police to hunt the animals.

Mount tai tourism administration officials said yesterday one adult tiger and two baby tigers were loose in the mountains of Dong Lu, possibly near Tianzhu peak. They temporarily closed two 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 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 were armed with a tranquilizer gun.

No one was sure where the tigers came from. Some villagers said the predators 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 may attack any human.

The administration did not close a major tourist attraction about 9 kilometers away. No warnings were posted either.

Travelers were still found in the area. Many had heard about the tigers, but few were worried about it.

(Xinhua News Agency via Shanghai Daily June 14, 2005)