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)