Police armed with live ammunition waiting at the foot of Mount Tai.

On the morning of June 11th, tourists who were ready to climb Mount Tai, the highest mountain in Shandong Province in the east of China, were told to stop because three mysterious tigers had suddenly appeared on the mountain.

Afterwards, police with live ammunition sealed off the two related scenic areas of Mount Tai. The scenic administrative committee also put up emergency posters warning of tigers.

Several days ago, three tigers appeared in the region nearby Taian City and relevant departments organized a large-scale search mission throughout the mountain but failed to catch them.

One mission personnel revealed that the scenic area mobilized more than thirty staff who carried clubs with them during the search on the mountain. Reportedly they discovered tiger tracks at Tianzhu Peak but did not catch the tigers.

Mr. Wu who had a business on Tianzhu Peak said that the mountain had been sealed off since the evening of June 10th, preventing the influx of tourists.

At 1 p.m. in the afternoon of June 11th, armed police, anti-riot police and staff of the scenic administration and local villagers, numbering about 300 in total, began to search the mountain. He also joined the search team but did not discover any sign of the tigers.

(Chinanews.cn June 13, 2005)