A Russian cop learnt it was not a good idea to follow the tracks of a tiger into a forest after he was attacked when it was in the middle of eating his pet dog for dinner.

The incident occurred in the vicinity of the village of Mayak, in Nanai district in the Russian Khabarovsk Krai, when local residents found tiger tracks on their territory on 12th July.

The predator had managed to drag away two dogs and a goose, warning people to stay away from the forested area. It was also recommended to have personal protective equipment and not to leave the house at night.

But that did not deter a police officer called by locals after the tiger had stolen another dog, with the official following the tiger stripes into the woods.

The unidentified 36-year-old was severely injured when he was attacked following the tracks of the big cat.

After the incident, a group of hunters from Khabarovsk were called to the scene and it was arranged that there would be a constant movement of cars around the village to encourage the tiger to keep away.

Head of the Department for the Preservation of Wildlife Objects of the Committee for Hunting Management Yury Kolpak said: “One of the inspectors entered the forest, and a tiger jumped on him. The predator protected the prey – the stolen dog. The hunter survived and is now in the hospital. The beast inflicted moderate injuries on the inspector.”

He added: “We will catch the tiger, we requested permission from the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources. So far, nothing can be said about the state of the predator – we will find it, that is clear.”

How the inspector fought off the predator is still not completely clear. Allegedly the man somehow scared the predator. As a result, the tiger himself released the man and fled into the taiga.

This is not the first case of a tiger attack in this region.

Two weeks ago, a predator attacked a logger, inflicting a slight cut on his leg.

And in the spring there was a similar case when a tiger attacked a lumberjack who was working on repairing a tractor. The man ended up in intensive care after this incident.

Many believe the attacks may be part of a wider problem as the Siberian tiger (Amur tiger) unlike the Bengal tiger, rarely attacks people and rarely enters settlements.