Tiger ‘eats logger who went to the toilet’ after clothes found strewn across floor

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A three-year-old tiger which reportedly killed and ate a Russian logger has been shot dead.

Mikhail Shabaldin, 41, is thought to have left his accommodation during the night to use the toilet.

A video of his colleague finding his clothes strewn across the forest floor caused locals to speculate the married logger had been killed and eaten by an Amur tiger.

His wife, Elena, was informed and a friend of the logger said he was certain Mr Shabaldin had been killed by a tiger.

Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers, while endangered, are known to reside in the area where Mr Shabaldin’s body was found - around 50 miles from Mayak village in the remote Khabarovsk region in southeastern Russia.

An investigation was launched into the man’s death and a three-year-old tiger was found close to Mr Shabaldin’s remains by police, specialists from the Amur Tiger Centre and inspectors from the Ministry of Ecology.

In a statement, the Amur Tiger Centre announced that the tiger had to be killed.

It said: “The incident happened on the night of August 22-23, 2021. A man who worked as a logger, walked away from the trailer to the bushes, where a conflict occurred.

“As a result, the predator killed the man and dragged his body into the woods. Inspectors of the Ministry on Ecology of Khabarovsk Krai, policemen and specialists of the Amur Tiger Centre arrived on the scene, followed the tiger’s tracks and found him close to the body of a man.

“They had to open fire.”

The statement added that a full investigation will continue into the circumstances of the incident, including a post-mortem examination of the tiger held by the centre.

The statement added: “Regardless of the results of the investigation, we offer our condolences to the relatives of the man.”