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WATCH: In The War Between Tigers And Drone, Chalk One Up For Tigers

Update: Since this story was published, we've become aware of allegations of animal mistreatment and illegal trade in tiger bones and bone wine at the Siberian Tiger Park where drone video of tigers was recorded. You can read more here.


Never underestimate a tiger, no matter how fat.

It's an enduring truth we'd all do well to remember — and one that attendants at a tiger enclosure at the Siberian Tiger Park in China's Heilongjiang province have learned all over again.

They scrambled a flying drone to catch the attention of some of the, let's say, bigger big cats and get them some exercise. Trouble is, the tigers managed to track down the drone and bat it out of the air.

Then, naturally, the Siberian tigers tried to eat it.

Happily, all of it was caught on film, which you can watch above, courtesy of China Central Television. From the dramatic chase to the quadcopter's grim end ... to the quadcopter's revenge from beyond the grave, when it startled the tigers as it started smoking. Eventually, the staff retrieved it from the tigers' big mitts.

As NPR's Bill Chappell reported last year, this isn't the only small victory tigers have recently racked up. In 2016, the World Wildlife Fund announced that for the first time in a century the population of tigers in the wild rose, getting a 20 percent boost in numbers since 2010.

That said, National Geographic notes that Siberian tigers remain endangered, threatened by poaching and loss of habitat.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Colin Dwyer covers breaking news for NPR. He reports on a wide array of subjects — from politics in Latin America and the Middle East, to the latest developments in sports and scientific research.

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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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