SHOCKING footage shows the moment a Siberian tiger wreaked havoc in a village in China as it launched itself at a car and pounced on a woman in a field.
The endangered wild animal was caught on camera terrorising the village of Linhu – with police forced to evacuate the area.
The ferocious beast was spotted dozing next to an electricity transformer in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, with an awe-struck crowd gathering to see the rare tiger, according to state media.
But when a car started nearby the 225kg male shot off into the village, causing police to evacuate the area as they and forestry officials endured an hours-long stand-off with the wild cat.
As it prowled through the village stalked by a cop car, the powerful tiger attacked a passing vehicle, smashing the window as the terrified driver and passenger tried to get away.
"It was too late for us to drive away, the tiger came straight at us and broke the window," the car's driver told state broadcaster CGTN.
Further footage, from a drone, later showed the predator – a two or three-year-old male – racing through a field where it knocked over and injured farm worker Li Chunxiang.
"I was dumbfounded," she said.
Some 12 hours after the tiger was initially seen in the area on Friday, officials had the tiger cornered by 6pm.
They sedated the huge animal – now named Wandashan No 1 after a local mountain – with tranquilliser darts.
Footage showed the knocked-out animal later lying motionless in woodland after dark, surrounded by men with flashlights wrapping it in a plastic sheet.
The tiger will be kept for 45 days so that scientists can collect DNA for analysis, to find other whether it came over the Russian border.
Poaching coupled with forest destruction has driven the Siberian tiger to the brink of extinction.
There are only around 450 Siberian (or Amur) tigers left in the wild and, according to the World Wildlife Foundation, there are only 20 in northeast China.
They are the largest wild cats in the world, and can grew to almost 11ft.
The endangered beasts are renowned for their power and strength and will travel miles to capture prey.
Though they tend to stick to feasting on elk and wild boar, a few do become "dangerous maneaters", according to National Geographic.
Siberian tigers can eat as much as 60 pounds in one night.
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