Hikers who say they saw a tiger in Shing Mun Country Park last week could have actually seen a leopard cat, a barking deer or a wild pig, a government conservation officer said yesterday

While camping near Lead Mine Pass on Saturday night, the two hikers said they heard a sound like the roar of a tiger and saw a large shadow. But country park officers found no trace of a tiger, such as footprints, during a two-day search. Wong Che-lok, a wetland and fauna conservation officer with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, said it was more likely that the animal was a a leopard cat, barking deer, wild pig or a stray cow.

'These animals have been captured by our infrared cameras inside the park. But we have found no tigers,' he said.