Tiger recaptured after escaping from cage at mothballed safari park in southern China

A tiger has been recaptured after escaping from a mothballed wildlife park in southeast China on Friday morning, according to a local newspaper.

A witness thought to be a a zookeeper phoned police after seeing the tiger escape from its cage at the Xiamen Haicang Safari Park in Xiamen, Fujian province on Friday morning, The Straits Metropolis Daily reported.

The park has been closed to the public since May but the animals remain there while other premises park are being found.

Xiamen police confirmed in an online statement that a white tiger escaped at about around 10am, but did not leave the zoo grounds.

“The zoo was immediately sealed off by more than 30 Haicang public security policemen and special police,” the statement said.

The tiger was found hiding in long grass within the park and was subdued with an anaesthetic dart.

Police also warned that a video circulating online showing a a tiger lying on a road had nothing to do with the incident at the zoo, the Daily reported.

It was reported that the 16-year-old zoo had changed hands several times before its lease expired in May and the park closed its doors.

The report did not mention what arrangements had been made for the animals since the closure.

But it was reported that the park had been in financial difficulties over the years.

Opened in 2001, the 20-hectare park houses more than 1,000 animals from more than 70 species and is the oldest wildlife park in Fujian.