Officials in China frantically trying to track down Vladimir Putin's tiger

Where's Kuzya?

That's the question hounding Chinese officials who are trying to track down "President Putin's tiger," The New York Times reports.

The 23-month-old Siberian tiger was reintroduced to Russia's wild in May, with President Vladimir Putin personally overseeing the animal's progress. But Kuzya has demonstrated wanderlust, prowling across the country over the last five months before taking an international plunge earlier this week and swimming across the Amur River, which separates Russia and China.

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Now, Chinese officials are frantically trying to track the tiger down — before poachers catch up to Kuzya first. Siberian tigers are a highly regarded commodity on China's black market, and considering Beijing's efforts to cozy up to Moscow, Chinese officials are anxious to re-secure Putin's pet.