The carcass of a Siberian tiger has been discovered in a village in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province Thursday, people.com.cn reported.

Police officers and a villager inspect the Siberian tiger's corpse by a reservoir at Fusheng village, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, Oct 27, 2011. [Photo/people.com.cn]

The big cat, roughly 2.5 meters in length and 200 kilograms in weight, was found dead by a reservoir in Fusheng village, Fuyuan county of Mishan city in the province.

The cause of death remains unknown. Wildlife experts are on their way at the site.

Reports say the tiger was first spotted alive on Oct 17. Another witness claims it was reportedly seen swimming in the reservoir.

The tiger is thought to be wild and the first time once has been seen in the village. There are also no Siberian tiger reserves in the area.

The number of wild Siberian tigers is extremely rare. No more than 400 of the species live in the world, most of which in Russian, with less than 20 in China.