The Attack
It was supposed to be a simple fishing trip. In 2023, 19-year-old Sergey Kyalundzyuga and his 23-year-old cousin Alexander Sigde were on a fishing expedition in the Russian taiga. Settling down for the night in a winter cabin, Sergey heard an unusual sound outside. He asked his cousin, who was lying on the bed, "Did you hear that?" Pulling back the curtain, he saw "this huge head." Peering out the window, he received the shock of his life as a Siberian tiger burst through the cabin door.
The tiger attacked, throwing Alexander to the ground and severing Sergey's arm. Sergey later described the harrowing moments: "I was lucky I managed to put my arm up. It bit into my shoulder - it was going for my neck - and clawed me across the back. Alexander ran out, grabbed the rifle hanging by the door, and shot the tiger point blank in the head." The shot killed the tiger, but the damage was done.
The Rescue
Reacting swiftly, Alexander fastened a tourniquet around Sergey's upper arm and set off to find their uncle, Mikhail, who was staying in a nearby hut. Mikhail helped carry Sergey to his cabin, where the family managed to find phone reception. With his snowmobile broken down in the forest, Mikhail was forced to ski nearly 45 kilometers to raise the alarm.
Sergey was airlifted to a hospital in Khabarovsk, where doctors found multiple broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and an infected wound where his arm had been. He had lost two liters of blood. Reflecting on his time in the hospital, Sergey recalled, "When I opened my eyes, I was already on a stretcher in the hospital. Photographers and journalists were flashing lights right in my face - it was awful. I blacked out again and came to when my mom walked in. I could barely sit up, and that's when I realized my arm was gone. I cried for a week straight."
Legal Aftermath
The story took a legal turn when police accused Alexander of provoking the attack by firing bullets into the forest. According to reports, he was accused of triggering the tiger's aggression. In May 2025, an appeals court convicted him of killing an endangered species, a charge that carries implications beyond the tragic incident.
This conviction came after Vladimir Putin had adopted tiger conservation as one of his cherished causes, highlighting the complex interplay between human-wildlife conflict and legal protections for endangered animals.
Sergey's Response
Despite the ordeal, Sergey has maintained a positive outlook. He continues to live in Luchegorsk, a coastal village in Russia's far-eastern Primorsky Krai, where he moved to "get away from everyone." The attack came just a year after his father died in a tree-felling accident, adding to his personal burdens.
At the time of the attack, Sergey was supporting his family—including two younger sisters, a younger brother, and a disabled mother—while studying welding and working part-time. He reflected on his motivation for the trip: "I thought I'd find some peace in the taiga, make some money from the fish, and pull myself together."
Despite the trauma, Sergey acknowledges the attack's lingering effects but said, "on the other hand, if it hadn't been me, someone else might have died." He previously tried to tuck his empty sleeve so no one would see his prosthetic, but now he makes light of his missing arm.
He has also mentioned that his lawyer banned him from talking to the press, highlighting the ongoing legal and personal fallout from the incident.