Roaring to go: Victor lets out a growl as he is finally released back into the wild
This is the incredible moment an angry and fearsome tiger makes a bid for freedom - after being rescued from a poacher's snare.
The hulking beast, named Victor, was nursed back to health by experts for a week after being caught in a brutal snare set by ruthless hunters.
The nine-year-old Amur tiger, who was spotted by students in a remote Russian forest who heard him roaring in pain after being trapped in a cable snare.
The bleeding beast, who would have been worth up to $10,000 on the black market for its bones and skin alone, was finally released to safety in the frozen wastes of eastern Russia after being treated for cuts to his skin.
Freedom: The Amur tiger bursts from his cage and leaps through the snow
The dramatic moment where he burst out of his cage was caught on camera for BBC Wildlife Magazine and shows the powerful animal leaping through the snow to freedom as the team of conservationists stood well back.
One of them John Goodrich, 45, who has spent 16 years working with the tigers in Russia, said: 'We chose a place with enough open space so that we could sit in our vehicles and watch as Victor left his cage to freedom.
'We had cameras ready as my colleague raised the door to the cage.
'Victor glared at us and roared, making a great cloud of steam in the cold air. But he stayed put.
'Then, letting out another roar, he turned toward us again and burst out of the cage. He hit the snow and, with one great leap, disappeared into the forest.
'The power and speed with which he leapt from the truck and disappeared into the forest was awesome and would have been terrifying had I not been sitting in the safety of my vehicle.'
When Victor was found, the kindhearted students drove 50 miles to the nearest telephone to raise the alarm, and alerted the Inspection Tiger Department to their find.
source: dailymail