Staff at a Chinese tiger habitat have come up with a novel way of making sure their charges stay fit – send in a drone.

Then they filmed the dramatic moment the rare felines catch sight of it, give chase to the electronic intruder – and pounce.

The pack proceeded to tear the drone apart, at which stage it started to emit smoke, scaring the animals away.

But it was already dead and staff in a well–protected vehicle went into the enclosure to pick up the remains.

Watch the footage, taken at the habitat in the north–eastern province of Heilongjiang, and posted to YouTube:

The tigers are meandering about until they catch sight of the drone, at which stage a cat and mouse game ensures.

The drone’s camera then films a two or three year old tiger swiping at the camera, a large paw filling the screen before the signal is lost.

The drone–chasing exercise is designed to turn the tigers into the lean and mean creatures they used to be before they ended up in captivity.