Eighty-four cubs of Siberian tiger, one of the most endangered
animals in the world, have been born since March this year at a
breeding center in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
Liu Dan, an official with the Hengdaohezi Feline Breeding Center
in the suburbs of Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang, said cubs are
doing well.
Liu said 13 other pregnant Siberian tigers will also give birth
to between 20 to 30 new cubs before October.
The center, currently the largest breeding one for Siberian
tigers in the world, was established in 1986 when it had only eight
Siberian tigers. There are now 750 Siberian tigers at the park.
Siberian tigers, also known as Amur or Manchurian tigers, are
among the world's 10 most endangered species and mostly live in
northeast China and the Far East area of Russia. They are estimated
to number approximately 400 in the wild, of which 20 or so live in
northeast China.
Chinese scientists have planned to establish a gene bank for the
endangered Siberian tigers within three years to ensure heredity
diversity of the large cats.
The Siberian tiger breeding center plans to train and release
620 Siberian tigers into the wild in the future, according to
Liu.
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(Xinhua News Agency June 18, 2007)
