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The Manchurian Tiger Park, the world's biggest artificial breeding center of tigers, will conduct DNA testing on 200 tigers this year to identify their pedigrees and prevent inbreeding.

 

The park has already done DNA testing on more than 360 tigers and identified their pedigrees, said Wang Ligang, general manger of the park in Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

 

The park began the practice in 2001 and in 2003 it cooperated with the wild animal testing center of the State Forestry Administration in doing so. It planned to identify every tiger above the age of one with DNA testing, according to Wang.

 

Wang expects 100 more cubs this year, which will bring the number of tigers in the park to more than 700 by the end of the year.

 

The park has more than 200 female tigers at the reproductive age, of which at least 50 will give births this year.

 

The park was established in 1986 with only eight Manchurian tigers and the population is now 620, accounting for nearly half of the total in China.

 

A survey by Chinese, American and Russian experts, organized by the United Nations Development Program, found in 1999 that only five to seven wild Manchurian tigers were known to exist in Heilongjiang Province which is their original habitat.

 

Scientists who have been monitoring the population of wild Manchurian tigers said last year their number in Heilongjiang had nearly doubled since the implementation of comprehensive conservation measures.

 

Forest protection zones and nature reserves have been set up in mountainous Northeast China where no tourists nor industry is allowed. All construction projects in the experimental zones require environmental appraisal and legal approval.

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 24, 2006)