HOME   NEWS   SPECIAL REPORT   PHOTO   COMMENTARY   VOICE   LEARNING CHINESE
NEWS > Technology
China's Siberian tiger breeding center sees 84 cub births this year
2007-06-17 01:37:22 Xinhua English

HARBIN, June 17 (Xinhua) -- 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.

MORE NEWS
Int'l space station's faulty computers all back online  
NASA clears shuttle Atlantis to land next week  
U.S. woman astronaut sets new space flight record  
Int'l scientists, Japanese prince call on sustainable development  
IPCC chairman: Efficient CO2 pricing could lead to significant emission cuts  
Astronauts complete multitask in 3rd spacewalk  
Poor Pluto not even largest dwarf planet  
Russian, U.S. experts trying to fix space station computers  

SINA English is the English-language destination for news and information about China. Find general information on life, culture and travel in China through our news and special reports£¬or find business partners through our online Business Directory. For investment opportunities with SINA, please click the link "Investor" below.
| About SINA | Investor | Media Kit | Comments or Question? |
Copyright © 1996-SINA Corporation, All Rights Reserved