NE China breeding center welcomes over 30 Siberian tiger cubs

HARBIN - More than 30 cubs have been born this month at the world's largest Siberian tiger breeding center in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

The China Hengdaohezi Feline Breeding Center is expected to welcome around 100 cubs this year, according to the center. The center controls the breeding season in the winter so that most of the cubs are born from April to May.

All the cubs are in good health, but most of them have to be fed yolk and milk by staff, said Li Xin, a staff member at the center.

Around 80 percent of female tigers of breeding age at the center are between five to six years old, when they are the strongest and are able to become pregnant easier than older tigers, said Liu Dan, chief engineer at the center's Harbin base.

Siberian tigers are one of the world's most endangered species. They mainly live in northeast China and eastern Russia.

The center was established in 1986 with only eight tigers. Now it has more than 1,000.