Tiger cub births safeguard population growth

The Harbin park is one of three run by the China Hengdaohezi Feline Breeding Center, the world's largest such facility for these rare tigers. The others are located in Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang, and Shenyang, Liaoning province.

During more than 30 years of research, the center has explored a complete set of scientific methods for the breeding and optimization of Siberian tigers.

Not all adult Siberian tigers are suitable for reproductive purposes, so researchers conduct DNA tests to select parents and prevent inbreeding," said Liu Dan, an expert on tigers at the Harbin park.

Every year, 30 high-quality, purebred Siberian tigers are selected for breeding at the park.

The center now has more than 800 tigers, a huge rise from the initial group of 20 when it was founded in 1986, thus providing a guarantee for the full recovery of the animal's population.