China's tigers pushed to the brink

China's tigers pushed to the brink
By Tony Cheng in Helonjiang, Northern China



There are thought to be fewer than 300
Siberian Tigers left in the wild
The Siberian tiger is one of the world's most endangered species.

China was once home to a large tiger population, but rapid growth and a demand for animal parts has pushed the tiger to the brink of extinction.

In China's northernmost province of Helonjiang winter temperatures can plunge as low as minus 40C.

But that is no problem for the biggest cat in the world.

The Siberian Tiger has roamed the woods and plains here since the ice age.

Growing up to three metres long and weighing just under half a tonne, the relentless search for food has given Siberian Tigers a reputation as one of nature's most vicious killers.

At the Helonjiang Tiger Farm, things are somewhat different.

Noble beasts

For the tigers bred here a truck makes the daily lunch delivery – six kilograms per tiger each day.

Tigers raised at the farm get a
daily ration of six kilograms of beef
It is a much easier catch than the deer they would normally be hunting in the wild.

But watching them at feeding time, it is hard not to feel that this most noble of beasts should not be raised on a farm.

Wang Li Gang, the owner of the farm, says raising the tigers in captivity is a necessity.

According to the World Wildlife Fund there are fewer than 300 left in the wild.

If this government-sponsored programme did not exist, Wang says, the Siberian Tiger's chances of survival would be slim.

"In the wild the small number of Siberian Tigers we've found suggests they're on the brink of extinction," he says.

As China's cities have ballooned, the forests in which the Siberian Tigers used to roam have been chopped down – turning what used to be the tigers' hunting grounds into the farmland and apartment blocks.

Prized

Tiger habitat is being squeezed by China's
booming cities and a hunger for land
In this new urban jungle, the tigers' biggest threat is man.

Tiger parts are highly prized in China – not just the fur, but also the meat, bones and even the penis are believed to have health benefits.

As China's economy has boomed, the demand for tiger parts has stoked a booming trade.

The Chinese government has imposed strict laws on the trade which have won the praise of conservation groups.

Li Lin, of the WWF in China, told Al Jazeera that the Chinese government has banned all trade in tiger bones.

"So no tiger bones should be sold inside China."

At the Helongjiang tiger farm, however, that law is being stretched to the limit.

In the gift shop, we found more than stuffed toys on sale.

Conservation

Demand for tiger products is soaring
despite a ban on the trade
The centrepiece is a vat of grain alcohol infused with the skeleton of a whole tiger and bags of body parts.

The brew is siphoned off and sold to visitors for $70 a bottle.

The tiger farm's owners say its programmes are more about conservation than commercialism.

But they say the cost of breeding, feeding and maintaining their cats have to be met somehow.

That has raised questions about the true benefits of such a controversial means of conservation.

What seems to be beyond doubt though is that these crouching tigers are paying the price of China's emerging dragon.

Chinese zoologists artificially inseminate Siberian tigress

After giant panda, Chinese zoologists artificially inseminate Siberian tigress
www.chinaview.cn 2007-01-13 23:30:09

HARBIN, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese zoologists at the world's largest breeding base for Siberian tigers on Saturday artificially inseminated a four-year-old tigress, marking the country's start of the artificial insemination research on the rare species.

Experts of the China Henghedaozi Feline Breeding Center in northeastern Heilongjiang Province told Xinhua that artificial insemination, if proved successful by Saturday's test, will help avoid inbreeding and genetic degeneration among Siberian tigers.

The sperm were taken from a seven-year-old healthy male that has been trained to live in primitive forests.

The zoologists at the breeding center hope the tigress will become pregnant and have a healthy baby with the good gene from the father.

Wang Ligang, manager of the base, said artificial insemination and DNA tests can better help protect the rare species.

It will no longer be necessary to transport a tiger from far away just to mate another if the artificial insemination test is successful, said Wang.

Professor Liu Yutang with the Northeast Forestry University said that the preparations for the test began in last April.

Liu said artificial insemination will be used in the crossbreeding of tigers and lions in the future if the test is successful.

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.

Artificial insemination has been widely used as a means to protect endangered species. The State Forestry Administration said that 34 giant panda cubs were born by artificial insemination in 2006 and 30 of them have survived.

China succeeded in the artificial insemination of giant pandas in 1978.

The China Henghedaozi Feline Breeding Center was established in1986 with just eight tigers, and now the population has exceeded 700.

Chinese scientists have adopted a series of measures to increase the survival rate of captive-bred Siberian tigers, such as DNA testing, regular health checks, and timely treatment and prevention of diseases.

The scientists also plan to establish a gene bank for the endangered Siberian tigers within three years to ensure heredity diversity for the large cats.

Wang Ligang said the center will have more than 1,000 tigers by2010.

Editor: Mu Xuequan