China trains Siberian tigers for wild return

China's leading breeding center for Siberian tigers has started a new round of exercises designed to train its endangered inhabitants for a return to the wild.

During the ongoing Spring Festival, visitors to the Heilongjiang Siberian Tiger Garden in northeast China have been able to witness Siberian cubs prey on live animals as part of the training, said Liu Jianfeng, an official with the park, the world's largest breeding center for Siberian tigers.

He said the Spring Festival holiday which began on Jan. 31 was the right time for such training because outdoor temperatures are ideal for the survival of the species, while the two periods of heavy snow last year provided them with sufficient water and a comfortable playing ground.

"That is why they all look more lively and robust this year," said Liu.

The wildness training will mainly target two- or three-year-old cubs bred in the center and focus on making them more efficient predators.

The center's zoologists hope the work can lay a solid step for the participating tigers to return to the mountains and multiply by themselves.

Siberian tigers are one of the world's rarest animal species and live in frigid regions. Only 300 are believed to exist in the wild, with 20 of them in northeast China.

The country has been trying to save the species through active breeding programs. The Heilongjiang Siberian Tiger Garden center has bred over 1,000 Siberian tigers since opening in 1996, when it had just eight of the big cats.