Tigers.jpg (Photo : Reuters)
After being released from Russian President Vladimir Putin's custody, two Siberian tigers seem to be helping China's captive animal program.
Vice director Zhang Minghai of the Feline Research Center, an affiliate of the State Bureau of Forestry, said that even if the tigers remain in China for good, they have already helped the center prepare in raising others of their species to be transferred in the wild.
Russian experts have saved five tiger cubs in 2012 and Putin let go three of them during summer this year.
The two tigers, Kuzya and Ustin, found their natural habitat in China this October. Experts found them through their tracking devices.
Both Chinese and Russian experts have gained interest in studying big cats since they have found out that the animals are comfortable in their new "home."
Kuzya and Ustin, meanwhile, might stay in China during winter season.
Zhang said that there are only a few Siberian tigers living in the wild now, the reason why it is a rare opportunity for them to study how they will adapt to a new environment.
He added that it would help them look for suitable places to breed their captive tigers.
There are only an estimated 600 Siberian tigers staying in the wild now and 30 of them are living in China.
The country has allotted millions of dollars since 1980s to centers in saving rare breed of tigers from extinction. One example of which is China's Heilongjiang Province in the northeast, one that is close to Russia.
