New Tiger Aids Survival Fight |
http://www.sina.com.cn 2004/03/29 12:38 Shanghai Daily |
An 11-year-old male South China Tiger from Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, will move to the Shanghai Zoo next week in an effort to prevent the endangered species' possible disappearance from inbreeding. Yuan yaohua, an official in charge of the zoo's carnivores, said a tiger of the zoo will be transferred to the Guangzhou Zoo, its second exchange of the increasingly rare breed. "The first, Shuai Shuai, came from Luoyang Zoo in Henan Province. He successfully mated with a local tiger, and the mother gave birth to triplets in February," he said. Before the triplets, all the zoo's 14 South China Tigers were born to parents who were siblings. Yuan admitted inbreeding was bad for the preservation of this endangered species. In China, there are 59 of the big cats in 12 zoos and perhaps 20 in the wild. Ten years ago, overseas zoologists predicted that the species would disappear within 20 years, mainly because of inbreeding. The shanghai Zoo has 20 China South Tigers. With 12 males and eight females, more of the animals will be lent to other zoos as a part of the exchange program in the future, according to Yuan. |
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