China rare-tiger centre expects 100 births

More than 100 Siberian tigers, one of the rarest animals, are expected to be born this year at a breeding centre in China's northeast, said an official.

At least 50 female tigers at the Manchurian Tiger Park in the city of Harbin are expected to give birth, said general manager Wang Ligang, quoted by the official Xinhua News Agency.

Fewer than 400 Siberian tigers, also known as the Amur, Manchurian or Ussuri tiger, are believed to survive in the wild, about 20 of them in China and the rest in Russia.

They are the largest tiger species, weighing up to 600 pounds. Human settlements have encroached on the cats' habitat, and they also are in danger from poachers who want hides and bones for use in traditional Chinese medicine.