18 Cubs Born in China, Bringing New Life to Endangered Species

the Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin and the Hengdaohezi Siberian Tiger Park in Mudanjiang. These parks are part of the China Hengdaohezi Feline Breeding Center, the world's largest facility dedicated to breeding these rare tigers. The center also operates a third park in Shenyang, Liaoning province.

Siberian tigers are critically endangered, with their primary habitat spanning northeastern China and eastern Russia. Their mating season typically occurs in January and February, leading to births between early April and late June.

At the Hengdaohezi Siberian Tiger Park, five cubs – three males and two females – were born on May 1. Two weeks later, the cubs were gaining strength under the care of breeders. The cubs' mothers, three young tigers with no prior experience nursing, were unable to care for their offspring.

"The breeders have taken on the task of feeding the cubs," explained Zang Yingying, a breeder at the park. "The cubs' body temperatures dropped rapidly after birth because their mothers didn't care for them, so they had to be placed in incubators."

The cubs required frequent feedings during their first week of life, receiving milk formula every three hours. "Now they are fed every four to five hours with milk and eggs," Zang said.

After days of intensive care, the five cubs were healthy enough to be removed from the incubators. "Their average weight increased from about 1.3 kilograms at birth to over 2 kg on May 16," Zang reported. "When the cubs are older, they will be fed chopped meat.