There was good news for one of the world's rarest species on Monday, when it was revealed that 91 Siberian tiger cubs have been born this year in an artificial breeding park in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

The births mean there are now 1,067 Siberian tigers in the Siberian Tiger Park in the suburbs of Harbin, the provincial capital, said Liu Dan, chief engineer at the park.

Twenty of the 91 cubs will be selected to join the state-level group for artificial breeding to ensure the quality of the species, said Liu.

The park has been strictly controlling the number of artificially bred Siberian tigers in recent years, the chief engineer added.

It began to use DNA tests to prevent "intermarriage" among Siberian tigers in 2001.

Also known as "China Hengdaohezi Feline Breeding Center", the park was established in 1986 with eight Siberian tigers.

Siberian tigers, otherwise known as Amur or Manchurian tigers, mainly live in east Russia, northeast China and northern part of the Korean Peninsula. Some 500 of the animals currently live in the wild, with an estimated 12 in Heilongjiang and eight to 10 in neighboring Jilin Province.

(China Daily November 19, 2012)