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The captive population of Siberian Tiger comprises several hundred. A majority of these tigers are found in China, with other populations in Europe and North America. The large, distinctive and powerful cats are popular zoo exhibits. The Siberian Tiger is bred within the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a project based on 83 wild caught tigers. According to most experts, this population is large enough to stay stable and genetically healthy. Today, approximately 160 Siberian Tigers participate in the SSP, which makes it the most extensively bred tiger subspecies within the programme. There are currently no more than around 255 tigers in the tiger SSP from three different subspecies. Developed in 1982, the Species Survival Plan for the Siberian Tiger is the longest running program for a tiger subspecies. It has been very fortunate and productive, and the breeding program for the Siberian Tiger has actually been used as a good example when new programs have been designed to save other animal species from extinction.

The Siberian Tiger is not very difficult to breed in captivity, but the possibility of releasing animals bred in captivity into the wild is small. Conservation efforts that secure the wild population are therefore still of imperative. If a captive bred Siberian Tiger were to be released into the wild, it would lack the necessary hunting skills and starve to death (info from Wikipedia).

• Complete 03-15-2007 in 14.11 hours spread over 7 days