Siberian tiger cubs playing at the Siberian tiger park of the China Hengdaohezi Feline Breeding Center in Hailin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, July 12, 2019. (Photo: Xinhua)

 
A breeding center in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province welcomed 100 newborn Siberian tiger cubs last year.

The China Hengdaohezi Feline Breeding Center is expected to have another 100 newborn cubs by the end of this year, said Liu Dan, chief engineer of the center.

Liu said the Siberian tigers have entered the winter mating season and will start delivering in April and May.

The center will control the quantity and quality of newborn cubs by gene and trait screening for better breeding quality, Liu said.

China has intensified protection efforts for tigers in recent years, which has led to rising numbers of the big cat.

The country established the breeding center in 1986. There are more than 1,000 Siberian tigers at the center, compared with only eight in 1986.

Siberian tigers, otherwise known as Amur or Manchurian tigers, mainly live in eastern Russia, northeast China and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.