Almost 100 Siberian tiger cubs born this year in Harbin 'artificial breeding park'

The park has been strictly controlling the number of artificially bred Siberian tigers in recent years, says Liu Dan, chief engineer of the park, as cited by Xinhua News Agency.

The agency described this year's births as 'good news for one of the world's rarest species'.

Despite this, environmentalists are concerned to ensure the Siberian tigers become sustainable in their natural habitats. 

The park is now taking great care to ensure the quality of the breeding and is 'strictly controlling the number of artificially bred Siberian tigers' to prevent 'intermarriage' among tigers. 

DNA tests have been used since 2001 in a bid to prevent closely related tigers from breeding. 

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

The tigers are native to eastern Russia, northeast China and northern part of the Korean Peninsula.