Quotable

There are only a handful of Siberian tigers - fewer than pandas - living in the wild. So it's a rare opportunity for us to study how they will survive in their new environment. The experience has also helped us to identify suitable habitats to breed tigers in captivity."

ZHANG MINGHAI, deputy director of the Feline Research Center affiliated with the State Administration of Forestry, says that two Siberian tigers that wandered into China after being released by Russian President Vladimir Putin will help China's captive animal program.