Two South China Tiger cubs born this January in the Shanghai Zoo will be sent to the wilds of South Africa in September to rediscover their killer instincts.

"Since the 1960s, the number of South China Tigers has slumped due to uncontrolled hunting, so all of those that had been found were caged in domestic zoos to prevent the species from disappearing," said Lu Jun, an official with the Beijing-based Wild Life Research & Development Center.

Originating in the country's south and east, the endangered feline species is exclusively found in China. Currently there are only 56 known tigers alive, all of them living in domestic zoos.

The two 7-month-old cubs will spend three to five years in South Africa, first living in a zoo and eventually moving into the wild to develop their hunting instincts and other survival skills.

They will then return to a new wild area in China to, hopefully, propagate the species.

Researchers chose the cubs from the Shanghai Zoo as seven baby tigers were born there earlier this year.

"After careful selection, two of the seven baby tigers were selected to be sent abroad for wild training," said Lu. "With 11 grownups and seven newborn babies, Shanghai owns the largest number of South China Tigers in the country."

The project also calls for the creation of an experimental wildlife reserve in China for the tigers and sending three Chinese attendants to South Africa for special training.

The China State Forestry Administration will be in charge of looking for a suitable location for the reserve, while South Africa's national zoo will cover all the expenditures in South Africa and a British-based Chinese-owned non-government organization will raise money for the project.

Currently, the two cubs are in Shandong Province to get vaccinated and spend two weeks in quarantine before their flight to South Africa.

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