Seoul asks Russia to donate Siberian tigers

The government has recently requested that Russia donate three Siberian tigers in an effort to prevent the genetic isolation of the endangered animals.

The request for two male tigers and one female tiger came during a Korea-Russia environmental cooperation meeting in Moscow on Oct. 30, the Environment Ministry said yesterday. The next biennial meeting is to take place in Seoul in 2011.

"We have decided to hold a working-level meeting to discuss how and when the tigers will be donated after having found that tigers bred in zoos or elsewhere that would be donated," said a ministry official who participated in the meeting.

"We asked Russia to donate tigers born in the wild but raised in captivity, or their offspring, for enhanced genetic diversity."

The tigers, which had widely inhabited the Korean Peninsula until the early 20th century, are presently on the list of critically endangered species due to poaching and habitat destruction. Siberian tigers, most of which currently live in the Russian Far East, are also known as the Amur, Manchurian or Korean tiger.

Vice Environment Minister Lee Byung-wook first made a request for the donation in May when a high-ranking Russian environmental official visited Korea.

The request was made in a bid to prevent possible genetic problems stemming from inbreeding among some 20 tigers, which have come from the United States or North Korea and are currently bred in the Seoul Zoo.

In August, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said during an environmental meeting in Russia's Irkutsk that it is an "obligation" for Russia to donate some Siberian tigers in response to Seoul's request.

Efforts have been underway to protect the endangered species since the 1940s when their population was reduced to only 20-30. Currently, the population of Siberian tigers living in the wild is estimated at 500 while the number of those bred in captivity stands at 421.

(sshluck@heraldm.com)

By Song Sang-ho

2009.11.10