Tigers die of malnutrition at zoo
Eleven Siberian tigers are thought to have died of malnutrition at a zoo in China
Friday March 12 2010
Eleven Siberian tigers have died of suspected malnutrition at a zoo in China's north-east region.
Animal protection officials suspect most died because they were not given enough to eat.
The China Daily newspaper reported that the animals were kept in small metal cages at the Shenyang Forest Wild Animal Zoo in Liaoning province and given a meagre diet of chicken bones, apparently because the zoo was strapped for cash.
Two the tigers were shot dead by police in November after the hungry animals attacked a zookeeper. Another 11 have died since then, all apparently from malnutrition.
Siberian tigers are one of the world's rarest species, with just 300 believed remaining in the wild.
