Photo of cub give scientists hope for survival of incredibly rare tiger
The shadow of a baby Siberian tiger cub is giving scientists hope for the survival of one of the world's rarest tigers.
The image of a shadow and paws of at least one baby tiger with its mother was captured by PROO Tiger Center.
RELATED: White tiger cubs at San Jorge Zoo
The female, known as Svetlaya, had been released back into the wild in 2014 by Russian scientists hoping to restore the tiger population.
She met up with another rehabilitated male tiger, named Borya, and stayed close over the years which appears to have lead to the new baby cub.
With the cub, Svetlaya has become a founding mother of the Pri-Amur tiger population.
The Tiger Program Coordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society said: "This image demonstrates not only that we can rehabilitate and release tigers back into the wild, but we can use this process to recolonize lost tiger habitat."
It's a huge step for the Amur tiger since the World Wildlife Federation says there are no more than 40 of them left in the wild, putting them on the brink of extinction.
