Villagers in Medog County of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region have raised pigs for endangered Bengal tigers facing a food shortage in the county.

There are only about 5,000 Bengal tigers in the world and less than 100 living in southwest China's Yunnan Province and Tibet. Medog County, the tiger's major habitat in China, has about 12 wild Bengal tigers.

As the idea of protecting wild animals has been deeply rooted among local residents, the Bengal tigers found the county a "paradise." However, the tigers have begun to attack local livestock as their numbers have grown quickly and natural game decreased.

More than 400 head of livestock, like cattle and goats, have been killed by the tigers over the past few years, said Wang Delian, director of the county's forestry bureau.

In March 2002, the local government invested about 400,000 yuan (about US$48,200) to build a pig farm in Gendain Village to raise pigs for the hungry tigers. Now, the farm has bred more than 80 pigs.

After the pigs have grown to a weight of about 30 kilograms, they will be sent to the woods, where the tigers live, said Wang.

The tigers' territory has enlarged to include several villages near Gendain and signs show that the number of tigers has also increased, said Wang.

(Xinhua News Agency July 9, 2003)