China has set up a sperm bank for the South China tiger, in an effort to save it from extinction.

The Chinese news agency said zoologists have collected sperm from thirty of the forty-four remaining males -- all of them in captivity.

Only nine females of breeding age are left.

A training centre has been set up to prepare any tigers born from artificial insemination for life in the wild.

The South China Tiger is listed as one of the world's ten most endangered species.