Investigators found seven other tigers had died before the Siberian tiger was found beheaded and skinned last Thursday morning in a wildlife zoo in central China's Hubei Province, said a spokesman of the local forestry bureau on Wednesday.

The tigers all died at Three Gorges Forest Wild Animal World, a private venture based in the suburbs of Yichang City.

Of the seven new found dead tigers, three died of starvation in December 2003 and the other four died of sickness or fight wounds afterwards, Cao Guangyi, spokesman of Yichang Forestry Bureau, told a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

"Six tigers' hides and bones have been preserved in the zoo and another one is said to be in a research institution in Shennongjia Nature Reserve. The bones of the beheaded Siberian tiger has also been taken care of in line with the country's regulations," said Cao.

Local media also reported on Monday two dead tiger cubs were found in a frige in the same zoo. "The bodies of the two cubs were still preserved in the refrigerator. Police are waiting for the decision of the provincial forestry bureau," Cao added.

Cao said the zoo was right to freeze the tiger cubs' bodies instead of cremating or burying them, but its management should have reported the deaths to the authorities in time.

The zoo was ordered to suspend operation starting from Thursday for shaping up its management.

According to the national law on wildlife protection, zoos should get the approval of local authorities before disposing of the bodies of deceased wild animals. But the zoo keepers didn't report the deaths until the bureau started to investigate the matter on Saturday.

Last Thursday morning, a female Siberian tiger, between six and seven years old, was found dead at the zoo with its head, legs and skin missing.Over the weekend, the remains of two baby tigers were also found in a refrigerator in the facility's ticket office.

The two cubs were stillborn on November 28 by a Bengal tiger but the cause for the Siberian tiger's death was still under investigation, said Cao.

The zoo opened in October 2002 and attracted hordes of visitors in the first few months, according to Qin Maolin, a retiree who used to work at the zoo. But lack of funds have been preventing it from providing enough food and health care to the animals since 2003.

Zookeeper Wang Jianxiang said there were 15 tigers, five bears, six African lions, two wolves, 60 monkeys and some birds. The facility had only five employees to conduct breeding, management and ticket sales.

"The zoo is losing money," said zoo keeper Wang. "This month, we have had only 20 visitors."

(Xinhua News Agency December 26, 2007)