A family of white tigers at Shanghai Wildlife Park were moved to a more spacious living area recently to make their life more comfortable, park officials said yesterday.

Sha Sha and Na Na, a white tiger couple which were imported from the United States in 2001 and have had 12 cubs in the past seven years, originally lived in the park's "White Tiger Residence."

Sha Sha and Na Na, a white tiger couple imported from the United States, relax in their new residence at Shanghai Wildlife Park yesterday. [Su Feilong/Shanghai Daily]

Although three of the offspring have since left to perform in a circus and three others live in a quarantine area, their former "residence" was still too cramped.

"The old home was built especially for the white tigers," said Su Feilong, an official with the park. "But we never expected Sha Sha and Na Na would produce so many cubs."

Now the family lives in a more spacious area along a river that has more green space.

Su explained that the park planned to spend 10 million yuan (US$1.46 million) on restoration work and building new, improved shelters for some of its animals.

(Shanghai Daily Febraury 13, 2009)