Residents paint in front of a tiger sculpture at Beijing Zoo

ECBP staff joined VIPs from IFAW, Roots and Shoots, the China Zoo Association and other conservation organizations in joining the Beijing Zoo celebration for the start of the year of the tiger. More than 400 people braved the snow and freezing weather on Saturday, including ambassadors of Nepal, Sri Lanka etc. etc. The event was compered by TV host and cross talk comedian Yu Qian . The highlight of the celebration was a mass painting by 300 local residents to enter the Guinness book of records as the largest mass tiger painting in the world. The painting was undertaken around the enormous bronze statue of a tiger which has been placed in the zoo. The designer of the statue – artist  Yuan Xikun  was on hand to address the audience and supervise the painting. In the background could be heard the muted roars of a large Siberian tiger who felt quite at home in the sub-zero temperatures. Were they growls of approval or a call for help?  What hope for the survival of China’s last wild tigers in 2010?