A large difficulty faced by the project is the limited gene pool for South China tigers – all of the South China tigers in Chinese zoos are descended from only 6 individuals caught in the 1950s. Since these tigers in captivity have been reproducing with close relatives, the quality of their genes is deteriorating. The project plans to improve living conditions and breed them scientifically – to this end a breeding centre, the David Tang Tiger Breeding Center, has been constructed at the Laohu Valley Reserve.