The South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) is perhaps the most critically endgeredof the five remaining tiger subspecies. Though its status is largely unknown due to a lack of empirical data, it is estimated that fewer than 20 individuals may remain in the wild. The estimate is based primarily upon anecdotal sighting reports from former hunters, as officials have not actually seen a South China tiger in more than 20 years. This precarious dilemma necessitates that immediate conservation priorities be established, and that action be taken to determine if recovery of the wild population is possible. The Tiger Foundation, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and Save China"s Tigers (a UK based conservation group), are currently supporting the Chinese State Forestry Administration to train, equip and advise five Chinese field survey teams so that they can census the South China tigers presumed to remain. Any surviving tigers will be distributed in 11 protected areas within the provinces of Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi and Fujian in south central China. There are 19 reserves listed by the Chinese State Forestry Administration within the supposed range of the South China tiger, but they are spatially fragmented, and most are too small to support viable tiger populations.InMarch 2001, The Tiger Foundation team conducted a training workshop in field methodology, including how to perform scientific interviews; execute techniques for tiger, prey, habitat quality and threat assessment; and use infrared camera technology as well as develop a GIS map-linked database of all field observations. Much of this technology and expertise was developed and perfected during the last five years of the groundbreaking Sumatran Tiger Project. For six months, beginning in the spring of 2001, two members of our team will accompany the Chinese field survey teams for several weeks. The objective is to find and photograph as many South China tigers as possible and to combine these photos with the relational tiger field database. Thus, the SFA can establish the location and number of South China tigers remaining in the wild, what their probability of survival is, and what is necessary to secure their future.The South China tiger, Panthera tigris amoyensis, was formerly abundant in South China"s temperate upland forests. Today its wide range has been reduced to three isolated areas in south-central China, where small and scattered populations are said to persist along the mountainous borders between provinces. As with the Black-footed Ferret, one of the biggest contributing factors to the South China tigers" dwindling population is the destruction of its prey base. Two other major factors that have contributed to the tiger"s decline are poaching and population fragmentation. South China tigers, like other tiger subspecies, live in dense jungles. South China tigers also love spending time in water, similar to other tiger subspecies.Until the beginning of the 20th century, the South China tiger was distributed in many parts of southern and eastern China. In 1959, Mao Zedong, in the time of the Great Leap Forward, declared the tiger and other predators such as leopards and wolves to be pests and “enemies of the people”; as a result, several “anti-pest” campaigns started.[7] The tigers then were considered pests because they attacked farmers and villagers.[8] Becoming widely persecuted, their wild population of the South China tiger fell from more than 4,000 to less than 200 by 1982.[9] The Chinese government then reversed the classification of the tiger, banning hunting altogether in 1977, but this seems to have been too late. The South China tiger has not been seen in the wild for more than 20 years.[10] Today the estimated population of the South Chinese subspecies is 20-30 individuals found only in the Chinese provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang. Tigers still found in southeast China belong to the Indochinese Tiger subspecies.Since 1990, China"s State Forestry Administration has been leading the effort to save the South China tiger through the establishment of special Nature reserves for the 10-30 Chinese tigers thought to be left in the wild. A 1987 field survey by Chinese scientists reported a few tigers remaining in the Guangdong mountains bordering Hunan and Jiangxi, and another survey in 1990 noted evidence of about a dozen tigers in 11 reserves in the remote mountains of Guangdong, Hunan, and Fujian Provinces of South China. No tigers were seen. The only evidence came from anecdotal stories of former hunters.[5] China"s few captive tigers are now part of a centrally registered studbook in an attempt to save this tiger from becoming the fourth tiger subspecies to become extinct in modern times. Before a studbook was established it was thought that this captive population was too small and lacking in genetic diversity for any repopulation program to be successful, but since the start of the central register more and more South China tigers have been identified in zoos across China fueling hope of the possible reestablishment of the South China tiger in the wild.Possibly extinct in the wild?Common Name South China tiger, Amoy tiger, Xiamen tiger; Tigre (Fr);Tigre (Sp) Scientific Name Panthera tigris amoyensis Location China Status IUCN: Critically Endangered (CR-D) CITES: Appendix IPopulation Perhaps a few individuals
