south china tiger

South China tiger named King Henry

Submitted by Martin Williams on Fri, 10/17/2008 - 14:38

From Save China's Tigers (re tiger sub-species covered in an article on this site):

S China tiger

Submitted by Martin on Fri, 05/12/2006 - 11:35
in

Hunting and habitat destruction have brought these magnificent cats perilously close to extinction. Can the most threatened of the sub-species claw its way back?

 

The scratch marks on the tree high in the mountains of Hunan province, south central China, are barely discernible today: four thin vertical lines a few inches long, slightly wider spaced than the fingers of my outstretched hand, scoured into bark that’s since mostly healed.

Yet these marks are still significant, as they might bear witness to a moment when a magnificent animal signalled its presence to the world, slashing the bark to announce, “This is my land!”

Thirteen years ago, a research team including American biologist Gary Koehler found the marks, then fresh, which became a clue suggesting that the South China tiger might have clung to existence in remnants of forest.

Looking at the fading scratches, I imagine the tiger making them as a kind of SOS for himself and his kin: “We’re still here, but we’re in trouble. If you don’t act soon, we’ll be gone forever.”

Did anyone really listen, or has the South China tiger faded from existence? I’m in China to try to discover if this, the most threatened of the five remaining tiger sub-species, might still exist in the wild, and to meet individuals dedicated to saving it. [Update: see note below, re wild South China tiger photographed in the wild in Shaanxi province, October 2007.]

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