The eight South-China tigers released into the wild a year ago at
the Meihuashan Natural Reserve are healthy and are becoming more
skillful at hunting for food, researchers said.
The South-China tiger, also called the China tiger, is a unique
species in the country with only about 20 to 30 of them living in
the wild -- significantly less than the numbers of giant pandas in
the wild. There are also 59 China tigers at zoos across the
country.
Some experts have warned that the species will die out by 2010 if
no measures are taken.
The Meihuashan Natural Reserve is considered an ideal habitat for
the tigers and it's where most of the wild tigers live.
The number of South-China tigers at the Meihuashan Natural Reserve
can rise to 50 or even 100 by 2010 if existing protection measures
continue, said Yang Hanzhang, director of the Longyan Forestry
Bureau.
"The eight tigers are now healthy, strong and half wild," Yang
said. "We are trying to make them wild beasts so that they can hunt
for food by themselves."
Yang said efforts are also being made to increase the number of
wildlife species in the reserve so that the food chain for
South-China tigers can be re-established.
The State Forestry Administration approved the South-China tiger
breeding project at Meihuashan in 2001, and an additional 20
million yuan (US$2.4 million) will be invested in the project from
2002 to 2003. More than 13 million yuan (US$1.6 million) will come
from the central government, Yang said.
The Longyan government has also invested 15 million yuan (US$1.8
million) to protect the South-China Tiger since 1998.
The Longyan Post Office has also suggested to the State Post Office
to issue a South-China tiger stamp which is expected to come soon,
said Xu Jiwu, a Longyan city official.
The Longyan government is also working on a public awareness
campaign to emphasize the importance of protecting the endangered
tigers.
Last Friday, the city issued a set of South-China tiger postcards
and more than 100 children drew pictures on how to protect these
tigers.
Local companies and individuals have donated a total of 200,000
yuan (US$24,000) during these activities.
(China
Daily June 18, 2002)
