Tiger Species: Part 4

The South China Tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis)
This species of the tiger is by far, the most endangered species, making it among the top ten most endangered animals in the world today. In fact, it is classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List. There are claims that there remains only a handful of these tigers in the wild. However, scientists have now termed this creature as 'functionally extinct' as none has been spotted in the wild in the past 25 years! Existing tigers numbering about 50 are now found in 18 reserves and zoos around China! Truly sad, isn't it?

This tiger, once found in Central and Eastern China was severely hunted. There were over 4000 of them in the 1940s and by the 70s, their numbers had reduced to a mere 100! While this tiger was given nominal protection in the 70s, poaching continued where most of their body parts were used to make traditional Chinese medicine. Increased human populations and agriculture have continued to alter these creatures habitats. Most of these tigers were hunted as they had come to live too near to the human population and were considered a nuisance as they preyed on the farmers livestock as food.

The South China tiger is the second smallest species of the tiger with a bright orange coat and black stripes on its body. It also spots a few white areas on its face, belly and legs. A full grown male is said to weigh about 330-390 pounds at about 8 feet. The females are smaller weighing about 250 pounds at about 7.5 feet. One distinctive feature of this tiger is that its stripes are spaced further apart than any other species! These tigers feed mostly on livestock and wild pigs and was often able to catch its prey only when in water. Of course, this hunting strategy would only work if the tiger is faster than the animal its hunting!

In the year 2000, a trust fund called Save China's Tiger charity was founded in London in an effort to bring this creature from the brink of extinction. This and several other agencies work effortlessly to revive this creature and with thanks to several reserves and zoos in China, this creature, despite its minimal numbers can yet survive another day. Let's salute these real heroes of the South China tiger!