South China Tiger
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| iSouth China Tiger | ||||||||||||||||
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Conservation status: Critical
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| Panthera tigris amoyensis (Hilzheimer, 1905) |
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 South China Tiger range
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The South China Tiger or South Chinese Tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis), also known as the Amoy or Xiamen tiger, is a subspecies of tiger native to the forests of Southern China. The South China tiger is the second smallest and most critically endangered tiger. Some experts maintain that there are approximately 20-30 of these tigers left in the wild, but it is likely that they are extinct in the wild as there have been no confirmed sightings for 20 years1. A total of 47 South China tigers exist in captivity in 18 zoos, all of which are in China. The South China tiger is considered to be the “stem” tiger, the subspecies from which all other tigers evolved.
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[edit] Physical characteristics
The South China tiger is one of the smallest tiger subspecies. Male tigers measure about 2.5 m (8 ft) from head to tail and weigh approximately 150 kg (330 lb). Female tigers are smaller, measuring about 2.3 m (7 1/2 ft) long. They weigh approximately 110 kilograms (240 pounds). The short, broad stripes of the South China tiger are spaced far apart compared to those of Bengal and amur tigers.
[edit] Habitat
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, wherein 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.They may already no longer exist in the wilds of china.
[edit] Prey
Like other tiger subspecies, the South China tiger primarily hunts ungulates. The South China Tiger prefers prey ranging between 30-400 lbs., but will accept smaller or larger prey. and lager mammals such as elk and deer and wild boars,
[edit] Persecution and Extinction
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". Becoming widely persecuted, the population of the South China Tiger fell from 4000 to 200 by 1976. The Chinese government then reversed the classification of the tiger, banning hunting altogether in 1977, but this seems to have been too late. No wild South China Tiger has been seen since the 1980s. The subspecies is probably extinct in the wild, and even the most optimistic estimates suggest that no more than 30 individuals remain. Tigers still found in south-east China belong to the Indochinese Tiger subspecies. The 68 captive South China tigers probably represent a population too small and lacking in diversity for any repopulation program, and it is extremely likely that the South China Tiger will become the fourth tiger subspecies to go completely extinct.
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