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Despite Falling Numbers in Population, China Continues Hunting
The South China tiger are continuously hunted as the chinese continue to support the hunting of this species. The Chinese government considers them a pest that require eradication. During the PRC's Great Leap Forward, Mao Zedong declared South China Tigers as enemies of man and promoted the slaughter of these tigers. -
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) provides a program for the conservation of threatened and endangered species and the habitats they are found in. This is act was intended for domestic and international conservation which would include the ever dwindling numbers of the South China Tiger. -
China Lists the Species as a Third-Degree Protected Animal
The Chinese State Department started to list the South China tiger as a third-degree protected animal. -
Chinese government bans tiger hunting
Due to the plummeting of the tiger populations in China the government has banned the hunting of these animals in hopes to conserve the remaining and have them reproduce. -
Population Numbers in Low Hundreds
After being labeled as a third-degree protected organism and the ban on tiger hunting the South China tiger population still extremely low and estimated at 150 to 200 individuals. -
Population Numbers Hitting an Extreme Low
The remaining population of wild South China tigers are estimated to be 30-40 individuals. With fear of seemingly iminent extinction environmentalists hope that they will find peace in reserves to repopulate. The South China tiger is deemed the most endangered subspecies of tiger. -
Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Wild Life
The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Wild Life was first ratified in 1988 which paved the way for more animal rights and protection of wildlife species in China. -
Raised to First Degree Protection
After being listed under third degree protection by the Chinese State Department, now the continously dropping numbers lead China to raise the degree of protection needed for the species to first degree. -
Signs of South China Tigers in Reserves
Signs of South China Tiger were found in 11 reserves in the mountains of Sichuan, Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi and Fujian Provinces, unfortanutely no tigers were observed directly and these signs were insufficient to estimate population size as all that was left to determine from was reported sightings by locals and sightings of tracks and scrapings by the tigers. -
Officially Deemed Critically Endangered
The South China tiger is now deemed critically endangered due to their extremely low numbers. They are considered functionally extinct and are essentially never found in the wild anymore. -
No Confirmed Presence but Hope for Reintroduction
The Government of China reported to the CITES (The convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Secretariat that there is no confirmed presence. Due to the circumstances of the seemingly missing tigers the Chinese government has made it a goal to reintroduce South China tigers to the wild. -
Population of All Types of Tigers Dwindled to 3,200
All subspecies of tigers are endangered and in total all of them together are estimated to be roughly 3,200 individuals in the wild. With that said the South China tiger is known as the most endangered subspecies of the tigers and their population are now estimated to be 20 or less individuals. -
Inevietable extinction of South China Tiger
The South China tiger's dwindiling numbers and scarcity in the wild over the course of the past years have shown that the tigers have not been able to successfully repopulate. As of the past couple of years there have been no substantial changes to the preservation of these tigers and little to no sightings in the wild with estimations of today being under 20 individuals in the wild with no signs of the number rising.
