South China Tiger

The South China tiger is a population of the Panthera tigris subspecies that is native to southern China. The population of it mainly inhabited the Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces. The South China tiger has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1996 and is possibly extinct in the wild since no wild individual has been recorded since the late 1980s. In the late 1990s, continued survival was considered unlikely because of low prey density, habitat degradation and fragmentation, and other human pressures.

The South China Tiger is also known as the Amoy tiger, South Chinese, Chinese and Xiamen tiger, is one of the most threatening tiger species in the world. Scientists have declared that the South China Tiger is functionally extinct in the wild and has not been seen outside of captivity in more than 25 years. Until 2007, the first South China Tiger was born outside of China at the private reserve known as Laohu Valley Reserve in South Africa. More tigers have been born in Laohu Valley since then. Although, there are still rumors that the South China Tigers in captivity have been crossed with other species.

Location: Southern China

Estimated Number of Mature Individuals: believed to be extinct in the wild; less than 100 in captivity

Current Conservation Status: Critically Endangered

Scientific Name: Panthera tigris tigri