South China tiger

Possibly extinct in the wild?

Common Name		South China tiger, Amoy tiger, Xiamen tiger; Tigre (Fr); Tigre (Sp)
Scientific Name		Panthera tigris amoyensis
Location		China
Status		IUCN: Critically Endangered (CR-D) CITES: Appendix I
Population		Perhaps a few individuals

Background

Thought to be the ancestor of all tigers, the South China subspecies was estimated to number 4,000 in the early 1950s. But following decades of extermination as a pest, the subspecies has now not been sighted in the wild for more than 25 years, and is believed by many scientists to be “functionally extinct”. A few individuals may remain, but hope for their survival is slim as there is neither adequate habitat nor prey left.

Physical Description

Colour
The upper part of the animal ranges from reddish orange to ochre, and the under parts are whitish. The body has a series of black striations of black to dark grey colour.

Habitat

Biogeographic realm
Indo-Malayan

Range States
China

Geographical Location
China

Ecological Region
Southeast China-Hainan Moist Forests