Once officially hunted as a pest
Previous Population and Distribution
The South China tiger population was estimated to number 4,000 individuals in the early 1950s. Approximately 3,000 tigers were killed over 30 years as the subspecies was officially hunted as a pest. The Chinese government banned hunting in 1979, but by 1996 the population was estimated to be just 30-80 individuals.
Current Population and Distribution
The subspecies has 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 in the moist forests of southeast China, but the wild population is not thought to be viable.