Global News - November 2007
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South China Tiger 'a fake'
Tue 20 November 2007 13:40 UK — Asia,Big Cats
Photographs published seeming to prove a sighting of the rare South China tiger are a hoax, according to web users in China.
Last month, forestry officials in the country's Shaanxi region publicised the pictures, taken by a former tiger hunter, as proof that the tiger previously considered near-extinct was still living in the wild.
However, Chinese internet users have accused the photographer, Zhou Zhenglong, of using digital software to doctor an existing tiger image, as well as claiming government officials circulated the pictures in a bid to boost tourism in the area.
The area's regional government has now promised to investigate the picture and ascertain its authenticity.
Shaanxi Provincial Governor Yuan Chunqing said: "Regarding the South China tiger, there will be a result soon. The investigation…is necessary, and the government is right to encourage it."
In the 1950's an estimated 5,000 South China tigers could be found in the country's wilderness, Reuters reports, but destruction of habitat and hunting has reportedly brought its numbers close to extinction.
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