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ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)

peter Offline
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( This post was last modified: 05-22-2017, 05:32 PM by peter )

PANTHERA TIGRIS AMOYENSIS - I


I1 - Reintroducing captive South China tigers

In the previous posts, recent information about the possible existence of a few wild South China tigers in remote parts of Shaanxi, Sechuan, Hubei and Hunan was discussed. Those who actually visited these parts of China concluded there were tigers in Shaanxi, Sechuan and, possibly, Hubei in the period 2009-2010. 

I also read a few newspaper reports about tigers in Jiangxi (southeast of Hubei) and Fujian (east of Fujian). Researchers, as far as I know, haven't visited these Provinces, but people who lived in remote parts of Jiangxi Province in particular told journalists that they were sure that Jiangxi still had tigers in 2007-2008. 

The conclusion on the existence of tigers in the northern and northeastern part of the former range of the South China tiger isn't shared by all. The reason is that tigers have not actually been seen anywhere in China in the last four decades.

Chinese authorities do not reject the possibility that a few tigers survived the 'war on tigers' in the fifties and sixties of the last century, but they consider the South China tiger as functionally extinct.

But 'functionally extinct' is different from 'extinct', meaning some of the remaining captive South China tigers could, perhaps, be 'rewilded' in some parts of their former range. 

As the intention to give it a try is there, researchers, at the request of the Chinese government, explored the possibility of rewilding a limited number South China tigers in a part of their former range.  

In 2015, their article appeared in 'Biological Conservation' (Volume 182, February 2015). Here's the link to the article:             

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320714004170


I2 - 'An assessment of South China tiger reintroduction potential in Hupingshan and Houhe Nature Reserves, China' (Biological Conservation, Vol. 182, pp. 72-86, 2015)
   
The article is interesting all the way. If you have time, read it.

For those who don't have time. In this paragraph I decided for a few quotes from the abstract. Here we go:

" ... The South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) is the most critically endangered tiger subspecies and is considered functionally extinct in the wild ... ".

- " ... The government of China has expressed its intent to reintroduce a small population of South China tigers into a portion of their historic range as part of a larger goal to recover wild tiger populations in China. This would be the world's first major tiger reintroduction program ... ".

" ... A free-ranging population of 15-20 tigers living in a minimum of 1000 km2 of habitat was identified as a target. We assessed summer and winter habitat suitability of two critical prey species, ..., using GIS spatial models to evaluate the potential for tiger reintroduction in one likely candidate site, the 1100 km2 Hupingshan-Houhe National Nature reserve complex in Hunan and Hubei provinces, China ... ".

- " ... Our analysis suggests that Hupingshan-Houhe could support a small population of 2-9 tigers ... ".

- " ... We ... conclude that restoring the habitat and prey base, addressing concerns of local people, and enhancing coordination across park boundaries are significant challenges to meeting the broader goals of supporting a reintroduced wild tiger population ... ".

In other words: reintroducing tigers in suited parts of their former habitat is possible, but a number of problems need to be addressed.  

I3 - The chances of reintroducing tigers in central parts of China 

Predators have been reintroduced before in the United States and Europe: " ... Notable recent examples of reintroductions that led to recovery of extirpated populations include wolves in the western United States ... and Eurasian lynx in Europe ... " (pp. 73).

But reintroducing tigers is a very different ball game, because they, in contrast to most other predators, not seldom pose a threat to humans. The only region where tigers do not seem to target humans is southeastern Russia. The most probable reason is few humans and a lot of room. For tigers, that is. If these two conditions are not met, conflicts will erupt sooner or later. Tigers and humans just don't mix.

Based on what is known, China faces significant challenges. The Hupingshan-Houhe National Nature Reserve is smallish, the number of prey animals is limited and, most important, there are too many humans.  

What about the alternatives? 

My advice would be to send a few teams with professionals to regions that, until recently, had tigers. If they conclude that there are wild tigers, they could start to consider a number of options. 

Establishing a number of reserves would be the first step. Protection would come second. Laws would need to be changed. Local inhabitants need to be informed. Employing researchers and others needed to keep track of tigers would be a costly affair.

The major problem, however, would be convincing those who live in a new reserve to move.  

They could develop a new way to convince people unwilling to give up their home, but I first go to Russia to talk to experts. In Russia, tigers have re-colonized parts of their former range. Without major incidents, so it seems. Why was that? 

Room could be crucial. In Russia, Amur tigers have about 160 000 square km. (...) at their disposal. In China, this is all but impossible. But they could start with a few smallish reserves in remote parts of Shaanxi, Sechuan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and, possibly, Fujian. If the attempt to reintroduce tigers succeeds, they could consider adding a number of corridors. But all this would take a lot of time. And than there is politics.  

Some years ago, in St. Petersburg, it was decided to double the number of tigers by 2022. China is willing to make a contribution. But it has many people and they are crucial in that they need to be willing to make room and assist the attempt to save the South China tiger. 

All of this, of course, is without culture and the problems it created (referring to the trade in wildlife).

All in all, it would take a lot of time to change a few things. But if they really want to have wild tigers in a few reserves in the near future, it's the only option. The intention is there and this could prove to be the deciding factor.
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Messages In This Thread
RE: ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris) - peter - 05-22-2017, 05:59 AM
Demythologizing T16 - tigerluver - 04-12-2020, 11:44 AM
Tiger Data Bank - Apollo - 07-28-2014, 09:54 PM
RE: Tiger Data Bank - Apollo - 07-28-2014, 10:02 PM
RE: Tiger Data Bank - Apollo - 07-29-2014, 12:56 AM
RE: Tiger Data Bank - peter - 07-29-2014, 07:05 AM
Tiger recycling bin - Roflcopters - 09-04-2014, 01:36 AM
RE: Tiger recycling bin - Pckts - 09-04-2014, 02:22 AM
RE: Tiger recycling bin - Roflcopters - 09-05-2014, 01:01 AM
RE: Tiger Data Bank - Apollo - 11-15-2014, 10:07 PM
RE: Tiger Data Bank - Apollo - 11-15-2014, 10:57 PM
RE: Tiger Data Bank - Apollo - 11-15-2014, 11:33 PM
RE: Tiger Data Bank - Apollo - 02-19-2015, 11:25 PM
RE: Tiger Data Bank - GuateGojira - 02-23-2015, 11:36 AM
Status of tigers in India - Shardul - 12-20-2015, 03:23 PM
RE: Tiger Directory - Diamir2 - 10-03-2016, 04:27 AM
RE: Tiger Directory - peter - 10-03-2016, 06:22 AM
Genetics of all tiger subspecies - parvez - 07-15-2017, 01:08 PM
RE: Tiger Predation - peter - 11-11-2017, 08:08 AM
RE: Man-eaters - Wolverine - 12-03-2017, 11:30 AM
RE: Man-eaters - peter - 12-04-2017, 09:44 AM
RE: Tigers of Central India - Wolverine - 04-13-2018, 01:17 AM
RE: Tigers of Central India - qstxyz - 04-13-2018, 08:34 PM
RE: Size comparisons - peter - 07-16-2019, 05:28 AM
RE: Amur Tigers - peter - 05-20-2021, 07:13 AM
RE: Amur Tigers - Nyers - 05-21-2021, 08:02 PM
RE: Amur Tigers - peter - 05-22-2021, 08:09 AM
RE: Amur Tigers - GuateGojira - 04-06-2022, 12:59 AM
RE: Amur Tigers - tigerluver - 04-06-2022, 01:08 AM
RE: Amur Tigers - tigerluver - 04-06-2022, 09:08 AM
RE: Amur Tigers - tigerluver - 04-06-2022, 11:30 PM
RE: Amur Tigers - peter - 04-08-2022, 07:27 AM



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