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

[Greatearth]

South China tiger and Sundarbans tiger

It has nothing to deal with tiger, but it is good knowledge of wildlife in ancient China.

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I don't know anyone would know "Records of the Grand Historian" book written by Sima Qian. It is a very famous chinese history book: Yellow River civilization to Emperor Wu of Han. If you read this book, then elephant still survived in southern China until BC 500. Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, and many ethnic people from southeastern Asians lived together in mainland China until 200 AD. That is why Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) and South East Asian languages are closely related. Large animals like elephant, rhino, and buffalo were probably survived in southern China until 200 AD. King Zhao of Chu used elephants during war against Wu dynasty and escaped from Wu Zixu.

Spring and Autumn period (1600 BC to around 400s BC) to Warring States period 400 BC to 206 BC). Many lands of south of Yangtze river was not even Chinese land during that time: Fujian, Guangxi, Yunnam, Guizhou, southern Hunan, and southern Jiangxi. Today’s south east Asian like vietnmase, thai, Laos, and many ethnic people lived there. Recently discovered that Yue dynasty in China during Spring and Autumn period was probably Vietnamese. South of Yangtze river was covered with immense forest/rainforest/plain during that time. I think Indian elephant (different subspecies compared to Chinese elephant) is still surviving today in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province.

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Conflict between human and tiger increased in China since 1500 AD due to human population growth in China. Many land was destroyed, and it probably affect ecology of the South China tiger as well. I don’t know it affect size of the South China tiger. However, it leaded Mao to declared war against the tiger, leopard, wolf, and bear.



Was South China tiger before 1600 AD was large and robustly built as Bengal tiger? Especially, where elephant and rhino were still alive in southern China 2300 years ago? A few photos of 20th century male South China tigers were robust and massive like Bengal tiger.

 
Now some examples of the South China tigers from photos

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These were smaller South China tigers. These three tigers don’t look huge at all, but I am moving to huge south china tiger.

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Zhangjiajie South China tiger. He was killed on August 13th, 1965. He was total 290 cm long, 143 cm high(!), and 175 kg. He was probably similar built as Bengal tiger from assam. Photo looks like he was a muscular and most robust tiger. Zhangjiajie is very beautiful steep mountain area in Hunam province. It is very famous tourism place in Eastern Asia (Japan, China, and Korea). One of Pokemon movie was also motive from here due to distinct nature. 

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Is it possible that this type of habitat could have this robustly built tiger like in assam? I have never been here, but I think there are many forest between these rocks or mountains. However, I heard Zhangjiajie has many steep area that you have to use cable car to travel.

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The South China tiger from Huangshan, Anhui killed by Chen Zhiqi in 1950s. It looks a big south China tiger. 


Huangshan is amazing mountains just like Zhangjiajie. This area is known for its scenery, sunsets in mountain peaks, peculiarly shaped peaks, snows in winter, and views of the clouds from top of mountains. Zhangjiajie, Huangshan, Wuyi mountain are one of the best ones to go if anyone is planning to go visit China to see amazing mountains. I am always wondering how tiger could live these amazing steep mountains and what was the life and ecology of the South China tiger in these two places (Zhangjiajie and Huangshan). Wuyi mountain is a little different, and Chinese biologists are still searching tiger in Wuyi mountain sometimes. The leopard and clouded leopard are still living in Wuyi mountain. 

Below photos are Huangshan. I don't know how did tiger lived in this type of habitats.

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Two South China tiger in Rongjiang, Guizhou on March 5th, 1956. Bigger tiger was 165 kg male South China tiger and smaller tiger was 117 kg female South China tiger.

Rongjiang tiger and Zhangjiajie tiger looks like robustly built as Wagdoh. 

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Sundarbans tiger

 
“Forest inventories reveal a decline in standing volume of the two main commercial mangrove species – sundari (Heritiera spp.) and gewa (Excoecaria agallocha) — by 40% and 45% respectively between 1959 and 1983.[29][30] Despite a total ban on all killing or capture of wildlife other than fish and some invertebrates, it appears that there is a consistent pattern of depleted biodiversity or loss of species (notably at least six mammals and one important reptile) in the 20th century, and that the "ecological quality of the original mangrove forest is declining".

The endangered species that live within the Sundarbans and extinct species that used to be include the royal Bengal tigers, estuarine crocodile, northern river terrapins (Batagur baska), olive ridley sea turtles, Gangetic dolphin, ground turtles, hawksbill sea turtles and king crabs (horse shoe). Some species such as hog deer (Axis porcinus), water buffalos (Bubalus bubalis), barasingha or swamp deer (Cervus duvauceli), Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus), single horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) and the mugger crocodiles or marsh crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris) started to become extinct in the Sundarbans towards the middle of the 20th century, because of extensive poaching and man hunting by the British.[23] There are other threatened mammal species, such as the capped langurs (Semnopithecus pileatus), smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata), Oriental small-clawed otters (Aonyx cinerea), and great Bengal civets (Viverra zibetha)."


As for Sundarbans tiger, many of their prey is gone. Just like the South China tiger, Bengal tigers in Sundarbans might have been bigger and some tigers may have been robust when there were plenty animals were in Sundarbans.

Today’s Bengal tiger in Sundarbans are slender and decidedly more nimble than the Bengal tiger from India and Nepal. Is it smaller body size is more advantage to survive in swamp forest?

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