Are South China tigers extinct and why are they endangered?

First, clarify what extinction is.

Extinction: refers to a species that once appeared on Earth and is no longer there.

Population status. 50-60s of the 20th century:

According to the incomplete statistics of the annual purchase of tiger skins in China's fur market, 1,750 tiger skins were purchased nationwide in 1956. In the 50s of the 20th century, tigers were found in more than 20 counties in Jiangxi Province, and 171 tigers were hunted in the province from 1955 to 1956. In the 50s and 60s of the 20th century, there were no traces of tigers in Wanxian County in eastern Sichuan and in the Daba Mountain area at the junction of Shaanxi, Sichuan and Hubei.

In Hunan Province, a total of 170 tigers were hunted from 1952 to 1953. In 1964, Mr. Shou Zhenhuang estimated that about 800 South China tigers were hunted every year based on the number of tiger bones and skins purchased in various places. In 1966, tigers were also caught in Anhui.

In the early 50s, there were more than 50 tigers hunted in Guangdong Province, and in the 60s there were about 20. In 1958, tigers were caught in Qingzhen in central Guizhou and in Weining in western Guizhou in 1959. The tigers in the Qinling region became extinct in the 60s.

From 1960 to 1963, at least 60 tigers were killed in Henan Province. In 1964, a mountain folk in Foping Mountain, Shaanxi Province hunted a wild South China tiger, and no one has ever seen an adult South China tiger.

70-90s of the 20th century:

By 1970, Jiangxi's South China tiger harvest was less than 10 per year, and no tigers were hunted after 1975. Henan Province hunted 7 tigers a year in the early 70s, and Zhejiang Province hunted 3 tigers a year in the early 70s of the 20th century. In the 70s, less than 10 tigers were hunted in Guangdong Province.

The last wild tiger caught in Hunan was in 1976. At the end of the 70s of the 20th century, it was estimated that the number of South China tigers in the wild in the country was 40-80. The last tiger captured in Shanxi Province was found in January 1974 after receiving a pair of tiger bones in Yuanping County.

In 1979, China received only one tiger skin for the whole year. After the 80s of the 20th century, the number of wild South China tigers has been very small, and some people estimate that the total number of wild South China tigers in China is 30-80. The last wild tiger caught in Hubei was in 1983, when a tiger cub was found at Baihuwan Forest Farm in Lichuan City, and then sent to Chongqing Zoo.

Statistics from May 1987 show that there were 4 adult tigers and 12 cubs in South China tigers in Guangdong Province. From 1990 to 1992, the South China tiger and its habitat survey carried out by the former Ministry of Forestry and the World Wildlife Society estimated that there were 20-30 South China tigers at the junction of Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi and Fujian in China at that time.

Early 21st century:

Due to the existence of artificially fed South China tigers, it cannot be said that South China tigers are extinct, but due to the extreme shrinkage of the population, which leads to narrow gene exchange, captive-fed South China tigers are in danger.

It can be said that the wild is extinct. At present, there are more than 70 animals in captivity, and I hope there will be salvation.

The wild ones are extinct, but Zhou Zhenglong's New Year's paintings are not extinct.

Now that the technology is so advanced, it won't make him extinct, and cloning is okay! But the wild ones are really gone, some people are working hard, and there is a woman named Xu Li who is carrying out a plan to save the South China Tiger abroad, which is to conduct rewilding training. Encouragingly, there has been some progress.

I believe that the Chinese will not let it go extinct! I also call on everyone to do what they can!

Uh, point out the friend on the 1st floor, it's Quan Li = =!

Not yet, you must protect it.

The South China tiger's plight is due to a combination of habitat destruction, intensification of human activities, commercial or retaliatory hunting, and highly inbreeding of captive South China tigers. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were more than 4,000 South China tigers in the wild. After the continuous large-scale hunting in the 50s and 60s of the 20th century, the South China tiger population suffered a heavy blow and collapsed.

Characteristics: The South China tiger is more primitive than other tiger species, with a larger ratio of skull length to skull width, a slender body and a thinner abdomen. The head is round, the ears are short, the limbs are thick and powerful, the tail is long, the chest and abdomen are mixed with more milky white, and the whole body is orange-yellow and covered with black horizontal stripes.

The South China tiger is smaller and is one of the smallest subspecies of tigers. The male tiger is about a meter long from head to tail. Weighing about 150 kg, the female tiger is about a meter long from head to tail, 80-100 cm long on the tail, and weighs about 120 kg.

The fur of the South China tiger has short and narrow stripes, the spacing of the stripes is larger than that of the Bengal tiger and the Siberian tiger, and diamond-shaped stripes often appear on the side of the body. Closer to the direct ancestor of the tiger - the ancient Chinese cat.

The South China tiger is not extinct, and on June 22, 2017, the Guangzhou Zoo successfully bred the South China tiger again.

In 2000-2001, the State Forestry Administration and WWF conducted a large-scale survey of wild South China tigers and their habitats across the country, and no wild tigers were found during the search. After this investigation, some foreign scholars believe that the wild South China tiger has become extinct. And domestic scholars have not given up a glimmer of hope in the search for wild South China tigers.

As of 2018, the zoo with the largest population of South China tigers is Luoyang Wangcheng Park with 38 animals, followed by Shanghai Zoo with 25 and Luoyang Wangcheng Zoo with 19. In September 2010, the Shanghai Zoo established the South China Tiger Kindergarten and Nursery School for the training of South China tiger cubs, which is the first of its kind in the country. On June 22, 2017, the Guangzhou Zoo successfully bred South China tigers again.