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The Decline and Impending Extinction of the South China Tiger

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The Decline and Impending Extinction of the South China Tiger ORYX VOL 31 NO 4 OCTOBER 1997 The decline and impending extinction of the South China tiger Ronald Tilson, Kathy Traylor-Holzer and Qiu Ming Jiang The South China tiger Panthera tigris amoyensis is the rarest of the five living tiger subspecies, the most critically threatened and the closest to extinction. No wild South China tigers have been seen by officials for 25 years and one was last brought into captivity 27 years ago. The 19 reserves listed by the Chinese Ministry of Forestry within the presumed range of the tiger are spatially fragmented and most are too small to support viable tiger populations. Over the last 40 years wild populations have declined from thousands to a scattered few. Despite its plight and occasional anecdotal reports of sightings by local people, no intensive field study has been conducted on this tiger subspecies and its habitat. The captive population of about 50 tigers, derived from six wild-caught founders, is genetically impoverished with low reproductive output. Given the size and fragmentation of potential tiger habitat, saving what remains of the captive population may be the only option left to prevent extinction of this tiger subspecies, and even this option is becoming increasingly less probable. This precarious dilemma demands that conservation priorities be re-evaluated and action taken immediately to decide if recovery of the wild population will be possible. Decline of the wild population The status of wild South China tigers in 1997 is vague. Legends, such as those of the Compared with other tiger range countries, popular Chinese hero Wu Song the tiger killer China is unique in that it has four of the living recounted in the Ming Dynasty novel Outlaws tiger subspecies within its borders. The of the Marsh, have inspired fear and relentless Siberian tiger Panthera tigris altaica occurs in hunting of the tiger throughout its existence in the far north-east on the borders with Russia China (Li and Zhao, 1989). In the early 1950s and North Korea; the Indochinese tiger P. t. the South China tiger was reputed to number corbetti occurs in the south-east, bordering more than 4000 when it became the target of Vietnam and Lao PDR; and the Bengal tiger many large-scale 'anti-pest' government cam- P. t. tigris is found in the extreme south-west paigns (Lu and Sheng, 1986; Tan, 1987). bordering India and Myanmar (Lu and Sheng, Official government statistics documented the 1986). The fourth subspecies, the South China decline of the South China tiger by the num- tiger P. t. amoyensis, is restricted to the sub- ber of tiger skins taken, from about 80 skins tropical areas of China and is considered to be per year in the early 1950s to four skins per the evolutionary antecedent of all tigers year in the early 1970s, representing only a (Herrington, 1987). Formerly the most com- fraction of tigers killed in China. Altogether, mon subspecies in China, this tiger has all but about 3000 tigers are estimated to have been disappeared in the wild except in part of killed during this 30-year period (Lu and Fujian province and possibly in adjacent areas Sheng, 1986). The effects of uncontrolled hunt- as a result of overhunting and habitat destruc- ing were compounded by extensive defores- tion (Lu and Sheng, 1986; Wang and Wang, tation and probable reduction in available 1986; Wang Menghu, pers. comm.). prey, leading to population fragmentation and © 1997 FFI, Oryx, 31 (4), 243-252 243 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.19, on 01 Oct 2021 at 13:44:42, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3008.1997.d01-123.x R. TILSON, K. TRAYLOR-HOLZER AND M .J. QIU increased vulnerability to local extinction due alive, one dead) observed in cage for sale at to stochastic events. This resulted in a rapid a bus station, Pucheng county, Fujian; decline in the wild tiger population, and by • in April 1986 news report of many recent 1982 only an estimated 150-200 wild South tiger sightings, Lichuan and Tongcheng China tigers remained (Lu and Sheng, 1986). counties, Hubei. The Chinese government was slow to re- Crude population estimates based upon such spond. The Siberian tiger was listed as a rare scant information suggested that fewer than and precious species in Ministry of Forestry 50-80 wild South China tigers remained in documents as early as 1969. In 1975 the 1986 (Lu, 1987). In 1993 the IUCN Cat 'Regulation Regarding the Protection of Specialist Group, citing numbers given by Wildlife Resources' classified the South China Chinese biologists, continued to put the popu- tiger as a third category species 'i.e. protected lation at 30-80 (Jackson, 1993; Nowell and by controlled hunting'. In 1973 it was up- Jackson, 1996). graded to second category level 'i.e. a pro- More recent surveys found a few signs of tected and prohibited from hunting species'. tigers (and possibly tiger cubs) in 11 protected In 1979 it achieved first category status of full areas in the remote mountains of Guangdong, protection but this was ineffective because Hunan and Fujian provinces (Koehler, 1991; hunters neither accepted nor respected the Gui and Meng, 1993). No tigers were directly regulation, and wild tiger numbers continued observed; evidence was limited to sightings of to decline (Lu and Sheng, 1986). tracks, scrapings and reported sightings by Population estimates continued to decline local people. Remnant populations are now through the 1980s, despite its listing as believed to occupy montane subtropical ever- Category I on China's national register of en- green forests within 19 protected areas situ- dangered animals and the creation of three re- ated along transprovincial boundaries of serves for its protection (Chebaling Reserve, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi and Hunan Guangdong province [75 sq km]; Bamianshan provinces (Gui and Meng, 1993). Two other Reserve, Hunan province [200 sq km]; and protected areas, Shennongjia in Hubei Jingangshan Reserve, Jiangxi province [159 sq province and Mt Fanjing in Fujian province, km]; Lu and Sheng, 1986; Lu, 1987; Li and fall outside this range. These sites are separ- Zhao, 1989). Evidence of wild tigers in central ated from each other by agricultural or defor- China was scattered and seldom confirmed. ested areas (Koehler, 1991) and are, for the Tan (1987) summarized a number of isolated most part, too small to maintain viable tiger reports of wild South China tigers between populations (14 are c. 100 sq km or less; the 1981 and 1986: other five range from 180 to 705 sq km). • in January 1981 three cubs killed, Chingxi Population viability modelling (Seal et ah, Commune, Dapu county, Guangdong; 1994; Kenney et ah, 1995) suggests that small • in 1982-83 tiger traces reported in tiger populations (fewer than 100 individuals) Bamianshan Nature Reserve, Hunan; are highly vulnerable to stochastic events and • in May 1984 tigress and three cubs sighted, poaching, and have a high probability of ex- two of cubs captured, Anhua county, tinction without genetic and demographic Hunan; supplementation. Even if tigers in these areas • in summer 1984 tiger sighted, traces found, live at saturation levels with a high density of Anyang Mountain, Suining county, Hunan; prey species, their populations would prob- • in December 1984 wounded tiger captured, ably be too small to be viable. In general, died, Zhenxiong county, Yunnan; tigers live at varying population densities, de- • in 1984 tiger scat found, Shixing Nature pending on the quality of the habitat, ranging Reserve, Guangdong; in spring 1985 large from 10-15 per 100 sq km in India (Sankala, male sighted, 4-6 tigers believed in or 1979; Karanth, 1997), and 6-7 per 100 sq km in around reserve; Nepal (McDougal, 1977; Smith, 1978; • in February 1986 two wild-caught cubs (one Sunquist, 1981), to 1-4 per 100 sq km in 244 © 1997 FFI, Oryx, 31 (4), 243-252 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.19, on 01 Oct 2021 at 13:44:42, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3008.1997.d01-123.x THE IMPENDING EXTINCTION OF THE SOUTH CHINA TIGER Sumatra (Santiapillai and Widodo, 1987; detectable levels of bone in samples of tiger- Griffiths, 1994; Franklin et al, 1997) to as low based pharmaceuticals but have revealed high as 0.25 male tigers per 100 sq km in Russia levels of toxic metals, particularly arsenic (Miquelle et al, 1997). Twelve additional sites (Espinoza et al, 1994). totalling 6000 sq km have been recommended Trade in tiger products has continued de- for preservation as potential tiger habitat (Gui spite the Appendix I listing for tigers under and Meng, 1993), but the wild population may the Convention on International Trade of be too small and fragmented to recover on its Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora own, even with additional protected habitat. (CITES). Efforts have been made, however, to An unconfirmed report in 1995 from the curb consumption of tiger products. At the Chinese Ministry of Forestry suggested that 1994 CITES Conference of the Parties, a resol- 6-13 tigers remain in Jiangxi province with an- ution was passed to work with traditional other 4-5 tigers in Fujian, Guangdong and medicine communities to eliminate the use of Hunan provinces - a total of fewer than 20 in- tiger bone (Mainka and Mills, 1995). In March dividuals left in the wild. This estimate is 1995 the governments of China and India based upon secondary tiger signs observed signed a Protocol on the Conservation of the during 147 survey days over 2 years and rep- Tiger, which included a crackdown on illegal resents the most recent survey data for South poaching and trafficking of tiger products.
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