South China Tigers Reappear in Guangdong

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 ◆ South China Tigers Reappear in Guangdong

Signs of the South China tiger, one of the world's top 10 endangered species, have been seen frequently in the mountains of northern Guangdong recently.

Since 1990, tiger trails have been recorded 34 times by a provincial reserve for the species in Guangdong; eyewitnesses reported sightings four times and others have found tiger excrement, footprints and scratches and heard roars.

This year, tiger tracks have been spotted three times with the latest sighting at the end of May in a village.

The places where tiger signs were spotted are rich in fauna and flora,which provide ideal habitats for the tigers, says Lin Haiguang, head of the provincial reserve.

He added that a South China tiger usually needed an exclusive territory of over 200 square kilometers, and primarily lived in couch-grass. In the rural areas of Guangdong, hares flourished as a result of the capture of hunting guns, and tigers might have found hares a reliable food source.

Currently, only 57 South China tigers are living in captivity, and none has been captured alive in the past 40 years. Experts believe that fewer than 20 wild tigers of the subspecies are still living in South China forests.