The eight South-China tigers released into the wild a year ago at the Meihuashan Natural Reserve are healthy and are becoming more skillful at hunting for food, researchers said.

The South-China tiger, also called the China tiger, is a unique species in the country with only about 20 to 30 of them living in the wild -- significantly less than the numbers of giant pandas in the wild. There are also 59 China tigers at zoos across the country.

Some experts have warned that the species will die out by 2010 if no measures are taken.

The Meihuashan Natural Reserve is considered an ideal habitat for the tigers and it's where most of the wild tigers live.

The number of South-China tigers at the Meihuashan Natural Reserve can rise to 50 or even 100 by 2010 if existing protection measures continue, said Yang Hanzhang, director of the Longyan Forestry Bureau.

"The eight tigers are now healthy, strong and half wild," Yang said. "We are trying to make them wild beasts so that they can hunt for food by themselves."

Yang said efforts are also being made to increase the number of wildlife species in the reserve so that the food chain for South-China tigers can be re-established.

The State Forestry Administration approved the South-China tiger breeding project at Meihuashan in 2001, and an additional 20 million yuan (US$2.4 million) will be invested in the project from 2002 to 2003. More than 13 million yuan (US$1.6 million) will come from the central government, Yang said.

The Longyan government has also invested 15 million yuan (US$1.8 million) to protect the South-China Tiger since 1998.

The Longyan Post Office has also suggested to the State Post Office to issue a South-China tiger stamp which is expected to come soon, said Xu Jiwu, a Longyan city official.

The Longyan government is also working on a public awareness campaign to emphasize the importance of protecting the endangered tigers.

Last Friday, the city issued a set of South-China tiger postcards and more than 100 children drew pictures on how to protect these tigers.

Local companies and individuals have donated a total of 200,000 yuan (US$24,000) during these activities.

(China Daily June 18, 2002)