A Chinese farmer who has been widely accused of fabricating a
photo of a south China tiger in the wild, a species that had not
been spotted for more than 30 years, says he will return to the
wild to track the big cat and substantiate his pictures.
On the afternoon of Oct. 3 Zhou Zhenglong, 52, a former hunter
from Chengguan Township in Shaanxi Province's Zhenping County,
reportedly took more than 70 snaps of the rare tiger with a digital
camera as well as on standard photographic film. Experts confirmed
the images showed one of the elusive cats.
But Chinese Internet users and a botanist with the Chinese
Academy of Sciences have questioned the veracity of his images,
claiming that digital technologies might have been used to alter
the images.
An Internet user under the name "Panzhihua xydz" posted a very
similar poster image. "I thought Zhou's photo was somehow familiar,
then I found the same picture hanging on the wall of my mother's
home in Panzhihua," said the man, surnamed Li.
Li, from southwestern Sichuan Province, said that the two images
were "almost the same" except the one on his mother's wall was
lighter in color.
Other Internet users reported seeing the same poster for sale
and its producer, a company based in the eastern Zhejiang Province,
admitted to having printed and sold the tiger poster five years
ago.
"We have received many calls asking whether our poster was a
replica of Zhou's photo," said Luo Guanglin, general manager of
Vista Printing and Wrapping Co. Ltd., in Yiwu. "But that's
ridiculous. We published the tiger posters at the end of 2002."
Luo refused to comment on the public allegations that Zhou
Zhenglong's photo was a fabrication. "As a company we're not in a
position to make any judgment to that effect. Nor do we wish to get
involved in the dispute."
The poster, which formerly sold for 4.5 yuan, is now greatly
sought after across China. Currently it sells for 10 yuan in
Guangzhou, the capital of southern Guangdong Province.
Fu Dezhi, a noted botanist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
said the poster "should have revealed the fraudulent nature of the
case and put an end to the story.”
Yet Zhou Zhenglong insists that he captured a real tiger on his
camera, and has been searching for tiger tracks in the wild for the
last three days. "I need to find more evidence to defend
myself."
Zhou asserted earlier that he had risked his life to take the
photo. "I was prepared to be killed by the tiger.”
Forestry authorities in Zhenping County, where the tiger was
purportedly seen, insisted that the wild cat did in fact exist in
nearby mountains.
"We have had more than 20 reports since July of tiger tracks,
roars, fur and spoor. There have also been reports of attacks on
other wild animals," the county's forestry department said in an
official statement.
Amid media speculation over the county's attempt to gain
publicity, Yuan Chunqing, governor of Shaanxi Province, said the
government had done nothing wrong to encourage the citizens to
track endangered animals. "It's far more important for us to carry
out research rather than to prove the veracity of a photo," he
said. "I'm sure we'll know the truth soon."
Zhou's alleged discovery and photo of the tiger also appeared in
Science magazine, which quoted Gary Koehler, of Washington State's
Department of Fish and Wildlife, as saying, "It's tremendously
exciting news, if it can be substantiated".
(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2007)