A male South China Tiger cub was born at Laohu Valley Reserve
about 600 km south of Johannesburg at 23:30 local time, November
23, Save China's Tigers Foundation announced on Sunday.
Quan Li, founder of Save China's Tigers Foundation, told Xinhua
via telephone that it is truly a historic event because it is the
first time that a South China Tiger has been born outside
China.
Quan Li, founder of Save
China's Tigers Foundation, stays with the new-born South China
Tiger.
She said the male South China Tiger cub is at this stage healthy
and strong. He weighed 1.2 kg at birth (larger than normal), and
although his eyes have not yet opened, he is already quite vocal,
especially at feeding time.
He is the first cub born to the female tiger Cathay and the male
tiger TigerWoods, who are both undergoing rewilding training at the
Laohu Valley Reserve in South Africa.
The tigers mated continuously for five days from August 7 to 11
in the 4-ha tiger camp. The frequency of the mating culminated in
nine times in an hour.
As a result the female tiger was pregnant and the entire
pregnancy has lasted for 103 day, according to the foundation.
After the birth, which took 12 hours, the four and a half year-
old Cathay displayed her motherly instincts by cleaning and licking
her cub, but unfortunately unseasonably cold weather necessitated
the cub being removed to prevent it from dying from exposure.
The male tiger, TigerWoods, is three and a half years old and
weighs approximately 140 kg. During the rewilding training of the
past three years, he has gained a strong body and has a mischievous
personality. He has yet to see his cub.
The staff at Laohu Valley monitored Cathay for 24 hours after
the birth, before releasing her back into the larger tiger
enclosures. She showed no adverse signs of having her cub
removed.
The cub is now being hand reared with the assistance of an
expert from another wildlife sanctuary.
Plans have been made to reintroduce the cub back to his mother
at a suitable time. Afterwards it will undergo the same rewilding
training as the older tigers did when they came to South Africa as
cubs.
"The rewilding program of these highly endangered South China
Tigers has taken a major step forward with the birth of this cub,"
Quan Li said.
"The tigers brought to South Africa from China have now not only
proven they can hunt and fend for themselves, they have also proven
that cubs can be bred in a natural environment," she continued.
"This event has given new impetus to the project," she
concluded.
Some major conservation groups have written off the Chinese
Tiger as "functionally extinct" but Save China's Tigers, the
charity which initiated and manages this project, aims to take zoo
born tigers from China, rewild them and allow them to learn to hunt
for themselves again and to then breed them before returning the
wild off-spring back to China.
Since 2003, four tigers have undergone rewilding training at
Laohu Valley Reserve. They have learnt to cope with the elements
and to catch a variety of prey from wild guinea fowl and hares to
blesbok.
They have learnt the necessary hunting skills using stalking and
camouflage techniques. To date they have successfully hunted more
than 60 blesbok, proving that their natural instinct to hunt has
been awakened.
Laohu Valley Reserve covers 330 square kilometers of land in
both the Free State and Northern Cape Provinces. There are more
than 10 species of endemic game on the reserve including blesbok,
eland, springbok, black wildebeest, zebra, ostrich, gemsbok, as
well as some small predators such as jackal, caracal and African
wild cat.
With the birth of this cub, the project is entering in a brand
new stage. China is also doing preparation work to establish a
pilot reserve for the eventual return of these rewilded tigers.
The South China Tiger rewilding project has gained remarkable
support worldwide. Not only has the Chinese and South African media
reported on the progress of the project, but international media
has regularly reported on the project as well.
Quan said: "To show my gratitude, an open day for all media will
be held at Laohu Valley Reserve for the media to meet the new cub."
Media will be notified of the exact date according to the progress
and health of the tiger cub.
All About
South China Tiger,
Wildlife protection
(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2007)
