What do you call the result of a union between Tiger Woods and
Cathay?
No, there is no business deal between the world's best golfer
and the Hong Kong-based airline. At issue is a name for the first
South China tiger born outside the country.
On November 23, three-year-old Tiger Woods and four-year-old Cathay
gave birth to their first son at South Africa's Lahou Valley
Reserve, set up by Quan Li, a Beijing native and founder of
UK-based Save China's Tigers, to release China's tigers into the
wild.
Quan called the birth of the male cub, temporarily known as
Tiger Woods Junior, "a truly historic event because it is the first
time a South China tiger has been born outside the country".
Save China's Tigers is soliciting names for the cub from across
the world. The charity organization aims to raise public awareness
of the imperative to save the tiger and to gain further support to
protect and reintroduce the endangered species to the wild.
From today, those interested can submit suggested names or vote
for their favorites online on
http://news.sina.com.cn/z/tigername2008/ (Chinese) or
www.savechinastigers.org (English).
According to Quan, the name should reflect the culture and
identity of the species.
Native to China, the South China tiger is also known as Amoy
tiger or Panthera tigris amoyensis. With fewer than 30 in the wild
and about 60 in zoos, some major conservation groups have written
it off as "functionally extinct".
Quan, a former fashion executive, however, refuses to call it
quits. After an ecotourism trip to Zambia, Quan, who formerly
headed Gucci's worldwide licensing business, decided to focus on
saving the big cats. In 2000, she launched Save China's Tigers.
Her ambitious plan, to reintroduce tigers that can hunt and
survive in the wild, has so far cost about $10 million, provided
largely by her husband, an investment banker. She used the money to
establish Lahou Valley Reserve, about 600 km south of
Johannesburg.
Since 2003, four tigers, including Tiger Woods and Cathay, have
undergone rewilding training at the reserve. They have learnt to
cope with the elements and to catch a variety of prey from wild
guinea fowl to hares - as well as reproduce.
Over the past two months, the male cub has demonstrated more
wild instincts than his counterparts back in China's zoos,
according to Quan.
In a real-time video interview yesterday, the cub appeared
healthy and playful. Soon after his milk feed, he was trying to
pull away and chew at the nursing expert's clothes. At one time, he
threw away a toy and chased after it.
According to the caretaker, his weight has grown from 1.2 kg at
birth to 7.5 kg. He drinks 600 ml of milk and has two meals of
chicken each day. He is scheduled to have his first vaccination
shot next week and another two at an interval of four weeks. After
that, he is expected to join his parents at the preserve.
Quan said she hopes the cub's parents teach him the hunting
skills they have learned over the past three to four years since
their arrival at the preserve.
"With the birth of this cub, the project is entering a brand new
stage," Quan said. "But there is still a long way to go since the
ultimate goal is actually to introduce the Chinese tigers back to
where they came from - the Chinese wild."
According to Lu Jun, deputy research fellow at the national
wildlife research and development centre affiliated to the State
Forestry Administration, the country has been preparing to
establish a reserve for the eventual return of rewilded tigers.
Two places, Zixi in Jiangxi, and Liuyang in Hunan, have been
recommended, Lu said.
According to Quan, it will cost at least $4 million for the
first phase of the reserve, and US$20 million to fully recreate an
ecosystem that's ideal for the survival of the South China
tiger.
(China Daily January 22, 2008)
