A Case Study- Saving the South China Tiger

Li Quan

Wild10, Oct 2013, Salamanca

Role of Rewilding & Reintroduction to

Supplement Wild Tiger Populations

Tiger Subspecies Distribution

Driscoll et al. (2009)

Driscoll et al. (2009)

Tiger Subspecies Distribution

Free-Ranging Tiger Subspecies Status

Indo-Chinese Tiger (±1,200-1,800)

1900: ±100,000 tigers

2010: ±4,500 tigers

Bengal Tiger (±1,300-1,500)

South China Tiger (<20?)

Amur Tiger (±400-500)

Malayan Tiger (±300)

Sumatran Tiger (±400-500)

- A worldwide team of scientists, led by Johan Rockstrom of the Stockhom Resilience Center in Sweden, as reported in Nature

Planetary Boundaries - Biodiversity Loss Biggest Threat

Does China really need wild tigers?

Does China really need wild tigers?

 Tigers are deeply imbedded in 8000 years of Chinese art and culture and are a flagship for biodiversity in China

Does China really need wild tigers?

 Tigers are deeply imbedded in 800 years of Chinese art and culture and are a flagship for biodiversity in China

 Tigers evoke strong emotional responses as a symbol of the wild and untamed, a world not dominated by humans

 Tigers are deeply imbedded in 800 years of Chinese art and culture and are a flagship for biodiversity in China

 Tigers evoke strong emotional responses as a symbol of the wild and untamed, a world not dominated by humans

 The loss of tigers has a cascading impact from ungulates to plants to the entire ecosystem

Does China really need wild tigers?

Does China really need wild tigers?

 Tigers are deeply imbedded in 800 years of Chinese art and culture and are a flagship for biodiversity in China

 Tigers evoke strong emotional responses as a symbol of the wild and untamed, a world not dominated by humans

 The loss of tigers has a cascading impact from ungulates to plants to the entire ecosystem

 Climate change has alerted humans to their need for health forests where tigers live so humans and tigers are not in competition for space to live and thrive

Successes in saving Species on the Brink

Florida Panther: USA

Przewalski’s horse: Mongolia Scimitar-horned oryx: N. Africa

Golden-lion tamarin: S. America

China’s efforts to save

the South China Tiger

South China Tiger in Dire Straits

  It is extinct in the wild

  Captive-born tigers need to be rewilded prior to a re-introduction

  Successful reintroduction requires the space to support a viable or self sustaining population

  It is time to developing a realistic strategy

  Rewilding captive tigers

  S. Africa was an ideal location because of its experience in reintroductions, and

  It has a supply of wild prey to teach tigers the needed hunting skills

  Developing one to several reserves in China

  Each with a sustaining natural prey base, and

  Together large enough to support a viable population

Two steps to

Re-establish wild tigers in China

Rewilding tigers in South Africa

Health and safety

Shipping

Arrival in South Africa

Release in rewilding facility

Tiger Rewilding Facility

500 m

40 ha

100 ha

Learning to hunt wild prey

Tiger Rewilding Facility

A comparison of Asian and African prey species

Blesbuck

D Damaliscus dorcas

Male: ±70 kg Female ±60 kg Open grassland

Sika Deer Cervus nippon

Male: ±70 kg Female ±40 kg Patchy clearings

Prey Population

Blesbuck - 100 ha camp Prey density: 2.2 – 4.0 ha/blesbuck

Prey biomass: 1,716 – 2,600 kg/km2

x = -185.4 kg/km2 of carrying capacity ---

Kills & Food Intake

2 rewilded, young adult males (30-day sample)

•  Mean kill rate = 0.3 kills/tiger/day

•  Mean period between kills = 3.6 days/tiger

•  Mean meat intake = 8.1 kg/tiger/day

•  Mean period between kills = 7.1 days/tiger

Free-ranging tigers*

•  Mean kill rate = 0.1 kills/tiger/day

•  Mean meat intake = 6.4 - 11.2 kg/tiger/day

* Karanth & Sunquist (2000); Karanth & Stith (1999); Karanth et al. (2004)

Tigers from zoos serve as breeding stock 2nd generation rewilded tigers for reintroduction

Rewilded young are:   Raised to hunt wild

prey

  Reared by mothers who hunt wild prey

Conclusions

•  Captive-born, rewilded South China tigers have demonstrated their ability independently to learn to hunt free-ranging prey.

•  These rewilded tigers are considered ready to be free-released into reserves where they would be able to hunt free-ranging, natural prey.

•  All tigers from Chinese Zoos have bred healthy cubs successfully compared to dismal results in Chinese zoos. Out of 14 tigers currently under our custody, 11 were born in South Africa with no visible genetic defects to date.

Developing tiger reserves in China

  First a staging area is needed similar to South Africa

 Meihuashan has been designated as is being prepared for this role

  Three sites have been proposed that range from 150 – 200 km2

Goal: Habitat Restoration in China - A Tremendous but Necessary Challenge

Summary

  From the South China Tiger project, we learned to rewild tigers

  Rewilded tigers are ready to return to China

  All tigers from Chinese Zoos have bred healthy cubs

  15 born in South Africa; 11 survived

  Further rewilding can be done in Meihuashan China

•  These rewilded tigers are considered ready to be free-released into reserves where they would be able to hunt free-ranging, natural prey.

Applying the Model Elsewhere

  Tigers are continuing to decline globally

  Cambodia is considering introducing Bengal tigers to re-establish viable populations

  Proposals to rewild and reintroduce Siberian tigers into former Caspian tiger range.

  Plans to rewild and reintroduce Jaguars in Argentina

We woud like to thank the following for supporting the South China Tiger rescue effort since 1999:

The State Forestry Administration of China

National Wildlife Research & Development Centre & &

Dr. P. Crawshaw， Dr. C. Driscoll, Dr. G. Koehler, Vance Martin, Dr. S. O’brien, Dr. R. Ruggiero, Dr. David Smith, Dr. J. Sanderson, Dr. C. Traeholt,

& many volunteers and friends from China & rest of the world