Due to the small number of ancestors, the inbreeding coefficient of South China tigers has been increasing, and many South China tigers have genetic diseases, the most typical of which is short tail phenomenon.
Since the end of last century, there has been no trace of the wild South China tiger in China, so many foreign scholars believe that the wild South China tiger has become extinct, and only a few South China tigers grow in domestic zoos.
Due to the poor conditions in the zoo, South China tigers are often fed processed food, and the tigers who grew up in the zoo gradually lost their wildness and even became afraid of other living animals and companions. Under such circumstances, many South China tigers are afraid of their peers, so that the probability of natural mating is low and the mortality rate of their cubs is high.
This makes it difficult for the South China Tiger to be protected in China.
Why choose African wild tigers? I chose African wild tigers for my own consideration. First of all, there are many wild animals in Africa, and tigers have more food. Animals used by wild tigers can be bought in the market. However, in China, because many wild animals belong to protected animals, such as pheasants and antelopes, it is difficult to carry out the work of wild tigers.
Moreover, because Africa is sparsely populated and the land price is cheap, Save China Tiger International Foundation bought 15 farms on the verge of bankruptcy in Africa and transformed them into wild tiger fields, which were later called "Tiger Valley".
The first tigers sent to Tiger Valley in Africa were two cubs, Cathay Pacific and Hope, of which Cathay Pacific was a female and Hope was a male. At first, the two cubs were very afraid of the wild environment. They just want to stand on the concrete floor built by people and don't want to play on the grass. In order to attract them to the grass, the staff used basketball to attract them.
At first, the food they ate was raw meat processed by the staff, but in order to restore their wildness, the staff also prepared some live chickens for them, but they were both very scared.
With the efforts of the staff, Cathay Pacific and Hope dare to prey on chickens slowly, but it takes them much longer to catch a chicken than other tigers, and even if they catch a chicken, they won't eat it, and they will wait for someone to feed it.
Later, the staff cut off their diet and let them try to eat their prey, so the two tigers gradually learned to hunt chickens.
Reproduction or wildness has just begun to take shape, but "Hope" is sick and urgent. It only took three days to die. According to the autopsy, Hope died of heart failure and pneumonia. Hope's heart is very small, about the size of 1/3 of that of an ordinary tiger.
At the beginning, people shipped their hopes to Tiger Valley in Africa with Cathay Pacific, not only for them to receive wild training, but also for them to reproduce. However, due to the premature death of Hope, Cathay Pacific could not reproduce.
At that time, the staff held a meeting to discuss whether to continue wild or breeding, and finally decided to breed. This is because the number of South China tigers is really too small. Every loss of an individual means that the South China tiger is one point closer to extinction. The premise of wild South China tigers is that there are enough South China tigers as support.
In order to replace Hope, the staff dispatched a male tiger from China, code-named "327". Cathay Pacific is very excited about the arrival of "327", but "327" is as afraid of the same kind as other tigers growing up in the zoo, so Cathay Pacific and 327' s breeding plan failed.
Fortunately, Cathay Pacific developed a relationship with the second batch of South China tigers "Tiger Woods" who arrived in Africa and gave birth to the first offspring "Tiger Lulu". Because it is the first time to produce, Cathay Pacific has no experience with children, so Hulu grew up in an artificial environment. Without children, Cathay Pacific soon went into heat again, this time giving birth to two twins.
In addition to Cathay Pacific, Madonna, the second batch of South China tigers who arrived in Africa, is also pregnant. One of her children died during childbirth and the other died of infection shortly after birth. However, Madonna, the second child, gave birth to twins, who were born in completely wild conditions without human intervention and observation.
In this way, by the end of 20 13, there were 15 South China tigers in African Tiger Valley, most of which were brought up by tiger mothers themselves.
Compared with the first generation of wild South China tigers, the cubs born in Tiger Valley are obviously easier to be trained in the wild, because they have been educated by their mothers since childhood, and they will learn how to ambush their prey, how to quietly approach their prey, and how to hide food through their mothers. All these make the African wild training more and more smooth.
Although the current situation of South China Tiger in Africa has been successfully transported to Africa, with the divorce of the head of the foundation, the current progress has never been announced. On the other hand, because there is no place in China to accept the South China tiger that has been successfully wild for the time being, the tigers that were scheduled to return to China in the early years are still living in Africa, but the relevant departments are already making preparations. I believe we will see these tigers in the nature reserve in the future.