significant interest.In the 1980s, the South China tiger faced
imminent extinction, with an estimated 30-
50 individuals inhabiting widely-disjunctive
pockets of wild mountain habitat. In 1990-
1991, the WWF (China) and the Wildlife
Protection Associations of the Forestry
Departments of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi,
and Hunan, conducted field surveys under
the direction of American biologist Gary
Koehler. Meihuashan and Longxishan yielded
the greatest number of tiger signs in the
southeast, while mountain lands at the bor-
ders of Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Hunan
contained the most signs in southern central
China. Only Wuyishan (560 square kilome-
tres) and Hupingshan (Hunan) (400 squarekilometres) were possibly adequate in size
for tiger conservation. Undaunted by long
odds, the State Forestry Administration
pressed ahead, and in theForestry Action
Plan for China’s Agenda 21, in 1995, saving
the tiger was a high priority. In its latest
incarnation, the tiger had become a “myste-
rious and beautiful animal,” and a matter of
national pride. By 2000, the State Forestry
Administration had completed the China
Action Plan for Saving the South China
Tiger, which included specific measures to
expand and link existing nature reserves
and restore habitats in: eastern Jiangxi,
Fujian, northern Guangdong, western
Jiangxi, and Hunan (Fig. 6). The plan also
called for the “rehabilitation” of 170 square
kilometers of agricultural lands for wildlife
habitat, the relocation of 3,900 families
(roughly 19,500 people), and the protection
of 12,800 square kilometres of mountain
land where tigers could range freely,
enough to support roughly 90-130 (State
Forestry Administration 2001).The following year, a Sino-American
research team led by Ron Tilson and Jeff
Muntifering conducted an eight-month long
field survey involving nine protected areas
in five provinces to determine the status of
the South China tiger. Their final report,
which came out in January of 2002, con-
cluded that “...there is no remaining viable
population of South China tigers existing
anywhere in its historical range” (Tilson and
Muntifering 2002;24). Like many state-con-
ceived plans in China, South China tiger
recovery efforts were not to be derailed by
bad news, in fact, the government refused
to publicise or even acknowledge the
results. Perhaps this response is not surpris-
ing; it comes from a tradition well devel-
oped under Mao of “going it alone” when
foreign advisors attempt to impose their
wills or their truths on China’s central gov-
ernment. Another example of this approach
is evident in the decision to proceed with
the Three-Gorges Dam even after foreignHistory, cculture aand cconservation
Figure 6.Protected areas designated as tiger
reserves for habitat rehabilitation and tiger rein-
troduction. The proposed Zixi Pilot Reserve is also
shown.