On November 23, 2007, in the African savannah, cold winds blew the bushes undulating, and not far away, several antelopes were running and a porcupine was scurrying around in the grass.
Time passes by minute by minute, and the night slowly envelops this mysterious land.
"Yeah, raw!" A woman shouted excitedly in English. Immediately, the cheers of the crowd broke the silent night. Following everyone's gaze, a large tiger shrugged its eyes and lay weakly on the ground, next to a newborn wet tiger cub, whose eyes had not yet been opened.
At this moment, the hour hand points to 23:30 local time in South Africa.
The cub, named "Tiger Purr", is a male tiger whose mother is called "Cathay Pacific" and whose father is called "Tiger Woods", and they are both South China tigers from China.
So why did China's South China tiger come to live in distant Africa? This also begins with an agreement signed 19 years ago between China's State Forestry Department and a woman named Quan Li.
Endangered, animal protection regulations are enacted
With the development of the economy, human life has slowly penetrated into the marginal areas, and the habitat of tigers has been squeezed little by little, and the living space is getting smaller and smaller. Forced to do so, they will sneak out of the forest and enter the human living space to find food. This creates a tiger infestation.
In the early years, in order to prevent tiger infestation, many places set up tiger fighting teams to hunt tigers in the forests near the village. After several years of hunting, tigers became increasingly rare.
In order to protect and save rare and endangered wild animals and maintain ecological balance, on March 1, 1989, the state promulgated the Wildlife Protection Law of the People's Republic of China.
However, because many wild animals have great economic value, such as tigers, their whole body is treasures, fur is a luxury item, tiger bones and tiger whips are valuable medicinal materials, etc., therefore, there are still many criminals who hunt them wildly.
There are four main species of tigers living on the mainland: Northeast Tiger, South China Tiger, Bengal Tiger and Xinjiang Tiger. Among them, only the South China tiger is a subspecies of tiger endemic to the mainland.
Compared with other tiger species, the South China tiger is small in size but fierce in nature, feeding on small herbivores such as wild boars and wild deer. They once spread throughout many of the mountains of the southern part of the continent, and later they were almost extinct in the wild under the double whammy of human hunting and habitat destruction.
From 2000 to 2001, there was no trace of wild South China tigers in China. Later, the State Forestry Administration and the World Wide Fund for Nature continued to conduct large-scale surveys of the footprints of the South China tiger, but still did not see a single one.
All captive South China tigers in China today are descendants of six wild South China tigers captured in the 1970s. However, if the population does not reach a certain number of sizes, it will have the problem of inbreeding and the phenomenon of genetic decline.
Although the number of South China tigers has rebounded under the care of humans, long-term captivity has caused serious consequences. They are no longer agile and healthy, and the newborn South China tiger does not even know how to prey, nor how to eat food, and even its nature is gradually lost, and the former king's style is gone.
Some experts have proposed the idea of establishing a wild base suitable for the survival of South China tigers, and putting these captive South China tigers into it for rewilding training to restore their nature.
The idea was later adopted by a woman named Quan Li.
Signed an agreement to establish a tiger rewilding base
Quan Li is known as the "Tiger Girl". She was born in the 60s and is a talented and excellent woman. Quan Li graduated from Peking University with a bachelor's degree and then received an MBA from the Wharton School in the United States. She joined the Italian fashion industry in 1990 as a global brand evangelist at GUCCI.
Outside of work, Quan Li likes to travel everywhere. In 1998, she and some like-minded friends went to Africa. A few years in the fashion industry have made her have a particularly keen perception of beauty, and the original ecological environment of the African region has brought her great shock.
One day, she was sitting in her car watching the desert sunset, and not far ahead, a big cat-like animal came into view. The car slowly stopped, and now that she could see clearly, she was really frightened, this was clearly a cheetah!
But this leopard did not look fierce at all, it was skinny and bone-covered, and its fur, which should have been shiny and slippery, was now covering it like dry grass. In the instant of looking at each other, its eyes revealed a look of pleading and sadness.
Quan Li's heart tightened, and many questions popped up in her mind: Why are leopards in the desert? Why is it so decadent?
In order to find out the truth, as soon as she returned to her accommodation, she called the police. It turned out that a local policy had just been introduced to no longer allow private farmers to raise large wild animals, so many wild animals were released back into nature.
The cheetah's helpless gaze when he looked at her stung her deeply. A thought slowly came to mind, and she wanted to make an effort in animal protection.
In the summer of 1999, after Quan Li returned to China, she immediately contacted the relevant people of the State Forestry Administration and proposed that she wanted to do something to protect China's wild animals. Experts from the Forestry Bureau talked to her about the current situation of the South China tiger.
"The South China Tiger is also called the Chinese Tiger. At present, there are only 10-30 wild South China tigers left, and they have not been found in 20 years. There are about 60 Captive South China Tigers in various places, but they are wild and genetically decayed. Some experts predict that if no measures are taken, in 10 years, the South China tiger will become extinct in the world..."
Quan Li looked shocked, not expecting that the Chinese tiger had reached such a situation. She made an amazing decision: save the South China Tigers! This is not an easy decision to make, because there is no precedent for individuals to save wild tigers in either China or the world.
But how to save it? With personal affirmation, she wants to unite everyone's strength and make this successful.
In October 2000, Quan Li established the "Save the Chinese Tiger" International Federation in London. It is the world's first charitable fund dedicated to the protection of Chinese tigers and other big cats in China.
Her idea is that the first step is to establish a natural living environment for the South China tigers, that is, to find a suitable base for their survival and train them in rewilding; the second step is to reproduce and effectively increase the number of wild South China tigers.
At first, Quan Li inspected Yichang in Jiangxi and Meihuashan in Fujian to find suitable ecological rewilding and domestication bases for Chinese tigers. For various reasons, things have not been implemented.
When Quan Li thought about the current situation of the South China Tiger, she was anxious, and if the base was completed a day later, the South China Tiger would increase the risk of possible extinction.
Quan Li's husband saw it in his eyes and hurt in his heart, and he couldn't help but give advice to his wife. Since China can't find a suitable place, can it find such a place in other countries?
Quan Li suddenly thought of Africa, where she had been deeply impressed, where the ecological environment was kept well and conducive to the survival of large wild animals. Why not go there and have a look?
When she was gone, she and her husband came to Africa for an expedition. In November 2002, after much comparison, they selected South Africa, an underdeveloped country, for $4 million and bought 17 abandoned sheep farms, covering an area of more than 30,000 hectares, dedicated to domesticating and rewilding Chinese tigers.
They named the place "Tiger Valley."
Then, Quan Li returned to China and signed a cooperation agreement with the State Forestry Administration on the China Tiger Wild Release Program, sending two small tigers from the Shanghai Zoo, Cathay Pacific and Hope, to the Tiger Valley in South Africa.
The agreement stipulates that if the two baby tigers can breed successfully in 2006, by the time Beijing hosts the Olympic Games in 2008, the first descendants of tigers rewilding in South Africa will be sent back to China in time.
Rewild training to restore the mighty hunting instinct
After the agreement was signed, Quan Li returned to South Africa to focus on the establishment of a domestication base. In less than 10 months, the base was completed.
In September 2003, Quan Li took the under-year-old Cathay Pacific and Hope on the plane from the Shanghai Zoo, and after 29 hours, successfully arrived in South Africa to officially implement the domestication plan.
For Quan Li, this is a brand new thing, without any experience, whether it can succeed or not, there is no bottom at all.
She sought out many animal experts, consulted them, and asked them about the domestication of wild animals. Under the guidance of tiger experts, she divided the base into three stocking areas according to the domestication steps.
The first is the juvenile free-range area, which contains two nightshades where their movements can be observed from any direction.
Once they are familiar with hunting, they are placed in the second stocking area, where there is thick grass and shrubland for them to ambush and round up, and some goats will be released into it.
The last one is the natural stocking area, and if it can be domesticated to this point, then this rewilding plan is more than half successful.
The two little ones came to an unfamiliar environment and seemed overwhelmed. They are born on the cement floor of the wall, eating food that the staff has slaughtered, and they don't want to eat anything but beef.
At first, the domestication staff put the chicken into the juvenile free-range area, and it took the cubs more than an hour to catch the chicken. The problem is that they don't bite at all, just throw the chicken aside, and then run to the staff to eat it as before.
Fortunately, after continuous guidance and stimulation, Cathay Pacific and Hope not only learned to culling a chicken in 10 minutes in two months, but also shredded and swallowed it with their strong teeth.
This is a milestone for QuanLi and all the staff, which fully shows that the rewilding plan is correct and completely possible.
A good start is half the battle. In less than a year, two little ones can hunt running antelopes and then hunt porcupines covered with thorns, and they will become the kings of the land.
Quan Li looked in her eyes and was happy in her heart, so that if this continued, the Chinese tiger's rewilding plan would surely be realized as scheduled, and she looked forward to the completely wild Chinese tiger returning to the motherland and roaring and jumping in the forest again.
In 2004, she shipped two small partners from China, "Tiger Woods" and "Madonna". The camp is even more lively, with four baby tigers jubilant in the stocking area.
But the good news didn't last long, and something unbearable happened in Tiger Valley.
In August 2005, Hope, who was more than 3 years old, suddenly fell ill, refusing to eat and mixing blood in his feces. Although Quan Li called a veterinarian in time, she was unable to keep it.
This is undoubtedly a blow to Quan Li. First, the departure of the male tiger's "hope" means that the breeding plan of the female tiger "Cathay Pacific" has failed. Second, can the tiger rewilding program continue, is it feasible?
To this end, Quan Li asked experts to dissect "Hope" to find out the cause of its death. Experts have concluded that endotoxemia is caused by colitis, which in turn leads to acute heart failure.
At this time, controversy abounded. In fact, from the beginning of this project, many people have questioned it, who feel that the landform of Africa is not suitable for the survival of Chinese tigers.
Chinese tigers like to come and go alone, do not like to cooperate with other tigers to round up prey, and are suitable for living in mountain forests that can be hidden at any time.
The African savannah, on the other hand, is flatland, dominated by dwarf meadows and bushes, suitable for animals that live in groups and round up prey.
Quan Li did not fail to consider these situations, but from many aspects such as the cost of rewilding, and after consultation with many parties, the decision to build the camp in South Africa was made.
Moreover, gratifying results have been achieved so far, and we must not give up halfway! Quan Li resisted the pressure and sent a male tiger codenamed 327 from China to replace "Hope".
Unfortunately, 327 did not spark love with "Cathay Pacific", but due to resistance to the unfamiliar environment, it constantly rubbed with other little tigers and almost died.
It should be known that the number of South China tigers was not much, and now there is no small tiger, which accelerates the speed of chinese tiger extinction.
The project entered a very difficult situation, and Quan Li and the other staff were at a loss and did not know where to start.
Happily, everyone found that "Cathay Pacific" and "Tiger Woods" were getting closer and closer, and they became a couple. It can really be said that "the mountains and rivers are full of doubts and there is no way, and the willows are dark and the flowers are bright and another village".
Reproduce and achieve the goal of expanding the population
Things took a turn for the worse, and everyone set their sights on Cathay Pacific and Tiger Woods, trying to create opportunities for them to get along.
In mid-2007, the pair of adult South China tigers mated successfully. The dawn reappeared, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief and cheered for the upcoming baby tiger.
The gestation period of the South China tiger is generally 102 days to 105 days, 1 to 4 litters per litter, 3 years old sexual maturity, and the life expectancy is generally 15 to 20 years.
The staff closely followed cathay Pacific's movements and made meticulous preparations for food and medical treatment to ensure that it could give birth smoothly.
In such an atmosphere, the pregnancy of "Cathay Pacific" is very smooth. According to the date calculation, it will be produced around November 20.
When that time came, the staff paid more attention to its every move. On the 23rd, it appeared to be in labor, and everyone stood by and watched nervously.
Until night, at 23:30 local time, "Cathay Pacific" finally gave birth to a male tiger cub. It is 50 cm long and weighs 1.2 kg.
Quan Li was so excited that she almost cried, it was too hard! She had put so much effort into the day, not just as a matter of wild ways, but also with enormous financial pressures.
In addition to the upfront investment of $4 million, each tiger in Tiger Valley costs about $2,000-4,000 a month, which means that the project in South Africa costs about $1 million a year.
Quan Li had hoped to help the China Tiger Project through donations raised from the West, but due to the questioning and attacks of opposing organizations, the project's reputation was affected, and the funds were not raised as scheduled. Thanks to the help of her banker husband, she was able to persist to this day.
This cute baby tiger is called "Tiger Purr", and it appeared in public 10 days after its birth, and the media of many countries in the world have reported on it.
The little "tiger purr" was examined by the experts, and all indicators showed that this was a healthy tiger baby. Although it was indigestion once at half a month old due to dairy products that replaced tigress milk, it was restored to health after first aid and treatment by animal experts.
Why didn't Cathay In person feed cathay? Because there was a cold snap at that time, in order not to have accidents, the tiger baby born in tiger valley for the first time adopted artificial feeding.
As the saying goes, "everything is difficult at the beginning", and with the experience of producing "Tiger Purr", things have become more and more smooth.
A year later, Cathay Pacific and Tiger Woods gave birth to twin tiger cubs. "Cathay Pacific" has been a mother for the second time, already experienced, this time completely fed by itself, it seems much more relaxed.
This was followed by a third and fourth time, until it was 13 years old when it gave birth to the last two male tigers, and it gave birth to a total of 11 South China tigers. In terms of quantity, "Cathay Pacific" can be called a heroic tiger mother.
In the following years, the second generation of tigers and the third generation of tigers have been born, and by 2020, there are more than 30 South China tigers living in the Tiger Valley of South Africa.
According to the agreement signed, the rewilded Chinese tiger should be returned to China in 2008. However, this plan has not been followed, and the most critical reason is that the living environment suitable for the South China tiger has not been put in place.
Although the continent is vast, it is heavily fragmented, and it is difficult to find a large overall site like the South African steppe to house these South China tigers. Without the right environment, the survival of the South China tiger will be as difficult as before.
Another reason is that there is an irreconcilable contradiction between Quan Li and her husband. Her husband was the main investor in the project, and now that she is reluctant to invest in the project, Quan Li has been forced to leave the Save China Tiger Foundation.
In short, these precious Chinese tigers have been stranded overseas for complicated reasons, unable to return to their homeland.
As Quan Li said in an interview: "The tiger's position in Chinese culture is deeply rooted, and once it disappears, it will be a loss to Chinese culture." Saving the Chinese tiger is actually saving Chinese culture, which is a social responsibility as a Chinese."
It has been 19 years since the two South China tiger cubs of "Cathay" and "Hope" were sent to Africa, although "Hope" did not survive, but "Cathay" and other three tiger cubs have successfully achieved the goal of rewilding, and about 30 South China tigers have been bred so far, effectively expanding the tiger population.
It is hoped that the relevant departments of the mainland will find a space suitable for the survival of Chinese tigers as soon as possible, and bring back these rewilded South China tigers as soon as possible, so that they can roar freely on the vast land of the mainland.