One of the smaller tiger subspecies, the South China Tiger weighs around three hundred and thirty pounds in case of males and two hundred and forty pounds for females. Average length is eight feet for males and seven and a half feet in case of females. Color is reddish orange and underparts are white. The dark stripes are short and spaced relatively broadly in comparison to other tigers. Tail appears to end rather abruptly than taper off as in case of other tiger subspecies.
In the past when South China Tigers were studied in the wild, they were known to inhabit moist forests in rocky terrains. They used to hunt a variety of prey species though predominant prey were probably ungulates. Livestock were also reportedly taken at times and human beings attacked by the big cats. They were nocturnal and perhaps solitary cats. Their range was dense jungles of south-central China in an area bordering different provinces.
Though various fragmented reserves exist in the past range of South China Tiger no tiger has been documented for decades in these parts. There are reports of paw prints, hearing of roars and rare sightings but no solid proof exists that tigers still inhabit the woods of a country that once was home to four different subspecies of tigers. Experts believe that at the most there could be twenty to thirty of the Amoy Tigers in the wild but fear these too are on the brink of extinction owing to severe inbreeding.
Gestational period for South Chinese Tigers is three and a half months following which a litter of one to five cubs is born in the wild. The young begin to accompany the mother on hunts at two months of age and learn hunting at six months. They gain independence between one and one and a half years of age.
The author is a blogger about cats and an expert on South China Tiger.