(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-11-19 14:01

The poster, which had sold for 4.5 yuan, has been much sought after across China and now sells for 10 yuan in Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong Province.

Fu Dezhi, a noted botanist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the poster "should have revealed the fraudulent nature of the case and put an end to the story".

Yet Zhou Zhenglong insists he captured a real tiger on his camera, and has been searching for tiger tracks in the wild for the last three days. "I need to find more evidence to defend myself."

Zhou said earlier he had risked his life to take the photo. "I was prepared to be killed by the tiger".

Forestry authorities in Zhenping county, where the tiger was purportedly seen, insisted the wild cat did exist in its mountains.

"We have had more than 20 reports since July of tiger tracks, roars, fur and droppings. There have also been reports of attacks on other wild animals," the county's forestry department said in statement.

Amid media speculation over the county's attempt to gain publicity, Yuan Chunqing, governor of Shaanxi Province, said the government had done nothing wrong to encourage the citizens to track endangered animals. "It's far more important for us to carry out the research rather than to tell the veracity of a photo," he said. "I'm sure we'll know the truth soon."

Zhou's alleged discovery and photo of the tiger also appeared in the Science magazine, which quoted Gary Koehler, of Washington State's Department of Fish and Wildlife, as saying, "It's tremendously exciting news, if it can be substantiated".

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