(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-04 19:28

Chinese government officials have refused to concede photographs of a rare South China tiger in the wild are fake, a day after the China Photographers Society confirmed the images were not real.

A purported South China tiger is pictured in this photo taken by farmer Zhou Zhenglong. The authenticity of the controversia pictures has stirred up a heated debate on the Internet with many saying those pictures are fake. [Xinhua]

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, State Forestry Administration spokesman Cao Qingyao reserved judgement on the authenticity of the controversial pictures which have caused a storm on the Internet, saying more concrete evidence was needed.

In October, a farmer from Zhenping County, in north China's Shaanxi Province, claimed he had snapped some photos of a tiger in the forest near his home. The provincial forestry bureau later cited experts as saying that it was a South China tiger, a tiger subspecies believed to have been extinct in the wild for more than three decades.

However, many scientists and Internet users have denounced the pictures as fake. Last month, one netizen posted online a picture of a tiger from a New Year calendar that hung in his home, claiming the two tigers were identical.

Cao said an expert panel, which was dispatched to Zhenping County last month, would wait until the first snowfall to carry out a field investigation.

"When it snows, it will be easier to locate the tigers, if there are any, because tigers have a tawny coat and will have to come out hunting for food," an employee of the administration, who refused to give his name, told Xinhua when contacted by phone.

"The special investigation team consists of 10 experienced experts in tigers and large feline animals, selected by the administration," said Cao.

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