South China Tiger Base to be set up in Changsha county
Updated: 2016-07-05
A 300 million yuan ($45.3 million) base for the breeding and reintroduction of the South China tiger into the wild, will be built in Jinjing town, Changsha county.
The project recently got the approval from the State Forestry Administration, and is expected to take two years for construction to be complete. The main objectives are to increase the natural, wild population of tigers in China by restoring and protecting their natural habitat.
It will be the fourth such base in China, following the other three in Guangdong, Fujian, and Jiangxi provinces.
Jinjing town in the northeast part of Changsha county, is often referred to as the town of tea, due to the high quality tea produced by the vast number of tea fields in the area. The Sanzhen Tiger Zoo is also located in the town, and as of 2015, is home to some 40 manchurian tigers.
"Jinjing town is in a typical gentle hilly region most suitable for South China tigers, so this is why it was chosen as the place to build the base," said Zhu Yugang, the principal of Sanzhen Tiger Zoo. "It will be the nation's first large-scale base which will allow such tigers to roam free in a wide open field. The 211.4-hectare base contains seven zones, including a breeding zone, domesticating zone, and a 160-hectare wild zone."
Jinjing town will further tap its eco-industry by investing 1 billion yuan to build an ecological tourism resort.
"We plan to introduce more tigers, including Bengal and white tigers to become the largest tiger zoo in central south China," said Zhu. "Changsha county will become a unique tourism destination for tiger culture."
The South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) is a tiger subspecies that was native to Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces in southern China, and has been classified as the most threatened tiger subspecies and a national first class protected animal. They are the smallest tiger subspecies from mainland Asia.
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