History
Save China's Tigers is one of the most dynamic organizations in the world. Below lists the progress we made since the establishment of the charity..
SAVE CHINA’S TIGERS MAIN PROGRESS TO DATE
• Less than 30 Chinese Tigers (South China Tigers) still exist in the wild at present and around 60 live in captivity. The Chinese Tiger is commonly believed to be the direct descendent of the ancestral tiger which originated in China two million years ago. China established the Meihuashan Chinese Tiger Rewilding & Reintroduction Center in 1998. Li Quan started seeking support for Meihuashan internationally from 1999.
• October 2000, Li Quan, former fashion executive in Italy, born and bred in Beijing with a BA from Beijing University and a dual MBA/MA from the Wharton Business School in the US, established the charitable foundation Save China’s Tigers in UK and then in the US in 2002 and Hong Kong in 2003.
• After observing and analysing how wildlife conservation and eco-tourism have succeeded in Africa, Li Quan engineered the Chinese Tiger Conservation Model in 1999.
• Year 2001 to 2002, Save China’s Tigers initiated, facilitated and co-funded Dr. Ron Tilson’s survey team’s work in China for the wild South China Tiger
• Save China’s Tigers recruited noted Appeal Patrons such as Nick Rhodes, Michelle Yoeh, Kaige Chen, Jiang Wen as well as advisors such as Dr. Gary Koehler
• August 2001, Li Quan proposed to China to use South African expertise to help China’s Chinese Tiger Reintroduction project.
• Nov 2001, Li Quan invited first South African Team to visit China
• May 2002, Save China’s Tigers donated infra-cameras and camera equipment to the State Forestry Administration of China to continue monitoring the possible existence of the Chinese Tigers in the Wild.
• Year 2002, Stuart Bray, Li’s husband acquired 33,000 hectares of land in South Africa for the Chinese Tiger project’s Rewilding program.
• Year 2002, Li developed and fine-turned the Chinese Tiger Conservation Model - Saving and protecting wildlife through eco-tourism by using the Chinese Tiger as flagship and combining conservation with Chinese culture and heritage, making wildlife conservation sustainable in the long term.
• Nov 2002, Dr. Ron Tilson declared the wild Chinese Tigers extinct
• Nov 2002, Save China’s Tigers set up Chinese Tigers South African Trust as an operational arm for the Chinese Tiger Re-wilding and Reintroduction Project
• Nov 2002, Save China’s Tigers and the Chinese Tigers SA Trust signed an historical agreement with the Wildlife R&D Centre of the State Forestry Administration of China on the Reintroduction of the Chinese Tigers into the Chinese Wild in 2008
• Year 2003, Li Quan set up the operational team in South Africa composed of South Africa’s top scientists and conservationists: Petri Viljeon, Jeremy Anderson, Marc Stallmans, Richard Davis, Gus Van Dyk, etc.
• July 2003, Save China’s Tigers and Cathay Pacific signed sponsorship agreement for 6 years. During the next 6 years, Cathay Pacific Airways will be the official airline of Save China’s Tigers. One of the first Chinese Tigers sent to SA for Rewilding training is named after the airline- “Cathay” as an appreciation of Save China’s Tigers for the airline’s support.
• September 2003, two Chinese Tiger cubs Cathay and Hope embarked on their historical journey to South Africa for Rewilding Training
• November 2003, Save China’s Tigers sent first South African team of experts composed of highly respected ecologists to China for ecological survey of the proposed 10 candidate Chinese Tiger Pilot Reserve Sites in four provinces
• February 2004, Save China’s Tigers sent second South African team of experts composed of resource economists and South African government conservation officials to survey top two candidate sites in Jiangxi and Hunan province
• July 2004, Cathay and Hope caught their first African antelope and ate it.
• October 29, 2004, another two Chinese Tiger cubs “TigerWoods” and “Madonna” left China for SA to receive rewilding training in the Chinese Tiger Rewilding Center in Laohu Valley Reserve. Jan 2005, they caught their first guinea fowl and ate them.
• March 12, 2005 Cathay and Hope are collared, ready to move into a 600 hectare Rewilding camp from the current 68 hectare camp.
• May 2005, SCT launched Tang the Tiger Cub, a book aimed at kids between 4 and 10.
• May 2005, TigerWoods and Madonna caught their first blesbok and ate it.
• August 20, 2005, Hope unfortunately died of pneumonia and heart failure.
• Dec 18/19, 2005, an international workshop was held in Beijing on the Chinese Tiger Reintroduction project and major international organizations such as the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, WCS and etc all attended and the Beijing Proposal to quicken the steps of the Chinese Tiger Reintroduction Project was issued from the workshop.
• February 2006, TigerWoods and Madonna were released into a 42 hectare camp to learn hunting on their own, so far successfully.
• April 2006, the State Forestry Administration of China approved Zixi of Jiangxi province and Liuyang of Hunan province as candidate sites and fund raising efforts are started to raise sponsorship and investment for the first Chinese Tiger Pilot Reserve.
• June 2006, Save China’s Tigers launched the Jackie Chan Tiger Face Awareness campaign in Hong Kong with the actor.
• Li Quan spoke at the Royal Geographic Society (Hong Kong branch) on the Chinese Tiger Reintroduction Project
• April 2007, the David Tang Tiger Breeding Center was completed at Laohu Valley Reserve
• April 23, 2007 a stud South China Tiger No. 327 was translocated from Suzhou Zoo of Jiangsu Province of China to Laohu Valley Reserve in South Africa, to start the breeding program.
• Nov 23 2007, Cathay gave birth to her first cub, which was also the first South China Tiger cub born outside of China. It was an important milestone not only for Save China's Tigers' ambitious undertaking, but also an unprecedented achievement in tiger conservation history.
• March 30 2008, Cathay successfully had her second litter and gave birth to 2 cubs at 12:40 and 13:25 at Laohu Valley Reserve, South Africa.
• April 12 2008, the South China Tiger, Madonna gave birth for the first time to two cubs at Laohu Valley Reserve. One survived after the difficult birth, but died 7 days later at Lory Park due to bacterial infection.