AMC fights to save South China tigers from extinction – by Laura Cornish (Mining Review Africa – August 29, 2019)

Mining Review Africa

According to the World Wildlife Fund, South China tigers area “critically endangered” species and considered “functionally extinct” having not been sighted in the wild for more than 25 years.

The non-profit Laohu Valley Reserve near Philippolis in the Free State, South Africa, has dedicated its resources to growing the South China tiger population, with the ultimate intention of re-wilding them in their origin home in China.

LAURA CORNISH visited the reserve to learn about the project which one of South Africa’s major crushing contractors, African Mining & Crushing (AMC) is supporting.

Although the smaller breed South China tiger is not a native species to South Africa, it is the ideal location to help repopulate a species that has shrunk from around 4 000 in the late 1950s to just over 120 today. Sadly, none of these 120 tigers live in the wild, but are all documented zoo residents.

In spite of this, South Africa and the Free State in particular, through the reserve, is playing a critical role to reverse the situation – by providing an environment to encourage breeding of the South China tiger.

More importantly, the intention is to send the rewilded tigers back to China. This initiative, at the time, was the first re-wilding programme ever established and is still a first of its kind.

For the rest of this article: https://www.miningreview.com/environment/amc-fights-to-save-endangered-species-from-extinction/