As of October 2018, there were approximately 110 South China tigers in captivity in the world.

The possibility of wild South China tigers existing is extremely slim.

Because the reproduction of species requires the existence of natural populations, natural populations must also maintain a certain number of individuals and maintain genes at a sufficient level of heterozygosity, so that the population will not suffer from inbreeding depression due to inbreeding.

Since there have been no traces of South China tigers in the areas where they were originally distributed for many years, the possibility of discovering a South China tiger population is even slimmer.

Therefore, many experts believe that the natural population of South China tigers has become extinct.

Extended information: Population status and endangered history. In the 1950s and 1960s, according to incomplete statistics on the annual tiger skin purchases in the Chinese fur market, 1,750 tiger skins were purchased nationwide in 1956.

In the 1950s, tigers were found in more than 20 counties in Jiangxi Province, and 171 tigers were hunted in the province from 1955 to 1956.

In the 1950s and 1960s, no trace of tigers was found in Wanxian County in eastern Sichuan and the Daba Mountain area at the junction of Shaanxi, Sichuan and Hubei.

From 1952 to 1953, Hunan Province captured 170 tigers.

In 1964, Mr. Shou Zhenhuang estimated that about 800 South China tigers were hunted every year based on the number of tiger bones and skins purchased from various places. He was obviously suspected of "releasing satellites".

Tigers were also caught in Anhui in 1966.

In the early 1950s, more than 50 tigers were hunted in Guangdong Province, and in the 1960s, there were about 20 tigers.

Tigers were caught in Qingzhen in central Guizhou in 1958 and in Weining in western Guizhou in 1959.

Tigers in the Qinling area became extinct in the 1960s.

From 1960 to 1963, at least 60 tigers were killed in Henan Province.

In 1964, a mountaineer in Foping Mountain, Shaanxi Province hunted and killed a wild South China tiger. So far, no one has seen an adult South China tiger again.

From the 1970s to the 1990s and after 1970, the annual hunting volume of South China tigers in Jiangxi was less than 10, and no tigers were hunted after 1975.

In the early 1970s, Henan Province hunted 7 tigers per year, and Zhejiang Province hunted 3 tigers per year in the early 1970s.

In the 1970s, fewer than 10 tigers were hunted in Guangdong Province.

The last wild tiger caught in Hunan was in 1976.

In the late 1970s, the number of wild South China tigers in the country was estimated to be 40-80.

The last tiger captured in Shanxi Province was in January 1974. After receiving a set of tiger bones in Yuanping County, no tiger was found again.

In 1979, the whole country received only one tiger skin.

After the 1980s, the number of wild South China tigers has been extremely small. Some people estimate that the total number of wild South China tigers in my country is 30-80.

The last wild tiger caught in Hubei was in 1983, when a cub was found in Baihuwan Forest Farm in Lichuan City and was later sent to Chongqing Zoo.

An investigation by Hubei reporters later confirmed that this was an erroneous report, and that the cub found in the Baihuwan Forest Farm was actually a clouded leopard cub.

Statistics in May 1987 showed that there were 4 adult tigers and 12 cubs of South China tigers operating in Guangdong Province.

From 1990 to 1992, no living wild South China tigers were found in a nationwide survey of wild South China tigers and their habitats conducted by the former Ministry of Forestry and the World Wildlife Fund.

However, based on the traces, feces and other evidence found, it was estimated that there were 20-30 South China tigers at the junction of Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi and Fujian in my country at that time.

Actual number may be less.

In the early 21st century, from 2000 to 2001, the State Forestry Administration and WWF conducted a large-scale survey of wild South China tigers and their habitats across the country. During the search, not a single wild tiger was found.

After this investigation, some foreign scholars believed that wild South China tigers were extinct.

Domestic scholars have not given up hope of finding wild South China tigers.

In the winter of 2007, the South China Institute of Endangered Animals launched the "Field Survey of Wild South China Tigers in Northern Guangdong" project, but ultimately no traces of wild South China tigers were found.

In 2008, at the time of the "Tiger Zhou" incident, an expert investigation team dispatched by the State Forestry Administration also stated that there were no wild South China tigers in Zhenping County.