The controversial photo of a rare South China tiger has been
extricated from the local authority and sent to "state
authoritative institution" for authenticity judgement, a forestry
senior official said on Thursday.
State Forestry Administration spokesman Cao Qingyao called it "a
breakthrough step", but he did not specify the identity of the
institution.
The provincial forestry department had insisted the tiger in the
photo existed in Zhenping County, although the China Photographers
Society confirmed the images were not real.
In October, a farmer from Zhenping County, in north China's
Shaanxi Province, claimed he snapped 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 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 and claimed the two tigers were
identical.
Cao said earlier this month the administration reserved
judgement on the authenticity of the controversial pictures, and
said more concrete evidence was needed. An expert panel was
dispatched to Zhenping County last month to carry out a field
investigation.
(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2007)South China tiger photos
to be examined
The controversial photo of a rare South China tiger has been
extricated from the local authority and sent to "state
authoritative institution" for authenticity judgement, a forestry
senior official said on Thursday.
State Forestry Administration spokesman Cao Qingyao called it "a
breakthrough step", but he did not specify the identity of the
institution.
The provincial forestry department had insisted the tiger in the
photo existed in Zhenping County, although the China Photographers
Society confirmed the images were not real.
In October, a farmer from Zhenping County, in north China's
Shaanxi Province, claimed he snapped 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 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 and claimed the two tigers were
identical.
Cao said earlier this month the administration reserved
judgement on the authenticity of the controversial pictures, and
said more concrete evidence was needed. An expert panel was
dispatched to Zhenping County last month to carry out a field
investigation.
(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2007)