A goat is exerting its utmost strength trying to escape from the chase of a giant tiger, but in vein, and becomes a meal of the colorful big cat at the end of the race.

It is not a scene from any of the Disney cartoons. It is but a everyday game at a tiger research center in Meihua (Plum Blossom) Mountain, in Fujian, a coastal province that faces Taiwan across the straits.

Local researchers believe that after years of efforts, Meihua Mountain may regain its past reputation as the ancestral home and the most favorable habitat for the South China Tiger, also known as the Chinese Tiger or the Xiamen Tiger.

The number of the tiger, who used to be widely seen in eastern, southern and southwestern parts of the country, has declined drastically in the past decades due to rampant human activities including hunting and lumbering.

Currently, an estimate 20 to 30 South China Tigers are living in the wild, while 53 of the species are living in captivity. The tiger has been listed among the most endangered animals as its number is far less than that of giant panda which stands at around 1,000.

Since the early 1990s, China has began to explore ways for retaining the rare species, in close collaboration with some international organizations concerned.

Last year, a South China Tiger salvation program was launched and the research center was set up in Meihua Mountain to help the big cat to recover its capabilities to live in the wild and increase their number.

To date, 1.5 million yuan (about 180,000 US dollars) has been spent on the project, mostly going to infrastructures, according to scientists working at the center.

At present, the three seed tigers introduced for breeding from a zoo in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, in September last year, have got used to their new home in Meihua Mountain.

The big cats are now weighed at about 150 kilograms each and have entered the heat period.

Along with the daily chase game, the days are gone when the tigers were so tame that "they could be frightened to illness by encountering a deer", said one of the scientists. (Xinhua)