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Warden of South China Tiger in the Wild
Liao Xiansheng is one of a few people in China that could provide evidence of the existence of the South China Tiger in the wild.
The tiger is believed by many foreign wildlife experts to be close to extinction.
The warden in Huping Mountains, a 40,000 ha tiger reserve in central China's Hunan Province, has devoted more than two decades to protecting one of the last habitats of the endangered animal on earth.
So far, only 53 South China tigers in captive are alive. None of the animals was captured alive during the past 40 years. The species, unique in China, is listed as one of the ten most endangered animals on earth by UNESCO.
"Two decades of life-risking search in the wild has rewarded Liao with the largest amount of first-hand information on the animal," said Lei Guangchun, director of WWF's China Branch.
Wildlife experts, like Lei, will be dependent on Liao as a guide in searching for the rare tiger species in the mountain area.
Gary. M. Koehler, an expert with the Wildlife Research Institute of Idaho, America, conducted several research tours to Huping Mountains over the past ten years. Although having not seen the animal, he had found tiger traces under the guidance of Liao Xiansheng.
Having worked with those experts, the descendant of a hunter family, has learnt that his foreign counterparts have adopted infrared-ray monitoring devices and auto cameras in the search of rare species.
"Because of the stringent finance, I could only depend on my own feet in the search for the South China Tiger," said the 54- year-old warden, whose only "high-tech" gadget was a China-made camera allocated by the Provincial Forestry Bureau and an out- dated walkman that he bought for recording interviews with tiger witnesses and tiger sounds.
There are no holidays for a warden in Huping Mountains, which is some 2,100 meters above sea level. Whenever tiger traces are reported from local residents, the warden would walk to the site as soon as possible.
Traces, such as a claw print, tiger droppings or tiger hair, could disappear soon and easily due to rain and other natural forces.
Liao, trained in forestry protection, used to be the only warden in the mountain area when the reserve was founded in early 1980s. Now, Liao's two sons and a few local volunteers have joined him in the management of the reserve.
In Liao's office at the reserve administration station, well- compiled records of tiger traces with interviews from witnesses have been dated from 1987. The room is crowded with plastic models of tiger claw prints, dried tiger droppings, wood scraps rubbed off by tigers and photos of tiger sites and other wildlife.
Liao has risked his life for the collection of such evidence. Nearly every resident in Huping Mountains is able to tell a story of Liao's adventures, of either chasing a tiger for days in the wild or being bit by poisonous snakes.
While, the most memorable experience for Liao was his own accidental encounter of a female tiger with its cub four years ago.
"I went to Jinzhu Village one night, after receiving local strangers' reports of witnessing tigers. That night I heard the tiger roaring first, and rushed out to look. There I saw them under a full moon," said the warden, still excited when recalling the experience.
The older generation were able to see tigers more often and some would walk for miles over mountains to report to Liao of their findings. Many reports of tiger traces Liao received are reliable, because they came from experienced hunters.
In order to lessen human disturbance to the wild animals in the reserve, local residents have been either persuaded to move out of the region, or change their source of food from hunting to growing vegetable and crops.
To Liao and the villagers, tigers are not a ferocious beast. " Tigers move very fast, and it is rarely a case that a tiger purposely attacks human beings. In case of an encounter with a human being, the tiger would usually take leave first," said Liao.
Spring is an ideal season for searching for the rare species, said Liao. Spring is also a mating season for tigers. Over 20 records of tiger activities were collected by Liao last spring.
"Tiger's life span is about 30 to 40 years. If the last group of wild tigers became extinct already, there would not be so many traces," said Liao, who is now busy learning application formalities for the bidding for a World Bank loan designed to help Chinese reserves.
He believes the Huping Mountain Reserve is quite competitive in the bidding. "I reckon there should be some six to ten tigers living in the reserve to sustain the species in the wild," said the warden.
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