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Currently 47 South China tigers live in 18 zoos, all in China. The South China tiger is the most critically endangered of all tiger subspecies. • The South China tiger is found in central and eastern China. • The South China tiger is one of the smallest tiger subspecies. Male tigers measure about 2.5 meters (8 feet) from head to tail and weigh approximately 150 kilograms (330 pounds). Female tigers are smaller, measuring about 2.3 meters (7 1/2 feet) long. They weigh approximately 110 kilograms (240 pounds). The short, broad stripes of the South China tiger are spaced far apart compared to those of Bengal and Siberian tigers. • Because there are so few wild South China tigers, and they have rarely been seen, very little is know about them at this time. Zoo Tigers According to the 1995 South China Tiger Studbook the captive population of 48 South China tigers is confined to 19 Chinese zoos. They are descended from only six wild-caught tigers (about 120 tigers descended from 30 wild-caught tigers would be closer to the ideal). The last time that a wild tiger was brought into captivity was 20 years ago. The situation for the future does not look good. Conservation Action To counter these disturbing trends, China has made some valiant efforts. It joined CITES in 1981 and passed the Wild Animal Protection Law of the People's Republic of China in 1988. This year the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens, under the Ministry of Construction, invited the IUCN's Tiger GASP team to evaluate their tiger husbandry and medical management procedures, to verify origin and parentage of each tiger, and to perform a population management analysis at a masterplan workshop. Two significant outcomes were a South China Tiger Studbook and a South China Tiger Masterplan. Additional plans are to meet with the Ministry of Forestry and to further define the status and threats to wild populations using a computer-based landscape analysis (GIS) and to draft an Action Plan on what might be done to secure wild tigers for the future.
 
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