Could Africa save China's tigers?

A former international fashion executive - with no formal conservation background - is trying to save the highly endangered South China tiger from extinction thousands of miles away from the deep recesses of the Chinese countryside.

Li Quan has introduced a successful breeding programme in the grasslands of South Africa - originally using animals born and bred in Chinese zoos. The hope is that the new generations of South African born tigers can be taken to the Far East, to be re-introduced into the wild.

For BBC Radio 4, reporter Sue Armstong travelled to South Africa to meet Li and some of the big cats.

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Return of the South China Tiger can be heard on BBC Radio 4 at 1102 on Tuesday 28 February and Tuesday 6 March 2012.

Audio courtesy Ruth Evans. Most images courtesy Save China's Tigers - with additional material from Ruth Evans and Getty Images.

Music by KPM Music. Slideshow production by Paul Kerley. Publication date 28 February 2012.

Related:

Return of the South China Tiger - BBC Radio 4

BBC Nature

Save China's Tigers

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