Madam, - The sad news that the Yangtze River Dolphin has been declared extinct ( The Irish Times, August 8th) comes at a time when another species native to China has apparently disappeared from its habitat. I refer to the South China Tiger, one of Asia's five remaining tiger sub-species.
Once found over much of central and southern China, its last stronghold was in the mountains south of the Yangtze River where no more than 30 individuals remained just a few years ago. Due to continued hunting and human encroachment, even in these remote areas, there is now no credible evidence of any remaining. So it is very probable that this handsome predator is now extinct, at least in the wild.
While a number remain in captivity in Chinese zoos, it is very difficult to re-introduce large feline predators back into the wild.
So it may be that China's economic miracle has claimed another victim. A century ago there were 100,000 wild tigers in Asia. Now fewer than 4,000 remain. - Yours, etc,
LOFTUS HAYDEN, Ranelagh, Dublin 6.