The forestry watchdog supports the Shaanxi provincial authority's appraisal on the widely questioned South China tiger pictures and indicated it won't verify the picture itself, a spokesman said today.

"We believe the Shaanxi Forestry Department will hold a scientific attitude towards public doubts on the pictures," said State Forestry Administration spokesman Cao Qingyao.

Cao also indicated that the administration won't analyze the picture as its responsibility is to "protect wild animals, investigate resources and set up prevention zones."

"We must follow the national rules and can't do what we are not authorized to do," Cao said.

Zhou Zhenglong, 52, a farmer and former hunter in Chengguan Township of Shaanxi's Zhenping County, announced he photographed a South China tiger with a digital camera and film on October 3.

The Shaanxi forestry department soon confirmed the 40 digital pictures and 31 film photographs were genuine.

However, there was still widespread suspicion about the authenticity of the photos. A digital-picture appraisal center under the China Photographers' Society said on Sunday that the so-called South China tiger in the pictures is not real.

"Whether the tiger in the pictures is real or not, it does not truly reflect the South China tigers' living condition in the area," Cao said.

The administration has sent 10 experts to investigate Zhenping since November 10. The investigation also includes other protected animals such as leopards and bears over 200,000 hectares of countryside, Cao said.

"The administration will issue the result of the investigation as soon as possible," Cao said.

The South China tiger, from which other sub-species such as the Siberian tiger evolved, is listed as one of the world's 10 most endangered animals.

It is the only tiger subspecies native to China's central and southern areas. In the early 1950s, its population was 4,000. No sightings of wild tigers have been reported in Shaanxi since 1964.

(Shanghai Daily December 4, 2007)