|
|
Article: China tigers burn bright in Africa; Only 10 wild tigers exist in China. But there's a new comeback plan: Teach zoo tigers to hunt in South Africa.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- August 23, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Byline: Stephanie Hanes
LAOHU VALLEY RESERVE, SOUTH AFRICA -- When the tiger named Cathay saw her first dead antelope, she thought "toy" instead of "dinner." She didn't pounce or bite or go for the jugular; instead she batted and licked and wrestled, a typical playful cat.
Not that you could blame her. In her past of zoos and cages, meals had always come precut.
"It took her a day to actually bite into the meat," recalls Peter Openshaw, who is working to improve Cathay's hunting instincts - part of an ambitious and controversial tiger rehabilitation project here. "That was a first step."
To demonstrate Cathay's progress over the past ...