WHAT GOES AROUND…

-Ruth Padel vs. Derek Walcott and Me
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8067432.stm

A few years ago, a nice young British college graduate who was volunteering at our Laohu Valley Reserve, asked me if I knew someone named Ruth Padel. That name rang a bell, but I simply could not place her. Then the young chap told me that this Padel person had written about me in her book, and showed me the book he was reading... Oh Yes, of course! The memories came back. My Goodness, she has written the book! I had totally forgotten about her and the book she was planning to write.

I told the nice young chap enthusiastically that I had not only met her, but had invited her home and cooked her a Chinese dinner, and that my husband and I talked to her extensively about our project, after she had contacted me out of the blue. I wanted to help her since she was writing a book about tigers, and I was delighted to be of service to her, also out of respect for Darwin, who appeared to be Padel’s great-great-grandfather, having been born a staunch Darwinian myself in China. I happily offered to help her making contacts in China, should she need, for her book research.

After that dinner at our apartment, I no longer heard from Padel, except one occasional message to ask my help in making contact for her in China. I wondered for some time what had become of her book but firmly believed she was no longer writing it, since I was convinced she would have let me know about it. And I certainly would buy a copy in support of her and the tigers.

Now, seeing Padel’s book in the hands of this volunteer, I was quite excited and asked him if I could have a quick read of the section about me. The young chap appeared reluctant but hesitantly said “yes”, adding somewhat embarrassingly that the book was not very positive about me. My heart dropped. What could I have possibly said or done to be written about negatively by Ms. Padel? All I had given her was kindness and generosity in support of her work, for the sake of tigers. I told the young volunteer that I really would not mind criticism, particularly constructive ones. And I am also used to malicious personal attacks on me, by the likes of Judy Mills of Conservation International, for example, in a Wall Street Journal article a few years ago. I am strong enough to handle whatever nonsense possibly written about me in Padel’s book.

The young chap reluctantly handed the book “Tigers in Red Weather” to me, adding that he had been in our project for the past few weeks and he loved it, and that he strongly believed what we were doing is not only fantastic, but the right thing to do for the South China Tigers. I was grateful for him, since what I subsequently read in Padel’s book made me seethe with anger.

Padel has not only misrepresented facts about our project, but attacked me with such sarcasm as if she held grudges against me personally. For example, she said in her book: “Li Quan’s ideas were inspired by captive predators trained to hunt to camera”. This could not be further from truth and at minimum was twisting of my words by Padel. She knew what I was trying to do was inspired by what China was already doing at Meihuashan Chinese Tiger Rehabilitation project. In fact, she asked my assistance to make arrangements to visit Meihuashan after I had told her about it. All I attempted was trying to do the same in a more professional manner in a country with more conservation expertise and more wildlife resources to give the South China Tigers a head start in their rewilding training.

Another example, she wrote: “Save China’s Tigers scheme seems glamorous. There is money and publicity in it”. I wonder where Ms. Padel had seen money and publicity? My husband and I spent millions of our personal savings on the project, without a single cent of return, all because we believe that saving the cultural symbol of China - the King of Beasts, is not only good for restoring the eco-systems, but also conducive to saving the traditional cultural values of China. To date, unlike many big NGOs, we have not spent a cent on hiring PR, either in-house or external, and we gained good publicity through our actions and dedication to our goal. Yet Padel saw money and publicity in her eyes.

She wrote that I “seemed to have ignored the world’s top scientific advice. She may release a few tigers in a closed reserve but this will have nothing to do with conservation and will never lead to a viable wild population. It seemed a terrible waste of enormous tiger funds”. Wait a minute, didn’t I tell you, Ms. Padel, we can not save the Chinese tiger as a whole, if we don’t save the first few to start with? Didn’t we tell you, the tiger funds came from our savings, not from other donor agencies since the big NGOs had already pronounced the South China Tiger dead or not worth saving? Didn’t I tell you the reason we are attempting this innovative conservation project is because the big NGO’s are doing nothing to save the South Chinese tiger except criticise the efforts of those who are? Didn’t I tell you we did not want to give our money to these big NGOs as we see little action from them in saving the tigers and see huge expenses on marketing, administration and PR?

She wrote that “Li Quan also wants to change the name of the South China Tiger to Zhonggauo Hu. Zhonggauo means ‘Middle Kingdom’, the formal name for China: that name would make it simply ‘Chinese Tiger’. Excluding China’s other tigers, the real wild tigers of China today.” And that “I had seen with Wang and Cao how effective that plan would be. (The Chinese tiger - of course!) Her English press releases have subtly switched from ‘South Chinese Tigers’ to ‘Chinese Tigers (also named the South China Tiger)’. I don’t want to be nit picking, but Zhonggauo should be spelled Zhongguo. Secondly, I don’t blame Ms. Padel for failing to know that Zhongguo is also Zhongguo in informal term, since it is Chinese for China. Third, but not last, despite her extensive research, it is sad to see that Ms. Padel still has not learned that the term of the “Chinese Tiger” is not my invention, but has been used by the conservation community to distinguish it from other tigers, such as the Indian (Bengal) Tiger.

She also called our goal to release rewilded tigers back to China’s natural environment during the time of the 2008 Olympic Games and my effort to get the tiger adopted as its Mascot “a sick joke”. Never mind how much this sounded like what Ms. Judy Mills said in the Wall Street Journal Article, branding our effort “a circus side show”. It also goes to show how little she really cared about conservation, since in my opinion, anyone who wants to do something for conservation (never mind those who are spending huge amount of their own savings to do so) and any effort by any person to help the planet should be encouraged, particularly when there are only a small percentage of people who are taking actions to protect nature, and when the species are disappearing at a far greater rate than at any other time in history.

I bought Ruth Padel’s book upon returning to London. I looked at it from time to time. I wanted to keep on reminding myself that our project had not been easy and will continue to face challenges, particularly political ones like this. I will have to grind my teeth, bear the humiliation and continue fighting for the tigers and prove the nay-sayers wrong, as I cant afford to engage in a costly legal battle to get Padel’s publisher to withdraw her book from the shelf despite her misrepresentations of our project.

All these old memories resurfaced today, when I saw the news on BBC “Oxford poet 'sorry' over vote row”. Guess things do come back around?!

Why Why Why?!

It puzzles me more and more that Cathay has still not come into estrus. Over eight months have passed since she was separated from her sons JenB and Coco. We have been informed by various sources on the estimated time it would take for a tigress to come into estrus after separation from her cubs. Shanghai Zoo, with one of two largest breeding population of South China Tigers in China, said it normally takes two to three months after cubs are taken away from her, usually when the cubs are three months old. Other source says records taken from captive cats show a range of 75 to 592 days. Still another says it takes seven months.. It is very difficult to observe such events in the wild, so our project could be an ideal platform for finding out the situation with a wild tigress.

Anyway, we have done all we could. We moved her far away from her cubs so she could not see them for quite a while. We let her hunt for a few months to "forget" about her cubs. Having exhausted all available strategies, we decided to separate her from TigerWoods for a while, and putting her next to 327. I recall how excited she was when she first met 327 two years ago, chasing him around in the most enticing posture, and it might just take 327 again to excite her system. Some tigers seem to need just the presence of one potential mate. But other tigers are more like cheetahs, who would only come into estrus when there are more than one male present.

Cathay is such an intelligent cat. She seemed to know what we had in store for her and it was easy to get her leaving TW behind, and crossing three gates into the camp adjacent to 327 on April 29. New smells abound, as Madonna and her cubs spent quite a while here. Cathay was absorbed by the smells, busily sniffing and spraying.

May 4th, we let Cathay into 327's camp. We did this with much trepidation, as I still recall how 327 was terrified of Cathay and how they might end up fighting if he defends himself. To my complete surprise, 327 was extremely friendly to Cathay! All this year and half of life in the wild and in solitude may have served him well that he certainly became more of an gentleman. The two played a few games of hide and seek. Seeing nothing harmful happened to them, we decided to let them overnight together. Next morning, we came to see if anything dramatic had happened and were pleased all remained calm.

TigerWoods, however, are not very happy to be left alone. For several days, we heard him roaring, either calling for his mate Cathay, or complaining to us about being left alone. He refused to eat any food. Isn't this an expression of love by TW for Cathay? I don't want to be accused of endowing human emotions and values on animals but our evolutionary paths were the same throughout most part of our development. We must share similar emotions with other mammals. In the end, after a few days of hunger strike by TW, we did not have much choice but to decide to switch Cathay back and forth between TW and 327.

Meanwhile, King Henry and Princess are getting more comfortable in the 42 Ha camp, exploring further afield from the riverside area. For two days, after they made two kills, they even refused to come out. I was beginning to worry that the antelopes might have done damage to them. I was also worried that I might not see them for a while before I would leave Laohu Valley on May 10th. In fact, I made a bet of 50 US dollars with my friend Hector who came to visit during the weekend of May 8th, that they would not come out during our last afternoon drive. The sun was setting and I was about to drive out of the hunting camp and win my bet, when Vivienne spotted the silent appearance of King Henry! His demeanour had changed. Instead of making grandious announcement for his appearance, he quietly approached, as if stalking us. This made me more convinced that he made at least one kill this time, and was continuing to practice his successful hunting techniques now. I was relieved to see him, and to see he was intact.

Then, as if to grant my wish, Princess also peeped her little shy head from behind the tree branches, just when I started my truck's engine again. I was pleased that I had lost my 50 dollars completely by now, to say the least!!

I left Laohu Valley happy, but looking forward to my next visit again in a few months. So I still find no answer to Cathay's estrus mystery, except to say that she may be needing a rest after carrying two litters of cubs so close to one another. Madonna mated last year around this time. So if tigers do mate seasonally, as some say, Cathay should be mating now. May be soon? May be never? Maybe she will just keep me wondering why!!!

-TigerLi from SA, May 11 2009

Old Young Man & His Rhinos (Trilogy 2)

I visited the second Old Young Man I am going to talk about at his farm in Howick (SA) recently. He is also my idol, that is, if ever I do have celebrity worship. Dr. Ian Player is a controversial figure, who was instrumental in saving the white rhino from extinction in South Africa by selling them to open parks around the world in 1970s. By establishing gene pools outside of the country this ensured that even if the rhinos suffered due to political instabilities of the country at that time, the animal could be reintroduced when the country becomes stable again. Almost all the white rhinos in the world are descendents of the rhinos that he brought out of KwaZulu Natal's game reserves. Ian also led the long political battle to get some additional land added to the Umfolozi Game Reserve in order to save the rhino.

Two years ago we celebrated his 80's birthday in London. Two years on, he is still fighting tirelessly for conservation of the wild, despite that his left eye has lost sight, and his left leg has given in. A search of his name on google yields many results so I won't go into details about all the remarkable work he has done throughout his life, such as his pivotal role in making St. Lucia wetlands the first wilderness areas to be zoned on the African continent; establishing the Wilderness Leadership School and Wilderness Foundation, etc.

What I would like to say about him, is that he is a man of many talents and iron wills. For example, he was credited for having pioneered the great Dusi Canoe Marathon in December 1951. Although eight men participated, only Ian finished the 140kilometer journey between Pietermaritzburg and Durban in a time of six days, despite having being bitten by a night adder during the race. The canoe that he used to complete the race, in this fierce water where Umgeni River meets the Umsundusi River, was made from wood and canvas and weighted roughly 70 pounds. It also held all the supplies he needed to complete the race.

He is a wonderful writer with six books to his credit, such as "Zululand Wilderness: Shadow and Soul". I have learned a great deal about conservation in South Africa, and about his great Zulu friend - Magqubu Ntombela.

He is an eloquent speaker, full of humor and wisdom. He is a generous soul, lending a hand to newcomers to conservation such as myself.

I feel inspired by him, particularly when I face challenges and difficulties. I know how he would encourage me and what he would say to me: "Tiger, go for it! You are a fearless tiger!"

During recent visit, he said to me and my friend & advisor Dr. Hector Magome: "Do you know when you feel old? When people give their seat to you. Traditionally it is men who give seats to women and children. I now know I am old".

But Ian, I would like to say to you, "You are an old Young Man, and a great one! You continue to inspire people around the world to become conservationists. And we will see you around for a long time to come!"

-Li Quan at Laohu Valley Reserve
Photos Credits: (top left) Dr. Ian Player (top right) Wilderness Foundation UK

Old Young Man & His Lazarus (Trilogy 1)

I am not sure if this is a Chinese thing, or Chinese thing from by-gone era. But I have always had a thing for old people: I enjoy their company, their wisdom, and their conversation. I have had the good fortune to get to know some remarkable old men over 70 years of age, and I am kinda in love with several of them now.

You must wonder what kinda old men attract someone as "young" as myelf. So here, I am going to start with the first one. The only reason I am starting my eulogy with Richard, is because I have just visited him in Philipolis this afternoon, where he offered me my usual Belverdere Vodka.

Richard is an English Gentleman from the old school. Here I would like to quote an article in the Times:

"Richard Proctor-Sims runs a bookshop and an art gallery in Philippolis. More than a half-century ago, Richard was a roving features writer for Panorama, the only travel magazine around at the time. In 1972, driving down from Joburg to Cape Town in his little Fiat at no more than 70km/h, he left the N1 somewhere near Beaufort West and found himself on a network of farm roads. He stopped the car and climbed out. “I smelled the clean air and listened, hearing silence for the first time in my life. And then I decided: the Karoo is where I’ll spend my last days... ”

Richard, to summarize his long and interesting life in a few quick lines, is a jack of all trades: once a diplomat, publisher, journalist, and now a restauranteur, bookshop owner, gallery owner, bar owner, and soon to be a shop keeper. Richard's love of books is inspiring and he is full of sense of humor.. I love spending time with him to acquire a few gems of wisdom for free each time, often accompanied by a signature house vodka cocktail.

Today, after arriving back at Laohu Valley, I paid an afternoon visit to Richard in town, delivering a few Chinese leafy vegetables that he showed interest last time he visited me at Laohu Valley. To my surprise, I saw his black and white cat, wandering past me with great ease and with a nice clean coat of fur. I was really pleasantly surprised and wondered if this was the same cat that I saw last time, with a matted fur and scared looks. Ricard had to tell me a story of this cat, now named Lazarus, before I could believe his transformation.

Lazarus, one of two cats inherited from Richard's sister who past away last year, was very shy and avoided any contacts with humans, including Richard, for quite a long time. A couple of months ago, Lazarus was diagnosed with an incurable immunal deficiency, which caused the loss of his coat. The vet recommended euthanising him, and his brother, who although not ill would suffer for the loss of his life-long companion (we know cats do!) if Lazarus is dead.

Lazarus' brother was easily given an lethal injection. Lazarus, being so timid and difficult to catch, was eventually given poison in his food. He was then dead. Richard had him and his brother buried in the ground, with great sadness, being a softy for cats of all kinds.

Next morning, a black and white cat appearred outside Richard's restaurant "Oom Japie se huis" (Uncle Japie's House). Richard could not believe his eyes when he saw this Lazarus look-alike, since it was Lazarus proper!

Since then, all sypmtoms of mange disappearred from the cat, and his personality has also changed - no longer terrified of those scary human beings. Hence, "Lazarus" got his new name, after the man whom Jesus raised from the dead - "Lazarus".

Richard, as if inspired by this miracle, worked wonders on his garage, soon to be turned into a shop selling organic local produce.

I confess that I feel, men like Richard, are old in age, alright, but they are young in mind and spirit.

-April 28, 2009 Li Quan from Laohu Valley Reserve

The Truth About Cats- Revelations from Taming Sisi

Some people say, cats come to anyone with food. The implied meaning is that cats use humans for their survival and are not really our friends as much as dogs are. Millions of humans who enjoy the pleasurable company of these intelligent beings of cats would beg to differ. Being the proud parent of quite a few cats, big and small, wild and domestic, particularly having "tamed" the little wild cat-"Sissy" on our reserve in the past few years, I have come to a new understanding of cats.

I wrote in my blog before how I have tamed several semi-wild cats which I inherited after acquiring our land in South Africa. "Maow" was already tame. His mother Mommy cost me a bit of effort but did not take that long before she slept affectionately on my face. It was the ultra shy little Sissy who took me a couple of years and much drama to befriend.

The transformation, however, is remarkable. It goes to show that shy cats will become extremely bonded with humans when they come to trust you. Waking up in the middle of sleepless nights to find her little body curled against mine, hear her tiny miaows of greeting and feel her furry little cheek against my face, are among the greatest wonders I behold. Her acknowledging miaws for her punctual return in the evening upon my call is always consolation to me. Her little playful games brighten up my gloomiest moments.

How on earth could this wild cat, with at least three-quarters of genes from black-footed cat, become so trustful of a human so many times of her size, who could easily inflict serious damage on her?

Not food! Though food contributed to the initial bonding process. She had always been fed by others, but she allows no one else to pick her up - stubbornly refusing any other human's offer of friendship. This is very similar to our South China Tiger Madonna, who, despite that I never fed her, still accepts me as her only human mate.

A zoologist once said to me about tigers, that you can't buy friendship from them with food, as they regard food as their rights. They would take food from anyone in case of survival, but you will not necessarily be allowed into their lives.

Perhaps, Sissy feels the love I give and appreciate the care I provided for her? Perhaps, she could sense that I worry about her safety when I am away? Perhaps, but perhaps, it is just because she needs a mother which I have become, after her own mother rejected her, after her younger siblings were born? Maybe this is something we humans have missed -as independent as cats are, they still only have the mental age of a 2 year old human, and don't two year old human children have emotional need of mothers??? Food, cats can obtain from practically anyone, but it is really the love and care that a human showers on a cat that can truly make her your faithful child.

-Li Quan at Laohu Valley Reserve, South Africa

Hulooo The Leader

It is Feb 8th and has been a week since Hulooo & brothers entered into the 40 hectare camp. It proved to be a major adjustment for the young tigers to suddenly find themselves in such a large area, particularly for JenB & Coco.

For the most part, they stayed in the area near the half hectare, or along the fence. Due to Hulooo's intense interests in being together with his human parents, we could only drive into the 40 hectare after putting him temporarily into the half hectare camp. However, our one attempt to guide JenB &Coco to other parts of the camp only managed to lead them to the edge of the tree area.

After my guests were all gone, I had more time today to dedicate to the youngsters. Hulooo, as it appeared to me, has taken a leading role among his brothers, being the older of the three. Because of his intimate bond with humans, why not lead him who will lead his brothers to explore the rest of the large camp?!

I drove slowly along the fence along the open area of the hunting camp.
Indeed, Hulooo, then JenB followed me on their side of the camp, with Coco trailing behind. It seemed to me that Coco had become more independent since entering 40 hectare camp, as I noticed him to be more often on his own. Even now, JenB was more closely following Hulooo, chasing him and jumping on top of him, while Coco kept a distance.

In the far corner of the camp, I saw the 6 remaining blesbok. Cathay and TW had hunted all the other 33 since last October. These six blesbok are not easy prey. They are clever and experienced, after surviving the last few months. They will be a huge challenge to the young tigers who have had no hunting experience up to now.

I turned around the corner of the fence, while Hulooo and JenB made a short cut to catch up with me. I was trying to slow down a bit, in order not to disturb the blesbok ahead in the distance. The blesbok saw my vehicle, and must have judged from their experience that I was still too far to pose any danger, so they just watched. As I drew nearer, they saw the tigers trailing behind, and experience must have told them it was now time to run, and run they did! This caught the attention of Hulooo who, with no hesitation, dashed off in a straight line towards the blesbok,

It was clear to me Hulooo had yet to learn. He was too obvious running in a straight line. This reminded me of his mother and Hope, when they first entered the 60 hectare camp. Time will come when Hulooo figures out the stalking techniques. Surely, there was no match between tiger and blesbok in long distance running, particularly in such an open area, so Hulooo gave up after the first failed attempt. He went behind a small bush, seemingly understood that he was too obvious. Then his attention was caught by that big herd of blue wilderbeest on the outside of the camp, whose grazing was disturbed by the presence of tigers, and who stood there making their threatening noises.

JenB caught up, and launched a chase of the blesbok too, before setting his eyes also on the angry wilderbeest. Just when Hulooo and JenB were focusing on the blue wilderbeest, Coco embarked on his chase of the blesbok. First he also ran a straight line towards them, but as he got closer, he must have gotten, for he went behind one of the two only little bushes. I could only see him sniffing the ground through my binoculars.

For me, this was certainly an exciting moment to witness. This is the start of their hunting training. They now know there is game around. I hope as they get more comfortable in this camp, they will start to understand the link between these "running toys" and food.


Feb 10. It rained overnight, and today was mostly cloudy and cool. Having been fed two days ago, Hulooo and his brothers were still lazy this morning.

In the afternoon monitoring, I drove along the 40 hectare fence, half heartedly expecting Hulooo & brothers to appear from the trees. Having driven half way when no one showed up, I reversed my truck to head back the way I came. When I was nearly at the gate, I saw Hulooo's lone figure walking towards me.

He followed my truck on his side of the fence in his own leisurely pace. I tried to direct him towards the blesbok, but Hulooo was in no hurry, sniffing the ground as he moved. The rain gathered its intensity and lightening and thunder moved closer and closer. But Hulooo did not seem bothered. At one point, he raised his head and saw the blesbok, and made a cheetah style run at it again. A failed attempt of course.

Lightening was now directly over our head, followed by ever louder thunders.
It reminded me that our neighbour-the big game breeder John Hume, lost 6 precious buffalo from lightening last year. The buffalo were under a tree which was struck by lightening. I worry that such things could happen to our tigers too as they take shelter under the trees from the heavy rain.

Hulooo, however, insisted following my truck, despite the rain nearly blinding his eyes. In a way I am glad since the lightening could not get to him without the trees. I drove slowly and at times Hulooo would take a quick dive into the little bushes nearby to get a bit relief from the downpour.
After a little while, he would emerge again, shaking off the water on his fur, and continued to walk with my truck. Thunders got louder and louder and exploded right above. Suddenly, one cracked right on top of my head, shaking the ground as well as my heart.

Hulooo, as if struck also by electeicity, launched into a gallop and ran on the open grassland in the middle of the rain. Eventually, through my binoculars, I saw his head among the little group of bushes, continuing to follow my truck with his eyes...

A couple of days later, the youngsters made more attempt at the blesbok, under the leadership of Hulooo. Their techniques seemed to have improved some what, using the little bushes to hide from time. But there is a long way to go before they could catch any of these experienced game!

King Henry's First Witnessed Hunt

It was a memory day on Jan 27th. I witnessed King Henry's first witnessed hunt! It was 6am in the morning and I heard distressed bird cries coming out of Madonna's camp. I could not see anything from the side of the fence I was, so I rushed over to the other side. At the far end of the camp along the fence, I saw King Henry plucking a feather off something though my camera lense. Then I saw some thing ran off and KingHenry went after it. Then I lost sight of him.

Some time later, I saw a little cub in the branches under the big tree next to where I saw them first time and saw something was dangling off King Henry's mouth. I tried to get closer, but in an effort to protect his hard earned bread, KingHenry started eating the birdlike creature, with noises of bone being crunched. I was so excited. I hd witnessed Madonna's cub's first witnessed hunt in the wild! I feel like congratulating King Henry, but he took it in such a stride that he just wandered off as a matter of factly, as if he does this everyday. Maybe he does!

It was overcast and cool next morning and all the tigers were cheering and played happily in the wind. A whole Springbok carcass was given to Madonna and her cubs as a normal feeding process. The carcass was laid down for Madonna inside the small feeding camp, from where she normally would carry it back into her camp for her cubs. To our surprise today, instead of carrying it all the way back, she left the carcass just at wrong side of the gate, where her eager and curious son King Henry nearly made a quantum leap into this fearful unknown camp to get the food. Madonna was teaching her babies to get the carcass on their own!

King Henry's full attention was dedicated to getting his mouth on the right place to be able to drag the carcass across. He gave up after a few minutes of unsuccessful tries, and joined his mother and sister in the trees to play. But his heart was still on the carcass, so he went back to his food again after a few minutes. A king he must be! The all powerful little cub, to my great surprise and admiration, eventually managed to drag the 30 kg carcass across! What an achievement that was! I am so proud of her and I am sure so was his mother!

However, opening the carcass to eat was another challenge and Madonna was determined to let her baby learn this on his own. King Henry tried and tried, standing at one stage with all fours on top of it but sprinbok skin was tough leather. King Henry ended up only eating the eyes of it. He then joined the play between his little sister and mum and they dashed off merrily into the trees.

We know that tigers never learned from their teachers -the small cats- how to climb but our cubs proved the traditional wisdom wrong! Because soon after, I saw King Henry high up in the big tree under which they were first seen by me, with Princess at the lower side of the tree. For a moment, I though King Henry was not able to come down the tree as he tried every position to find a way down. I was worried he might make a desperate attempt by jumping down, injuring himself. Again I underestimated his intelligence. King Henry figured it out quickly and with head down, he climbed down the tree safely.

Having given her son enough opportunity to try, Madonna eventually came and dragged the carcass into the ditch..

Jen-B & Bros Enter 40 Hectare Camp

Jan 30th came. We were about to let Cathay's cubs go into a new stage in life, by introducing them into the 40 hectare camp, where they would learn to hunt, as there are still 6 blesbok left from the hunts made by their parents in the last few months. But first we must pull their parents back from 40 hectare into the Tree camp, where Hulooo used to live. To get to the tree camp, Cathay and TW have to pass through the 9 hectare camp. The afternoon before, we opened the connecting gate to the 9 hectare. Haven't been here for a while, Cathay and TW refused to go further, sniffing around the new fence under construction to establish a new camp within the 9 hectare camp. They must be wondering what this new fence was for, since it did not form any enclosure of any kind.

After a while, I decided to let them stay in the 9 hectare to explore for the night, confident they would be hungry and ready to be enticed into the Tree camp. Indeed, it was peacemeal to do so in the morning of Jan 30th.

Afterwards, we let JenB and Coco out into the 9 hectare camp, leaving Hulooo in the quarantine camp for the moment. The two were having a field day, chasing one another merrily in the grass and stalking one another in the bush and trees. They were also interested in their parents, thus refusing to go any further. Eventually, we tried using the food truck to seduce them, but even food could not compete with the new smells of the 9 hectare camp, even less the appeal of their mother and father. They ended up back in the area next to the Tree Camp, watching their parents with great interests. As the sun shone on with great intensity and it was time for day dreams,I left the young tigers there for the day.

Afternoon was also no success to get them into the 40 hectare camp. As we tried ways to lead them on the right track, the young tigers must feel as if we were playing a game of hide and seek, and ended up stalking me and our staff. It was certainly great fun but no objectives achieved. I also discovered that they were scared of the pool of water collected in the little stream that ran through our camps, although they had submerged them in water trough before. They snarled at the dark water. Was it because the water looked too dark and they feared the unknown??

I started to through little stones into the water. As the circles from the fallen stone expanded, they became very interested. I also asked our team to cut some pieces of meat to throw into the water. The cubs seemed more interested. Coco at one stage got into the edge of the water, and must have liked the feel of the coolness of water, as he searched for the piece of meat. I start to strategize more ways to get them into water in the near future.As the sun started to set, we left them to explore the 9 hectare camp for the night.

Next morning, we embarked our endeavor to get the cubs into the 40 hectare again. As Jen-B and Coco showed some sign of hunger, Cleve tied a blesbok to the truck and the cubs followed, stopping to explore the environment from time to time. It was not too much of an effort to get them enter into the half hectare camp connecting to 40 hectare. They have never been here before so the millions of new smells attracted them to explore. Eventually, we left the carcass on the 40 hectare side of the fence that they could see from the half hectare and let them make their moves at their own pace. 20 minutes later when Cleve went back to check, both Jen-B and Coco had successfully entered into the 40 hectare camp!

In the afternoon heat, when we saw them again, the two brothers were walking along the fence, probably exploring, but probably also looking for Hulooo. When we got closer, I saw Jen-B's belly was wet, which meant he might have gotten into the river somewhat. However, when he tried to cross the river, I saw that he was still very cautious, tiptoeing as if afraid to touch the river water. Clearly, they need Hulooo to show them that the darkish looking stream contains the tiger's favorite essence of water.

It was time to get Hulooo into the 40 hectare camp. Being very bonded with humans, it was an easy job to get Hulooo through the 9 hectare camp to the half hectare camp. He simply followed us along his side of the fence, rolling and jumping in the long grass, tree-climbing and running wild merrily, along the way. When he reached the half hectare camp, however, he was also fascinated by the thousands of fresh smells of various grasses and sniffed around and around.

Jen-B and Coco came over to greet their elder brother, which prompted Hulooo to make a speedier move into the 40 hectare camp. Hulooo, despite a slight hesitation, jumped into it and joined his brothers. It was as if they hadn't seen each other for a long time. They embarked on a game of merry chase and disappeared into the trees.

Feb 1, 2009 Laohu Valley Reserve