Controversial photographs raise hopes of a species thought to be extinct but also spark suspicion of China's subterfuge.

There are only five of the eight species of tigers alive today. One of them is the elusive South China tiger that was last sighted in 1964. But in October 2007, a Chinese farmer Zhou Zhenglong supposedly snapped a photograph of the tiger in the forested mountains of Zhenping County, Shaanxi Province. The photo was chosen from 71 reportedly taken by Zhou. The digital picture, purporting to be of a wild South China Tiger crouching in the midst of green bushes, was released by teh Forestry Department of northwest  China's Shaanxi Province at a news conference in October and immediately hailed as proof that the South China tiger was still alive in the wild.

The news was given credence when the US magazine Science published the photograph and an accompanying article. Other media organisations, including the BBC, also reported the story. But it wasn't long before critics suggested the photo was a fake. What lent to the suspicion was that farmer Zhou, a former hunter, was reported to be asking for 500,000 yuan (US$68,000) for the photographs.

One netizen posted online what he claimed was as "convincing evidence" that the photo was a fake - a picture of a tiger that hangs on the wall of his home. The man said: "It's the same picture. Even the stripes are identical". Debates began to rage over the Internet as both experts and laymen pointed out flaws in the photograph, talking about how tigers are solitary, vigilant animals that are notoriously difficult to spot, let alone photograph, in the wild. Wildlife experts estimate a mere 30 individuals to exist in the wild. Others could not believe the tiger's fluorescent-looking fur belonged to a real animal. Even the China Photographers Society joined the growing band of doubters and declared the picture fake.

Despite the accusations, some Chinese government officials held on to the possibility that the photographs were real. Chinese State Forestry Administration launched an that included a team of 10 to scour an area covering 200,000 hectares searching for black bears, leopards and, of course, the South China tiger. Concurrently, experts looked into the authenticity of the photographs.

Two months after the South China tiger was reported to be alive, a team of photographic experts, assembled under the China Photographers Society, released the results of a technical analysis, revealing the pictures of the South China tiger to be fake and unable to serve as evidence for the existence of the wild animal. Regardless, the Forestry Department maintains that South China tigers exist in Zhenping county of Shaanxi Province.

More than a controversy, the tiger debate has now become a discussion about conserving China's wildlife in the face of rampant economic development.

Animal Bites

• Molecular evidence may show that there are at least six species of giraffes in Africa. Over the past decade there has been a 30 percent drop in giraffe numbers. It is hoped that the new classification will help inform conservation plans to save the most threatened populations.

• After fears that the national symbol of the US, the bald eagle, would soon become extinct, the bird is now well on its way to recovery. In 1963, the number of breeding pairs was only 417. Today there are almost 10,000 breeding pairs. Wildlife experts will continue to track the numbers of breeding pairs for the next five years.

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