THE Ministry of Forestry sent a team to investigate the existence of the wild South China tiger in Shaanxi Province after questions arose across the country about the authenticity of a recent picture of the animal, which was thought to be extinct.

The team will study the living conditions in the province's Zhenping County, where a local farmer claims he snapped a photo of a tiger early this month.

Ministry spokesman Cao Qinyao confirmed yesterday to Shanghai Daily that a team has been dispatched.

Many questions have been raised about the authenticity of the farmer's pictures. Cao declined to provide further information on how the experts will carry out their task.

The South China tiger, an animal exclusive to China, had been listed among the world's 10 most endangered animals. Such tigers have not been spotted since October 1986.

The ministry's decision came soon after the Forestry Department of Shaanxi went to Beijing with the pictures taken by Zhou Zhenglong, 52, who claimed he took the tiger pictures on October 3.

Experts in Shaanxi have confirmed the animal on the 40 digital pictures and 31 film photographs is a South China tiger and the pictures were genuine.

However, many suspicious points surfaced in the photo, including the angle of the sunlight and the size of some leaves.

The Shaanxi Forestry Department said it wants to set up a national nature reserve in the province. The tiger news, whether true or not, has already brought unprecedented attention to the county of 57,000 people in northern Shaanxi.

Zhou, a former hunter, also arouse more suspicion when he refused to release his photos just one day before the provincial forestry authority planned to hold a news conference about the tiger's reappearance on October 12.

Zhou said he wouldn't allow his pictures to be published unless the provincial authority offered him a reward of one million yuan (US$133,333). He eventually agreed to lower his request to 20,000 yuan for two pictures.

International practice states that a species will only be declared extinct if a living animal has not been seen in 50 years.