SCIENCE magazine will publish a controversial picture of the South China tiger in its November 9 issue, the Shanghai Morning Post reported today.

Science will publish the picture despite the current row over its authenticity in China, according to Virginia Morell, a correspondent for the journal who contributed to a report in September about China's conservation policy to protect its endangered tigers.

Morell said she and her colleagues were all heartened to see the picture, saying it would be an exhilarating thing if the species still exists after it was believed to have been extinct in the wild for 30 years, the report said.

The tiger's pictures stirred up a furore in China since its exposure. Many said they were faked and dismissed the whole thing as a clumsy attempt to enhance the fame of the county and apply for national conserve area and development funds.

Morell and the other staff of the magazine admitted that some parts of the picture did arouse their suspicion. For example, they too thought the color of the tiger's fur was exceptionally bright.

Besides, the leaves covering the tiger's head also appeared too large, as some in China argued that the biggest leave in the area where the tiger was allegedly spotted was 20-centimeters wide, thus cannot cover a tiger's head.

The magazine's decision to publish the picture doesn't indicate that it is endorsing it as a true picture, Morell said.

It requires much more evidences than just a picture to prove the existence of the tigers, such as their hair, footprints and genetic tests, Morell said.

Morell also said the author of the picture, Zhou Zhenglong, a farmer in Zhenping County in Shaanxi Province where the tiger was photographed on October 3, seems like an honest man "with no likely intention to fool the public."