A rare Chinese tiger "Hope" which came to South Africa to learn how to hunt two years ago, died in a tiger reserve, about 500 km south of Johannesburg, on Saturday, according to the reserve on Monday.

Li Quan, the founder of the "Save China's Tigers" foundation, told Xinhua through telephone on Monday that "Hope had an infection and he stopped eating meat. He died on Saturday evening."

This would be a fresh blow to efforts to save the species from extinction. With only about 10 to 30 left in the world and another 60 in captivity, the Chinese sub-species of the tiger clan is perched precariously on the brink of extinction.

"Hope" was born in a Chinese zoo and sent to South Africa as a cub with his mate "Cathay" in 2003 for a pioneering experiment seen by some as the last chance to preserve the species a "rewilding program" to encourage the animals to hunt on their own.

Hope and Cathay were taught to hunt at the Laohu Valley Reservein South Africa's Free State province -- at first killing birds, and then graduating to antelope.

The plan had been that they would impart their skills to any cubs they might eventually produce, who would be sent to a reserve in China.

A younger breeding pair, Madonna and Tiger Woods, arrived in South Africa in October last year for the project. They can now catch sheep.

(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2005)