On November 23, 2007, in South Africa, the South Chinese tiger named Hulooo was born within a breeding program of the foundation "South China Tigers". The intention is to release the tigers into the wild in China at the appropriate time. The foundation was established to prevent the South Chinese tiger from becoming extinct. Under Mao's rule, more than 3000 South Chinese tigers were killed in the 1950s because they were considered a plague. Currently, there are about 30 South Chinese tigers left in the wild.

The entire tiger population is severely threatened worldwide. In the 1990s, there were still 100,000 tigers in Asia; by 2022, there are only between 2600 and 3900 left. The reasons for the decline are poaching for tiger products, habitat loss, and human-animal conflicts.