On November 23, 2007, in South Africa, the South Chinese tiger named Hulooo was born as part of a breeding program by the foundation "South China Tigers." The intention is to eventually release the tigers into the wild in China. 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 seriously threatened worldwide. In the 1990s, there were still 100,000 tigers in Asia; by 2022, that number has dwindled to between 2600 and 3900. The reasons for the decline include poaching for the trade in tiger products, loss of habitat, and human-animal conflicts.