327 Gets His Groove Back

Regular readers will notice another lag in my blogs for the next week and a half, as I am fleeing the Chinese International Workers Day "Golden Week" and going on vacation in Kenya.

It turns out I am not the only Chinese resident seeking adventure in Africa this week: a four-year-old stud tiger from the Suzhou zoo was flown to South Africa on Monday as part of a conservation program. Although tigers are neither indigenous nor naturally present in Africa, the environment and habitat is well-suited to them. Beginning a couple of years ago, China and South Africa have been cooperating to raise a few tigers in a reserve in South Africa. The goal is for the nearly-extinct animals to breed and learn to hunt prey before being released into their natural environment in China.

The rare successful conservation story out of China always makes me smile, but I find one aspect of this story particularly entertaining, and I'm sure it says something about the cultures involved. The Chinese simply call their tiger "327", which is his breeding registration number; the South Africans, on the other hand, have given the tigers lively monikers like Madonna, Hope, and Tiger Woods. Hoping this stud will mate with a female named Cathay, they have already begun calling 327 "Boyfriend."