One of the South China tiger cubs recently born at the Laohu Valley Reserve in the southern Free State has been given a name, the Save China's Tigers organisation announced on Monday.

The organisation's founder, Li Quan, said the cub was named "JenB" in honour of the late Jenifer Bone, an animal lover of Sydney, Australia, who donated money to the project in South Africa.

JenB and its brother, who is yet unnamed, were born two months ago.

Quan said the two cubs were being "devotedly cared" for by their mother, Cathay, at the reserve near Phillipolis.

The cubs are part of a "rewilding" training programme at the Laohu Valley Reserve, where they are being prepared for eventual release into their natural Chinese habitat.

South China tigers are considered to be extinct.

The South African project aims to take zoo born tigers from China, rewild them and allow them to learn to hunt for themselves again and to then breed them before returning the wild off-spring to China.

Since 2003, four tigers have undergone rewilding training at Laohu Valley Reserve, a 330 square kilometre reserve, on the banks of the Orange River which forms the border between the Free State and the Northern Cape.

Quan said Jenifer Bone, who passed away on 24 October 2007, was a lifelong lover of big cats and bequeathed a donation of more than R570 000 to the project.

"We are extremely grateful for the generous support of the Jenifer Bone Estate. The donation would be put towards our operations immediately," Quan said in a statement.

S She said a priority would be to build better maternity facilities for the tigresses at the reserve to give birth in a more secure environment.

Meanwhile, JenB was a strong cub and very healthy.

"He has lived under different weather conditions, including very cold rainy and windy days, with the care of his mother," said Quan.

She said he was expected to start his re-wilding training soon under the guidance of his mother, Cathay.

It was estimated that except for the seven South China Tigers at the South African reserve and some 67 in zoos in China, only about 20 or 30 might still exist in remote regions of China.

Sapa