Li Quan
It’s not difficult to imagine that the founder of Save China’s Tigers, Li Quan, may have been a tiger in a previous life. Although petite and refined, she has the fighting spirit of a ferocious feline.
It’s not difficult to imagine that the founder of Save China’s Tigers, Li Quan, may have been a tiger in a previous life. Although petite and refined, she has the fighting spirit of a ferocious feline.
Chinese business woman Li Quan is at the helm of an ambitious, and at times considered controversial, conservation project where zoo-bred South China Tigers were brought to South Africa to teach them to survive in the wild and breed in order for them to return to their native land one day.
The South China Tiger is critically endangered with about 70 left. Most of them are in zoos and this majestic animal, which is the most ancient of tiger species, has not been seen in the wild for decades.
Nearly a decade ago, Quan pinned her hopes for the survival of the species on the Laohu Valley Reserve near Philippolis in the Southern Free State. Here the tigers are being rewilded with the help of South
African expertise.
She hopes the South African conservation model of ecotourism can be applied to China to secure the future of the tigers.
Born in Beijing in the Year of the Tiger, Quan spent most of her formative years playing in the pristine suburbs of the city, but developed a love for nature and animals, especially cats.
After graduating from Beijing University with a degree in English American Literature and Sociology, she moved to Belgium and taught Chinese at Leuven University, while also working for Jenssen Pharmaceutica on the first Chinese commercial deal with the West.
Quan realised in order to be financially self-sufficient she needed to broaden her field of expertise. She was accepted into the prestigious Wharton Business School in the US and this was there where she met her investment banker husband, Stuart Bray, who is a co-founder of Save China’s Tigers.
After completing her studies, Quan did a one-year stint with Coca-Cola, but left the company because she “was not motivated to sell sugar water”. She then pursued a career in fashion in Italy – something she found satisfied her creative drive.
Quan now divides her time between Europe, China, and South Africa and runs her charity on a full-time basis.
Also, renowned scientists David Smith, Jim Sanderson, and Gary Koehler now believe the model employed by Quan is the future of big cat conservation.
The Weekly met her at Villa TigerLi where she discussed her plans for the tigers.
How has your life changed since you founded Save China’s Tigers?
Before I founded the charity, I worked as the licencing manager for Gucci in Italy. My husband was working in banking in London, and earned a lot more. So, I moved to London to care for him and basically lived a life of leisure. After a couple of years, my friends told me I was wasting my life and advised me to use my abilities to do something useful. The tiger charity started on the side at first, but I started devoting more and more of my time to it. It has since taken over my life. It has also taken over my husband’s life. My friends also got roped in. My life revolves around tigers.
What challenges have you encountered with regards to the project?
When I started I did not realise the magnitude of the project I had undertaken. The challenges I thought were going to be the most challenging were not. I thought there would be problems with genetic inbreeding, which never happened. The biggest challenges turned out to be human obstacles, ranging from money being stolen to the NSPCA criminalising us. For several years we had to spend valuable funds fighting those ridiculous fights.
What was it like when the first tigers, Hope and Cathay, arrived at Laohu Valley Reserve?
It is hard to describe the feeling now because at the time I was under so much pressure. I was terrified that something had happened to the tigers. When I saw them alive, I thanked God. I also felt a sense of responsibility. So I said okay, now that the tigers have left China they are entirely my responsibility. It has been a responsibility that has been on my shoulders ever since.
How do you feel now that there are 14 tigers at the reserve?
I feel very proud of the tigers. They have really lived up to my expectations and I am proud that I have proven the critics wrong. The tigers have not only learned to hunt, but they are thriving and breeding in the South African environment. On the other hand, with 14 tigers the chances of problems increase exponentially. So it is more finances, resources, and more stress.
When do you expect the first tigers to return to China?
We were hoping to take the first tigers in 2008, but that has not happened. It has not been an easy task because people have to be moved who are living off the land. I hope that the first tigers can be taken to the transition site in China for the adaptation experiment next year. It has taken a lot longer than I expected, but I think the more successful we are here, the more the Chinese government will take us seriously and secure the
best habitat.
How has the economic meltdown of 2008 affected the project?
We do not spend money to raise money because I want all the resources to go to the field. So we set up our own company to raise funds through investments. My husband had a tough time doing business and we eventually had to sell our penthouse apartment in Cape Town to keep the project going.
What do you say to the critics of the project?
If we can make it in South Africa, we can make it in China. We have proven the critics wrong who said the tigers would never adapt, learn to hunt, and breed in South Africa.
What do you hope to achieve by the next Year of the Tiger, 2022?
I hope by then the South China Tiger will have been roaming around in the Chinese reserve and prospering. I hope the Chinese will actually be able to visit the tigers like South Africans visit nature reserves like the Kruger National Park. And I also hope that China will be able to allocate more land to tiger reserves.
