2007

Oct 12: The forestry department of Shaanxi province releases a set of photographs of the South China tiger at a news conference. It says Zhou Zhenglong, a farmer in Zhenping county, shot them. Netizens immediately cast doubt on the authenticity of the photos.

Oct 19: Fu Dezhi, an expert with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, says the photographs are staged.

Nov 16: A Netizen discovers one of Zhou's tiger photographs was processed from a New Year picture hanging in his house. A printing house in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, confirms it printed the picture.

Dec 19: The State Forestry Administration asks its Shaanxi branch to verify the validity of the tiger photos using independent professional experts.

2008

Feb 4: The Shaanxi forestry department apologizes for having released the photos, calling it "a perfunctory job", but stopping short of commenting on its validity.

June 24: Police reportedly detain Zhou Zhenglong.

June 29: Shaanxi forestry department holds a news briefing to declare all the tiger photographs are staged.