China sacks officials over faked big cat snaps

China has given more than a dozen government officials their marching orders over faked photographs of the highly-endangered South China tiger, Xinhua reports.

Last October, forestry officials in Zhenping county, northern Shaanxi province, published the photos citing them as evidence of the tiger's survival. The animal had not been seen in the wild since 1964, but suddenly posed for local farmer Zhou Zhenglong's digital camera (see pic), earning the photographer a reward of 20,000 yuan (£1,450).