Tiger Populations
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Tiger Populations
Sumatran Tigers
•This tiger subspecies is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Fewer than 400 Sumatran tigers exist today. In 1978, experts estimated the population of Sumatran tigers at 1,000.
Photo by SSipple
Amur Tigers
•The vast tracts of tiger forests in the Amur-Heilong landscape are unique. This region comprises Korean pine and Mongolian oak, which provide an important habitat for the Amur tiger and its prey—as well as important economic resources for local communities.
•Tiger forests are at risk from logging, conversion to agriculture, urban expansion, road construction, mining, fires and inadequate law enforcement. Illegal logging is widespread throughout the Russian Far East and has a major impact on tiger populations because Korean pine and Mongolian oak provide critical food for the the tigers' prey during the snow season.
Photo by orchidgalore
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Photo by orchidgalore
Bengal Tigers
This tiger subspecies is at the top of the food chain in the wild. But tigers are also a vital link in maintaining the rich diversity of nature. When tigers are protected, we save so much more. For example, with just one tiger, we protect around 25,000 acres of forest. These ecosystems supply both nature and people with fresh water, food, and health.
Before the international ban on tiger trade in 1993, tiger populations were being decimated by poaching and trade. Despite the ban in the past few decades, the illegal demand for tigers as status symbols, decorative items, and folk cures has increased dramatically, leading to a new poaching crisis. Poaching driven by the international illegal wildlife trade is the largest immediate threat to the remaining tiger population.
Photo by Chris M. Santos
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Photo by Chris M. Santos
Indochinese Tigers
Maintaining tiger habitats in the Greater Mekong directly benefits a host of other globally important species like Asian elephants, Asiatic black bear, a suite of wild cattle and many endemic deer.In 2010, WWF sounded the alarm for the Indochinese tiger—the population of this subspecies had fallen by more than 70 percent in slightly more than a decade. Six countries—Thailand, Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam—are now home to only around 350 tigers.
Photo by Princess Stand in the Rain
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Photo by Princess Stand in the Rain
South China Tigers
South China tigers are a reminder that the threat against the world’s tiger is an urgent one. Today, South China tigers are found in zoos and in South Africa where there are plans to reintroduce captive-bred tigers back into the wild.The South China tiger population was estimated to number 4,000 individuals in the early 1950s. In the next few decades, thousands were killed as the subspecies was hunted as a pest. The Chinese government banned hunting in 1979. By 1996 the population was estimated to be just 30-80 individuals.
Today the South China tiger is considered by scientists to be “functionally extinct,” as it has not been sighted in the wild for more than 25 years.
Photo by HBarrison
Malayan Tiger
Malayan tigers were classified as Indochinese tigers until DNA testing in 2004 showed them to be a separate subspecies. Their Latin name—Panthera tigris jacksoni—honors Peter Jackson, the famous tiger conservationist. Malayan tigers are found only on the Malay Peninsula and in the southern tip of Thailand.
Protecting tiger habitats in Malaysia safeguards other species such as Asian elephants and mainland clouded leopards.
Photo by orchidgalore
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Photo by orchidgalore
