Tigers

Tigers (and all other carnivores) are descended from civet-like animals called miacids that lived during the age of the dinosaurs about 60 million years ago. These small mammals, with long bodies and short flexible limbs, evolved over millions of years into several hundred different species, including cats, bears, dogs and weasels. Approximately 37 cat species exist today, including Panthera tigris, the tiger.

Tigers evolved in eastern Asia. Andrew Kitchener states in the book The Natural History of Wild Cats, that

"Fossil tigers are known from the Late Pliocene/Early Pleistocene of southeastern Asia. A small primitive tiger was living in North China during the Early Pleistocene. Between 1.3 and 2.1 million years ago, tigers were living in Java...from about two million years ago, tigers spread from their evolutionary centre in eastern Asia in two directions. Tigers moving through the Central Asian woodlands to the west and southwest gave rise to the Caspian tigers. Secondly, tigers from China moved to the east of the central Asian mountains to southeastern Asian and the Indonesian islands, and thence westwards to India (Hemmer, 1987)."

• It is estimated that 360–406 still exist in the wild. About 490 captive Amur tigers are managed in zoo conservation programs.

• The Amur or Siberian tiger lives primarily in the coniferous, scrub oak, and birch woodlands of eastern Russia, with a few tigers found in northeastern China and northern North Korea.

• Amur tigers are the largest of the tiger subspecies. Males can grow up to 3.3 meters (10' 9") long and weigh up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds). Females are smaller, measuring about 2.6 meters (8 1/2 feet) from head to tail, and weighing about 100 to 167 kilograms (200 to 370 pounds).

• The Amur tiger's orange coloring is paler than the coloring of other tigers. Its stripes are brown rather than black, and are widely spaced. It has a white chest and belly, and a thick white ruff of fur around its neck.

• In the Russian Far East these prey species are unevenly distributed and move seasonally. As a result, the territory size of Amur tigers is quite large, ranging from 100-400 km² (39–154 mile²) for females to 800–1,000 km² (309–390 mile²) for males (Nowell and Jackson, 1996 ).

Zoo Tigers

The captive program for Amur tigers is the largest and longest managed program for any of the subspecies. The Amur tiger served as one of the models for the creation of scientifically managed programs for species in captivity in zoos and aquariums worldwide. According to the 1997 International Tiger Studbook there are about 501 Amur tigers managed in zoos. This captive population is descended from 83 wild-caught founders. For the most part, the Amur tiger is considered secure in captivity, with a large, genetically diverse and stable population.

• It is estimated that at most only 20-30 South China tigers still exist in the wild. Currently 47 South China tigers live in 18 zoos, all in China.The South China tiger is the most critically endangered of all tiger subspecies.

• The South China tiger is one of the smallest tiger subspecies. Male tigers measure about 2.5 meters (8 feet) from head to tail and weigh approximately 150 kilograms (330 pounds). Female tigers are smaller, measuring about 2.3 meters (7 1/2 feet) long. They weigh approximately 110 kilograms (240 pounds). The short, broad stripes of the South China tiger are spaced far apart compared to those of Bengal and Siberian tigers.

• Because there are so few wild South China tigers, and they have rarely been seen, very little is know about them at this time.

Zoo Tigers

According to the 1995 South China Tiger Studbook the captive population of 48 South China tigers is confined to 19 Chinese zoos. They are descended from only six wild-caught tigers (about 120 tigers descended from 30 wild-caught tigers would be closer to the ideal). The last time that a wild tiger was brought into captivity was 20 years ago. The situation for the future does not look good.

Conservation Action

To counter these disturbing trends, China has made some valiant efforts. It joined CITES in 1981 and passed the Wild Animal Protection Law of the People's Republic of China in 1988. This year the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens, under the Ministry of Construction, invited the IUCN's Tiger GASP team to evaluate their tiger husbandry and medical management procedures, to verify origin and parentage of each tiger, and to perform a population management analysis at a masterplan workshop. Two significant outcomes were a South China Tiger Studbook and a South China Tiger Masterplan. Additional plans are to meet with the Ministry of Forestry and to further define the status and threats to wild populations using a computer-based landscape analysis (GIS) and to draft an Action Plan on what might be done to secure wild tigers for the future.

• An estimated 1,227–1,785 Indochinese tigers are left in the wild, and about 60 live in zoos in Asia and the U.S.A.

• The distribution of the Indochinese tiger is centered in Thailand. Indochinese tigers are also found in Myanmar, southern China, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and peninsular Malaysia.Within this range, tigers live in remote forests in hilly to mountainous terrain, much of which lies along the borders between countries. Access to these areas is often restricted, and biologists have only recently been granted limited permits for field surveys. As a result, relatively little is know about the status of these tigers in the wild.

• Indochinese tigers are a bit smaller and darker than Bengal tigers, with shorter, narrower stripes. Males average 2.7 meters (9 feet) from head to tail and weigh about180 kilograms (400 pounds). Females are smaller, measuring about 2.4 meters (8 feet) in length and weighing approximately 115 kilograms (250 pounds).

• The specific range size of this tiger is not know, however the population density is thought to be approximately 4 to 5 adult tigers/100 km² (39 mile²) in optimal habitat.

In July 1995 the Zoological Parks Organization of Thailand (ZPO) held a masterplan meeting to develop a captive management program for Indochinese tigers in Thai zoos. Participants from zoos and wildlife agencies in Malaysia, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Singapore assisted at the meeting in the analysis of the origin of captive tigers, the role of Thai and other Asian zoos in supporting the conservation of wild tigers, and the development of a ZPO Indochinese Tiger Masterplan. Similar masterplans may be developed in neighboring tiger range countries. Zoos in Malaysia in particular have a relatively large and successful captive management program for Indochinese tigers. The CBSG Tiger GASP estimates that in 1995 there are about 60 Indochinese tigers in captivity in Asian and North American zoos. Only four wild-caught founders have bred and contributed to the managed captive population. Captive management programs for Indochinese tigers in Asia are currently being developed and expanded.

• The estimated wild population of Bengal tigers is approximately 3,159–4,715 tigers, with about 333 in captivity, primarily in zoos in India.

• Most Bengal tigers live in India, although some range through Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Myanmar.

• White tigers are simply a color variant of Bengal tigers and are rarely found in the wild.

• The Bengal tiger lives in a wide range of habitats, including the high-altitude, cold, coniferous Himalayan forests, the steaming mangroves of the Sunderbans, the swampy reedlands, the scorched hills of the Indian peninsula, the lush wet forests of Northern India, and the arid forests of Rajasthan.

• Male Bengal tigers average 2.9 meters (9 1/2 feet) from head to tail and weigh about 220 kilograms (480 pounds). Females are smaller, measuring about 2.5 meters (8 feet) in length and weighing approximately 140 kilograms (300 pounds).

• Their range size is estimated at 10-39 km² (3.9–15 mile²) for females and 30-105 km² (11.7–40.5 mile²) for males (Sunquist 1981).

Indian zoos have bred tigers since 1880, the first time being at the Alipore Zoo in Calcutta. In the last two decades they have bred so successfully that there are now too many. Unfortunately other subspecies of tigers brought by dealers from outside India over the years have been mixed with Indian tigers, so that many zoo tigers are of questionable lineage and therefore not appropriate for conservation purposes. The 1997 International Tiger Studbook lists the current global captive population of Bengal tigers at 210 tigers. All of the studbook-registered captive population is maintained in Indian zoos, except for one female Bengal tiger in North America. Completion of the Indian Bengal Tiger Studbook is a necessary prerequisite to establishing a captive management program for tigers in India.

• About 400 wild Sumatran tigers are believed to exist, primarily in the island's five national parks. 210 captive animals live in zoos around the world.

• The Sumatran tiger is found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra in habitat that ranges from lowland forest to submontain and montain forest with some peat-moss forest.

• The Sumatran tiger has the darkest coat of all tigers. Its broad, black stripes are closely spaced and often doubled. Unlike the Siberian tiger, it has striped forelegs.

• Sumatran tigers are the smallest tiger subspecies. Males average 2.4 meters (8 feet) in length from head to tail and weigh about 120 kilograms (264 pounds). Females measure approximately 2.2 meters (7 feet) in length and weigh about 90 kilograms (198 pounds).

• The Sumatran tiger eats wild pig, big deer (called rusa), and small deer (called muntjak or barking deer).

• The specific range size of this tiger is not know, however the population density is approximately 4–5 adult tigers/100 km²(39 mile²) in optimal lowland rainforest. As elevation increases through submontain and montain forests, the number of tigers in any given area decreases because there is less prey available.

Zoo Tigers

The situation for captive management of Sumatran tigers is much better. For three years, the Indonesian Zoological Parks' Association (PKBSI) has been working with the Tiger Global Conservation Strategy to develop a conservation program for Sumatran tigers. In addition to the 65 Sumatran tigers living in Indonesian zoos, there are 55 tigers managed by North American zoos, 100 in European zoos, and 12 in Australasian zoos. This captive population is descended from 37 wild-caught founders.

The Indonesian Sumatran Tiger Masterplan now has the potential to function as the heart of the Sumatran tiger population worldwide. It is designed to preserve sufficient genetic diversity to reinforce both captive and wild populations, thus fulfilling its goal to ensure that the in situ tiger program comprises verifiable founders permanently identified and registered in the Indonesian Sumatran Tiger Studbook. It also extends the capabilities of Indonesian zoo staff to professionally manage their tiger programs in Indonesia, and at the same time serves as a model for other range country tiger management programs in Southeast Asia.