Tiger populations once ranged widely across Eurasia, from the Black Sea in the west, to the Indian Ocean in the south, and from Kolyma to Sumatra in the east. Over the past 100 years, they have lost 93% of their historic range, and have been extirpated from Western and Central Asia, from the islands of Java and Bali, and from large areas of Southeast, South, and East Asia. Today, they range from the Siberian taiga to open grasslands and tropical mangrove swamps. The species has been classified as endangered in the IUCN Red List. Major reasons for population decline include habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation and poaching. The extent of area inhabited by tigers is estimated at less than 1,184,911 km2 (457,497 sq mi), a 41% decline from the area estimated in the mid-1990s. The global wild population is estimated to number between 3,062 and 3,948 individuals, down from around 100,000 at the start of the 20th century, with most remaining populations occurring in small pockets isolated from each other, in which about 2,000 tigers live on the Indian subcontinent.[1] In 2016, an estimate of a global wild tiger population of approximately 3,890 individuals was presented during the Third Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation.[4][5] The WWF declared that the world's count of wild tigers has risen for the first time in a century.[6]
The tiger is among the most recognisable and popular of the world's charismatic megafauna. It featured prominently in ancient mythology and folklore, and continues to be depicted in modern films and literature, appearing on many flags, coats of arms, and as mascots for sporting teams. The tiger is the national animal of Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and South Korea.
Etymology
The word Panthera is probably of Oriental origin and retraceable to the Ancient Greek word panther, the Latin word panthera, the Old French word pantère, most likely meaning "the yellowish animal", or from pandarah meaning whitish-yellow. The derivation from Greek pan- ("all") and ther ("beast") may be folk etymology.[7]
The word specific name tigris derives from the Classical Greek language τίγρις meaning "tiger" as well as the river Tigris.[8]
The Middle English tigre and the Old English tigras (a plural word) were both used for the animal.[9] These derive from the Old French tigre, itself a derivative of the Latin word tigris. The original source may have been the Persian tigra meaning pointed or sharp and the Avestan tigrhi meaning an arrow, perhaps referring to the speed with which a tiger launches itself at its prey.[10]
Taxonomy
In 1758, Carl Linnaeus described the tiger in his work Systema Naturae and gave it the scientific name Felis tigris.[3] In 1929, the British taxonomist Reginald Innes Pocock subordinated the species under the genus Panthera using the scientific name Panthera tigris.[11][12]
Recent subspecies
Following Linnaeus's first descriptions of the species, several tiger specimens were described and proposed as subspecies.[13] The validity of several tiger subspecies was questioned in 1999. Most putative subspecies described in the 19th and 20th centuries were distinguished on basis of fur length and coloration, striping patterns and body size, hence characteristics that vary widely within populations. Morphologically, tigers from different regions vary little, and gene flow between populations in those regions is considered to have been possible during the Pleistocene. Therefore, it was proposed to recognize only two tiger subspecies as valid, namely P. t. tigris in mainland Asia, and P. t. sondaica in the Greater Sunda Islands and possibly in Sundaland.[14]Results of craniological analysis of 111 tiger skulls from Southeast Asian range countries indicate that Sumatran tiger skulls differ from Indochinese and Javan tiger skulls, whereas Bali tiger skulls are similar in size to Javan tiger skulls. The authors proposed to classify Sumatran and Javan tiger as distinct species, P. sumatrae and P. sondaica with Bali tiger as subspecies P. sondaica balica.[15]
In 2015, morphological, ecological and molecular traits of all putative tiger subspecies were analysed in a combined approach. Results support distinction of the two evolutionary groups continental and Sunda tigers. The authors proposed recognition of only two subspecies, namely P. t. tigris comprising the Bengal, Malayan, Indochinese, South Chinese, Siberian and Caspian tiger populations, and P. t. sondaica comprising the Javan, Bali and Sumatran tiger populations. The authors also noted that this reclassification will affect tiger conservation management.[16] One conservation specialist welcomed this proposal as it would make captive breeding programmes and future rewilding of zoo-born tigers easier. One geneticist was sceptical of this study and maintained that the currently recognised nine subspecies can be distinguished genetically.[17]
In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy and now recognizes the tiger populations in continental Asia as P. t. tigris, and those in the Sunda Islands as P. t. sondaica.[18]
The following table is based on the classification of the species Panthera tigris provided in Mammal Species of the World.[13] It also reflects the classification used by the Cat Classification Task Force:
| Subspecies | Description | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Bengal tiger (P. t. tigris) (Linnaeus, 1758)[18][13] | The Bengal tiger's coat colour varies from light yellow to reddish yellow with black stripes.[19] Males attain a total nose-to-tail length of 270 to 310 cm (110 to 120 in) and weigh between 180 to 258 kg (397 to 569 lb), while females range from 240 to 265 cm (94 to 104 in) and 100 to 160 kg (220 to 350 lb).[20][21] In northern India and Nepal, the average is larger; males weigh up to 235 kilograms (518 lb), while females average 140 kilograms (310 lb).[22] Recorded body weights of wild individuals indicate that it is the heaviest subspecies.[23] This population occurs in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, foremost in alluvial grasslands, subtropical and tropical rainforests, scrub forests, wet and dry deciduous forests and mangrove habitats. It is extinct in Pakistan.[1] In 2014, the population in India was estimated at 2,226 mature individuals,[24] 163–253 in Nepal and 103 in Bhutan.[25] |  |
| Caspian tiger (P. t. tigris),[18] formerly P. t. virgata (Illiger, 1815)[13] | The Caspian tiger was described as having narrow and closely set stripes.[26] The size of its skull did not differ significantly from that of the Bengal tiger.[14] According to genetic analysis, it was closely related to the Siberian tiger.[27] The population inhabited forests and riverine corridors from Eastern Anatolia, South Caucasus and coast of Caspian Sea, along the coast of the Aral Sea, in Amu-Darya and Syr-Darya basins to the southern shore of Lake Balkhash and into the Altai Mountains.[26] It had been recorded in the wild until the early 1970s and is considered extinct since the late 20th century.[28] |  |
| Siberian tiger (P. t. tigris),[18] formerly P. t. altaica (Temminck, 1844).[13] Also known as the Amur tiger. | The Siberian tiger has a thick coat with pale hues and few dark brown stripes.[26] Males have a head and body length of between 190 and 230 cm (75 and 91 in) and weigh between 180 and 306 kg (397 and 675 lb), while females average 160 to 180 cm (63 to 71 in) and 100 to 167 kg (220 to 368 lb). Tail length is about 60–110 cm (24–43 in).[20] This population inhabits the Amur-Ussuri region of Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai in far eastern Siberia, with a small population in Hunchun National Siberian Tiger Nature Reserve in northeastern China near the border to North Korea.[29][30] It is extinct in Mongolia, North Korea, and South Korea.[1] In 2005, there were 331–393 adult and subadult Siberian tigers in the region, with a breeding adult population of about 250 individuals.[31] As of 2015, there was an estimated population of 480-540 individuals in the Russian Far East.[32] |  |
| Indochinese tiger (P. t. tigris),[18] formerly P. t. corbetti Mazák, 1968[13] | The Indochinese tiger was described as being smaller than the Bengal tiger and as having a smaller skull. Males average 108 inches (270 cm) in total length and weigh between 150 and 195 kg (331 and 430 lb), while females average 96 inches (240 cm) and 100–130 kg (220–290 lb).[20] This population occurs in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, but has not been recorded in Vietnam since 1997. In 2010, the population in Indochina was estimated at about 350 individuals. In Southeast Asia, tiger populations have declined in key areas and are threatened by illegal production of tiger bone for use in traditional medicine.[1] | _832-714-(118).jpg) |
| Malayan tiger (P. t. tigris),[18] formerly P. t. jacksoni Luo et al., 2004 | There is no clear difference between the Malayan and the Indochinese tiger in pelage or skull size.[33] It was proposed as a distinct subspecies on the basis of mtDNA and micro-satellite sequences that differs from the Indochinese tiger.[34]
Males range in total length from 190–280 cm (75–110 in) and weigh
between 47.2 to 129.1 kg (104 to 285 lb), while females range from
180–260 cm (71–102 in) and 24 to 88 kg (53 to 194 lb).[35] The population was roughly estimated at 250 to 340 adult individuals in 2013, and likely comprised less than 200 mature breeding individuals at the time.[36] The geographic division between Malayan and Indochinese tigers is unclear as tiger populations in northern Malaysia are contiguous with those in southern Thailand.[1] In Singapore the last tiger was shot in 1932; tigers are considered extirpated since the 1950s.[35] |
 |
| South China tiger (P. t. tigris),[18] formerly P. t. amoyensis (Hilzheimer, 1905)[13] | The South China tiger is considered to be the most ancient of the tiger subspecies and is distinguished by a particularly narrow skull, long-muzzled nose, rhombus-like stripes and vivid orange colour. Males range in total length from 230–260 cm (91–102 in) and weigh between 130 to 180 kg (290 to 400 lb), while females range from 220–240 cm (87–94 in) and 100 to 110 kg (220 to 240 lb).[20] The population is extinct in the wild.[1] Despite unconfirmed reports and some evidence of footprints, there has been no confirmed sighting in China since the early 1970s.[37] As of 2007, the captive population consisted of 73 individuals, which derived from six wild founders.[38] |  |
| Subspecies | Description | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Javan tiger (P. t. sondaica) (Temminck, 1844)[18][13] | The Javan tiger was small compared to tigers of the Asian mainland.[20] Males weighed 100–141 kg (220–311 lb) and females 75–115 kg (165–254 lb).[33] This population was limited to the Indonesian island of Java, and had been recorded until the mid-1970s.[39] After 1979, no more sightings were confirmed in the region of Mount Betiri.[40] An expedition to Mount Halimun Salak National Park in 1990 did not yield any definite, direct evidence for the continued existence of tigers.[41] |  |
| Bali tiger (P. t. sondaica),[18] formerly P. t. balica (Schwarz, 1912)[13] | The Bali tiger was the smallest tiger and limited to the Indonesian island of Bali. It had a weight of 90–100 kg (200–220 lb) in males and 65–80 kg (143–176 lb) in females.[42] A typical feature of Bali tiger skulls is the narrow occipital plane, which is analogous with the shape of skulls of Javan tigers.[43] In Bali, tigers were hunted to extinction; the last Bali tiger, an adult female, is thought to have been killed at Sumbar Kima, West Bali, on 27 September 1937, though there were unconfirmed reports that villagers found a tiger corpse in 1963.[44] |  |
| Sumatran tiger (P. t. sondaica),[18] formerly P. t. sumatrae Pocock, 1929[13] | It is the smallest of all living tigers. Males range in total length from 220 to 255 cm (87 to 100 in) and weigh between 100 to 140 kg (220 to 310 lb), while females range between 215 to 230 cm (85 to 91 in) and 75 to 110 kg (165 to 243 lb).[20] The reasons for its small size compared to mainland tigers are unclear, but probably the result of competition for limited and small prey.[14] The population is thought to be of Asia mainland origin and to have been isolated about 6,000 to 12,000 years ago after a rise in sea-level created the Indonesian island of Sumatra.[33][45] The population is the last surviving of the three Indonesian island tiger populations. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. By 2008, the wild population was estimated at between 441 and 679 in 10 protected areas covering about 52,000 km2 (20,000 sq mi).[46] |  |
Evolution and genetics
Tiger phylogenetic relationships
Restoration of Panthera zdanskyi, an extinct relative whose oldest remains were found in northwest China, suggesting the origins of the tiger lineage
Fossil remains of the Longdan tiger were found in the Gansu province of northwestern China. This species lived at the beginning of the Pleistocene, about 2 million years ago, and is considered to be a sister taxon of the modern tiger. It was about the size of a jaguar and probably had a different coat pattern. Despite being considered more "primitive", the Longdan tiger was functionally and possibly ecologically similar to the modern tiger. As it lived in northwestern China, that may have been where the tiger lineage originated. Tigers grew in size, possibly in response to adaptive radiations of prey species like deer and bovids, which may have occurred in Southeast Asia during the early Pleistocene.[49]
The earliest fossils of true tigers are between 1.6 and 1.8 million years old and were found in Java. Distinct fossils are known from the early and middle Pleistocene deposits in China and Sumatra. The Trinil tiger (Panthera tigris trinilensis) lived about 1.2 million years ago and is known from fossils found at Trinil in Java.[citation needed] The Wanhsien, Ngandong, Trinil and Japanese tigers became extinct in prehistoric times.[50]
Tigers first reached India and northern Asia in the late Pleistocene, reaching eastern Beringia, Japan, and Sakhalin. Some fossil skulls are morphologically distinct from lion skulls, which could indicate tiger presence in Alaska during the last glacial period, about 100,000 years ago.[51] Fossils found in Japan indicate the local tigers were smaller than the mainland forms, possibly due to insular dwarfism. Until the Holocene, tigers also lived in Borneo and on the Palawan island in the Philippines.[52]
The tiger's full genome sequence was published in 2013. It was found to have similar repeat composition than other cat genomes and an appreciably conserved synteny.[53]
Hybrids
The liger is a cross between a male lion and a tigress.[54] Because the lion sire passes on a growth-promoting gene, but the corresponding growth-inhibiting gene from the female tiger is absent, ligers grow far larger than either parent species. They share physical and behavioural qualities of both parent species (spots and stripes on a sandy background). Male ligers are sterile, but female ligers are often fertile. Males have about a 50% chance of having a mane, but, even if they do, their manes will be only around half the size of that of a pure lion. Ligers are typically between 10 and 12 ft (3.0 and 3.7 m) in length, and can weigh between 800 and 1,000 lb (360 and 450 kg) or more.[54]
The less common tigon is a cross between a lioness and a male tiger.[55] Because the male tiger does not pass on a growth-promoting gene and the lioness passes on a growth inhibiting gene, tigons are often relatively small, only weighing up to 150 kg (330 lb). Like ligers, they have physical and behavioural traits from both parental species, and males are sterile. Females are sometimes fertile and have occasionally given birth to litigons when mated to a male Asiatic lion.[56]
Characteristics
Though the tiger's skull is similar to that of the lion, the lower jaw structure is a reliable indicator of the species
The skull is similar to that of the lion, though the frontal region is usually not as depressed or flattened, with a slightly longer postorbital region. The skull of a lion has broader nasal openings. However, due to variation in skulls of the two species, the structure of the lower jaw is a more reliable indicator of the species.[26] The tiger also has fairly stout teeth; the somewhat curved canines are the longest among living felids with a crown height of up to 90 mm (3.5 in).[20]
Size
The Siberian tiger, the largest tiger in captivity, but not in the wild, and the tallest tiger at the shoulder, besides the Bengal tiger
.jpg)
The Bengal tiger
The Bengal and Siberian tigers are amongst the tallest cats in shoulder height.[68][65] They are also ranked with the Caspian tiger among the biggest cats that ever existed.[20] However, a wild adult male Siberian tiger at 176.4 kilograms (389 lb) body weight is outweighed by an adult, male Bengal tiger at 196 kilograms (432 lb).[23][69]
To compare, the weight of a male Southern African lion has been indicated as 187.5 to 193.3 kg (413 to 426 lb).[70]
Colour variations
White tigers, this recessive colour variant is found in the Bengal and Siberian tigers, and with regular stripes and blue eyes. It is not albinism.
A golden tiger, another colour variant, results in thicker light-gold fur, pale legs and faint orange stripes
White tigers are more frequently bred in captivity, where the comparatively small gene pool can lead to inbreeding. This has given white tigers a greater likelihood of being born with physical defects, such as cleft palate, scoliosis (curvature of the spine), and strabismus (squint).[71] Even apparently healthy white tigers generally do not live as long as their orange counterparts. Attempts have been made to cross white and orange tigers to remedy this, often mixing with other subspecies in the process.[73]
Another recessive gene creates the "golden" or "golden tabby" colour variation, sometimes known as "strawberry". Golden tigers have thicker than usual light-gold fur, pale legs, and faint orange stripes. Few golden tigers are kept in captivity; they are invariably at least part Bengal. Some golden tigers carry the white tiger gene,[74] and when two such tigers are mated, they can produce some stripeless white offspring. Although a "pseudo-melanistic" effect—wide stripes that partially obscure the orange background—has been seen in some pelts, no true black tigers have been authenticated, with the possible exception of one dead specimen examined in Chittagong in 1846. These wholly or partially melanistic tigers, if they exist, are assumed to be intermittent mutations rather than a distinct species.[75][76] There are further unconfirmed reports of a "blue" or slate-coloured variant, the Maltese tiger. However, while some felids do exhibit this colouration as a solid coat, there is no known genetic configuration that would result in black stripes on a blue-gray background.[75]
Distribution and habitat
Historical distribution
Fossil remains indicate that tigers were also present in Beringia in the north, Japan to the east, and Borneo and Palawan in the Philippines in the south, during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene.[66][51][50][77][78][79][80]
During the 20th century, tigers became extinct in Western and Central Asia, and were restricted to isolated pockets in the remaining parts of their range. They were extirpated on the island of Bali in the 1940s, around the Caspian Sea in the 1970s, and on Java in the 1980s. This was the result of habitat loss and the ongoing killing of tigers and tiger prey. Today, their significantly fragmented and depopulated range extends eastward from India to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, North Korea and Russia. The northern limit of their range is close to the Amur River in southeastern Siberia. The only large island they still inhabit is Sumatra.[1] Since the beginning of the 20th century, tigers' historical range has shrunk by 93%. In the decade from 1997 to 2007, the estimated area known to be occupied by tigers has declined by 41%.[2][81]
The tiger occupies a wide range of habitat types, but will usually require sufficient cover, proximity to water, and an abundance of prey. It prefers dense vegetation, for which its camouflage colouring is ideally suited, and where a single predator is not at a disadvantage compared with the multiple cats in a pride.[58] A further habitat requirement is the placement of suitably secluded den locations, which may consist of caves, large hollow trees, or dense vegetation.[82] The Bengal tiger in particular lives in many types of forests, including wet, evergreen, and the semi-evergreen forests of Assam and eastern Bengal, swampy mangrove forests of the Ganges Delta, deciduous forest in the Terai, and thorn forests in the Western Ghats. In various parts of its range it inhabits or had inhabited additionally partially open grassland and savanna as well as taiga forests and rocky habitats.[citation needed]
Biology and behaviour
Tigers are comfortable in water and frequently bathe
Social and daily activities
Captive male South Chinese tiger marking his territory
A captive tiger swimming and playing with a piece of wood in a pool
The tiger is a long-ranging species, and individuals disperse over distances of up to 650 km (400 mi) to reach tiger populations in other areas.[84]
It is strong swimmer and often bathes in ponds, lakes and rivers, thus keeping cool in the heat of the day. Generally, among the big cat species, only the jaguar shares a similar fondness for water in the wilderness.[85] Individuals can cross rivers up to 7 km (4.3 mi) wide and can swim up to 29 km (18 mi) in a day.[82] They are able to carry prey through, or capture it in, the water.[citation needed]
Young female tigers establish their first territories close to their mother's. The overlap between the female and her mother's territory reduces with time. Males, however, migrate further than their female counterparts and set out at a younger age to mark out their own area. A young male acquires territory either by seeking out an area devoid of other male tigers, or by living as a transient in another male's territory until he is older and strong enough to challenge the resident male. Young males seeking to establish themselves thereby comprise the highest mortality rate (30–35% per year) amongst adult tigers.[86]
To identify his territory, the male marks trees by spraying urine[87][88] and anal gland secretions, as well as marking trails with scat and marking trees or the ground with their claws. Females also use these "scrapes", as well as urine and scat markings. Scent markings of this type allow an individual to pick up information on another's identity, sex and reproductive status. Females in oestrus will signal their availability by scent marking more frequently and increasing their vocalisations.[58]
Although for the most part avoiding each other, tigers are not always territorial and relationships between individuals can be complex. An adult of either sex will sometimes share its kill with others, even those who may not be related to them. George Schaller observed a male share a kill with two females and four cubs. Unlike male lions, male tigers allow females and cubs to feed on the kill before the male is finished with it; all involved generally seem to behave amicably, in contrast to the competitive behaviour shown by a lion pride.[62] In his book Tiger, Stephen Mills describes a social eating event witnessed by Valmik Thapar and Fateh Singh Rathore in Ranthambhore National Park thus:
A dominant tigress they called Padmini killed a 250 kg (550 lb) male nilgai – a very large antelope. They found her at the kill just after dawn with her three 14-month-old cubs and they watched uninterrupted for the next ten hours. During this period the family was joined by two adult females and one adult male, all offspring from Padmini's previous litters, and by two unrelated tigers, one female the other unidentified. By three o'clock there were no fewer than nine tigers round the kill.[86]
.JPG)
A Siberian tiger swimming at Wuppertal Zoo
Male tigers are generally more intolerant of other males within their territories than females are of other females. Territory disputes are usually solved by displays of intimidation rather than outright aggression. Several such incidents have been observed in which the subordinate tiger yielded defeat by rolling onto its back and showing its belly in a submissive posture.[91] Once dominance has been established, a male may tolerate a subordinate within his range, as long as they do not live in too close quarters.[86] The most aggressive disputes tend to occur between two males when a female is in oestrus, and may rarely result in the death of one of the males.[86][91]
Young male Bengal tiger showing flehmen response while sniffing urine marking in Bandhavgarh National Park, India
Hunting and diet
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An adult tiger showing incisors, canines and part of the premolars and molars, while yawning in Franklin Park Zoo
Bengal tiger subduing an Indian boar at Tadoba National Park
In Siberia, the main prey species are Manchurian wapiti and wild boar (the two species comprising nearly 80% of the prey selected) followed by sika deer, moose, roe deer, and musk deer.[97] Asiatic black bears and Ussuri brown bears may also fall prey to tigers,[42][98][99] and they constitute up to 40.7% of the diet of Siberian tigers depending on local conditions and the bear populations.[100] In Sumatra, prey include sambar deer, muntjac, wild boar, Malayan tapir and orangutan.[101][102] In the former Caspian tiger's range, prey included saiga antelope, camels, Caucasian wisent, yak, and wild horses. Like many predators, tigers are opportunistic and may eat much smaller prey, such as monkeys, peafowl and other ground-based birds, hares, porcupines, and fish.[93][58]
Bengal tiger attacking a sambar in Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
Tiger dentition (above) and Asian black bear (below). The large canines make the killing bite; the carnassials tear flesh.
When hunting larger animals, tigers prefer to bite the throat and use their powerful forelimbs to hold onto the prey, often simultaneously wrestling it to the ground. The tiger remains latched onto the neck until its target dies of strangulation.[62] By this method, gaurs and water buffaloes weighing over a ton have been killed by tigers weighing about a sixth as much.[113] Although they can kill healthy adults, tigers often select the calves or infirm of very large species.[114] Healthy adult prey of this type can be dangerous to tackle, as long, strong horns, legs and tusks are all potentially fatal to the tiger. No other extant land predator routinely takes on prey this large on their own.[115][116] Whilst hunting sambars, which comprise up to 60% of their prey in India, tigers have reportedly made a passable impersonation of the male sambar's rutting call to attract them.[93][107]
With smaller prey, such as monkeys and hares, the tiger bites the nape, often breaking the spinal cord, piercing the windpipe, or severing the jugular vein or common carotid artery.[117] Though rarely observed, some tigers have been recorded to kill prey by swiping with their paws, which are powerful enough to smash the skulls of domestic cattle,[107] and break the backs of sloth bears.[118]
During the 1980s, a tiger named "Genghis" in Ranthambhore National Park was observed frequently hunting prey through deep lake water, a pattern of behaviour that had not previously been witnessed in over 200 years of observations. Moreover, he appeared to be unusually successful, with 20% of hunts ending in a kill.[119]
After killing their prey, tigers sometimes drag it to conceal it in vegetative cover, usually pulling it by grasping with their mouths at the site of the killing bite. This, too, can require great physical strength. In one case, after it had killed an adult gaur, a tiger was observed to drag the massive carcass over a distance of 12 m (39 ft). When 13 men simultaneously tried to drag the same carcass later, they were unable to move it.[82] An adult tiger can go for up to two weeks without eating, then gorge on 34 kg (75 lb) of flesh at one time. In captivity, adult tigers are fed 3 to 6 kg (6.6 to 13.2 lb) of meat a day.[82]
Enemies and competitors
Tiger hunted by wild dogs (dholes) as illustrated in Samuel Howett & Edward Orme, Hand Coloured, Aquatint Engravings, 1807
The considerably smaller leopard avoids competition from tigers by hunting at different times of the day and hunting different prey.[126] In India's Nagarhole National Park, most prey selected by leopards were from 30 to 175 kg (66 to 386 lb) against a preference for prey weighing over 176 kg (388 lb) in the tigers. The average prey weight in the two respective big cats in India was 37.6 kg (83 lb) against 91.5 kg (202 lb).[127] With relatively abundant prey, tigers and leopards were seen to successfully coexist without competitive exclusion or interspecies dominance hierarchies that may be more common to the African savanna, where the leopard exists with the lion.[127] Golden jackals may feed on the tiger's kills.[128]
Reproduction
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mating tigers. |
A Siberian tigress with her cub at the Buffalo Zoo, New York
Two cubs playing with soccer ball at Frankfurt Zoo
A dominant cub emerges in most litters, usually a male.[119] This cub is more active than its siblings and takes the lead in their play, eventually leaving its mother and becoming independent earlier. The cubs open their eyes at six to fourteen days old. By eight weeks, the cubs make short ventures outside the den with their mother, although they do not travel with her as she roams her territory until they are older. The cubs are nursed for three to six months. Around the time they are weaned, they start to accompany their mother on territorial walks and they are taught how to hunt. The cubs often become capable (and nearly adult size) hunters at eleven months old. The cubs become independent around eighteen months of age, but it is not until they are around two to two and a half years old that they fully separate from their mother. Females reach sexual maturity at three to four years, whereas males do so at four to five years. The oldest recorded captive tiger lived for 26 years. A wild specimen, having no natural predators, could in theory live to a comparable age.[82]
Threats
Major threats to the tiger include habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation and poaching for fur and body parts, which have simultaneously greatly reduced tiger populations in the wild[1] In India, only 11% of the historical tiger habitat remains due to habitat fragmentation.[129] Demand for tiger parts for use in traditional Chinese medicine has also been cited as a major threat to tiger populations.[130][131]
Commercial hunting and traditional medicine
Historically, tigers have been hunted at a large scale so their famous striped skins could be collected. The trade in tiger skins peaked in the 1960s, just before international conservation efforts took effect. By 1977, a tiger skin in an English market was considered to be worth US$4,250.[82]
Many people in China and other parts of Asia have a belief that various tiger parts have medicinal properties, including as pain killers and aphrodisiacs.[132] There is no scientific evidence to support these beliefs. The use of tiger parts in pharmaceutical drugs in China is already banned, and the government has made some offences in connection with tiger poaching punishable by death.[which?] Furthermore, all trade in tiger parts is illegal under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and a domestic trade ban has been in place in China since 1993.[133]
However, the trading of tiger parts in Asia has become a major black market industry and governmental and conservation attempts to stop it have been ineffective to date.[82] Almost all black marketers engaged in the trade are based in China and have either been shipped and sold within in their own country or into Taiwan, South Korea or Japan.[82] The Chinese subspecies was almost completely decimated by killing for commerce due to both the parts and skin trades in the 1950s through the 1970s.[82] Contributing to the illegal trade, there are a number of tiger farms in the country specialising in breeding the cats for profit. It is estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 captive-bred, semi-tame animals live in these farms today.[134][135][136] However, many tigers for traditional medicine black market are wild ones shot or snared by poachers and may be caught anywhere in the tiger's remaining range (from Siberia to India to the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra). In the Asian black market, a tiger penis can be worth the equivalent of around $300 U.S. dollars. In the years of 1990 through 1992, 27 million products with tiger derivatives were found.[82] In July 2014 at an international convention on endangered species in Geneva, Switzerland, a Chinese representative admitted for the first time his government was aware trading in tiger skins was occurring in China.[137]
Conservation
| Country | Estimate |
|---|---|
 Bangladesh |
106 |
 Bhutan |
103 |
 Cambodia |
0 |
 China |
>7 |
 India |
2,226 |
 Indonesia |
371 |
 Laos |
2 |
 Malaysia |
250 |
 Myanmar |
no data |
 Nepal |
198 |
 Russia |
433 |
 Thailand |
189 |
 Vietnam |
<5 |
| Total | 3,890 |
India is home to the world's largest population of wild tigers.[4] A 2014 census estimated a population of 2,226, a 30% increase since 2011.[24] In 1973, India's Project Tiger, started by Indira Gandhi, established over 25 tiger reserves in reclaimed land, where human development was forbidden. The project was credited with tripling the number of wild Bengal tigers from some 1,200 in 1973 to over 3,500 in the 1990s, but a 2007 census showed that numbers had dropped back to about 1,400 tigers because of poaching.[142] Following the report, the Indian government pledged $153 million to the initiative, set up measures to combat poaching, promised funds to relocate up to 200,000 villagers in order to reduce human-tiger interactions,[143] and set up eight new tiger reserves.[144] India also reintroduced tigers to the Sariska Tiger Reserve[145] and by 2009 it was claimed that poaching had been effectively countered at Ranthambore National Park.[146]
In the 1940s, the Siberian tiger was on the brink of extinction with only about 40 animals remaining in the wild in Russia. As a result, anti-poaching controls were put in place by the Soviet Union and a network of protected zones (zapovedniks) were instituted, leading to a rise in the population to several hundred. Poaching again became a problem in the 1990s, when the economy of Russia collapsed. The major obstacle in preserving the species is the enormous territory individual tigers require (up to 450 km2 needed by a single female and more for a single male).[147] Current conservation efforts are led by local governments and NGO's in concert with international organisations, such as the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Wildlife Conservation Society.[148] The competitive exclusion of wolves by tigers has been used by Russian conservationists to convince hunters to tolerate the big cats. Tigers have less impact on ungulate populations than do wolves, and are effective in controlling the latter's numbers.[149] In 2005, there were thought to be about 360 animals in Russia, though these exhibited little genetic diversity.[31] However, in a decade later, the Siberian tiger census was estimated from 480 to 540 individuals.
Camera trap image of wild Sumatran tiger
In 1994, the Indonesian Sumatran Tiger Conservation Strategy addressed the potential crisis that tigers faced in Sumatra. The Sumatran Tiger Project (STP) was initiated in June 1995 in and around the Way Kambas National Park in order to ensure the long-term viability of wild Sumatran tigers and to accumulate data on tiger life-history characteristics vital for the management of wild populations.[152] By August 1999, the teams of the STP had evaluated 52 sites of potential tiger habitat in Lampung Province, of which only 15 these were intact enough to contain tigers.[153] In the framework of the STP a community-based conservation programme was initiated to document the tiger-human dimension in the park in order to enable conservation authorities to resolve tiger-human conflicts based on a comprehensive database rather than anecdotes and opinions.[154]
The Wildlife Conservation Society and Panthera Corporation formed the collaboration Tigers Forever, with field sites including the world's largest tiger reserve, the 21,756 km2 (8,400 sq mi) Hukaung Valley in Myanmar. Other reserves were in the Western Ghats in India, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, the Russian Far East covering in total about 260,000 km2 (100,000 sq mi).[155]
Tigers have been studied in the wild using a variety of techniques. Tiger population have been estimated using plaster casts of their pugmarks, although this method was criticized as being inaccurate.[156] More recent techniques include the use of camera traps and studies of DNA from tiger scat, while radio-collaring has been used to track tigers in the wild.[157] Tiger spray has been found to be just as good, or better, as a source of DNA than scat.[158]
The exact number of wild tigers is unknown, as many estimates are outdated or educated guesses; few estimates are based on reliable scientific censuses. The table shows estimates according to IUCN Red List accounts and range country governments dating from 2009 to April 2016.[4]
Rewilding and reintroduction projects
In 1978, the Indian conservationist Billy Arjan Singh attempted to rewild a tiger in Dudhwa National Park; this was the captive-bred tigress Tara.[159] Soon after the release, numerous people were killed and eaten by a tigress that was subsequently shot. Government officials claimed it was Tara, though Singh disputed this. Further controversy broke out with the discovery that Tara was partly Siberian tiger.[160][161][162][163]
A rewilded South China tiger hunting blesbok in South Africa
A future rewilding project was proposed for Siberian tigers set to be reintroduced to northern Russia's Pleistocene park. The Siberian tigers sent to Iran for a captive breeding project in Tehran are set to be rewilded and reintroduced to the Miankaleh peninsula, to replace the now extinct Caspian tigers.[165][166][167]
In captivity
Tigers made to perform at Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus
China (2007) had over 4,000 captive tigers, of which 3,000 were held by about twenty larger facilities, with the rest held by some 200 smaller facilities.[173] The USA (2011) had 2,884 tigers in 468 facilities.[174] Nineteen states have banned private ownership of tigers, fifteen require a license, and sixteen states have no regulation.[175] Genetic ancestry of 105 captive tigers from fourteen countries and regions showed that forty-nine animals belonged distinctly to five subspecies; fifty-two animals had mixed subspecies origins.[176] As such, "many Siberian tigers in zoos today are actually the result of crosses with Bengal tigers."[177]
The Tiger Species Survival Plan has condemned the breeding of white tigers, alleging they are of mixed ancestry and of unknown lineage. The genes responsible for white colouration are represented by 0.001% of the population. The disproportionate growth in numbers of white tigers points to inbreeding among homozygous recessive individuals. This would lead to inbreeding depression and loss of genetic variability.[178]
Relation with humans
Tiger hunting on elephant-back, India, 1808
Tiger hunting
Man-eating tigers
Man-eaters have been a particular problem in recent decades in India and Bangladesh, especially in Kumaon, Garhwal and the Sundarbans mangrove swamps of Bengal, where some healthy tigers have hunted humans. Because of rapid habitat loss attributed to climate change, tiger attacks have increased in the Sundarbans.[185] The Sundarbans area had 129 human deaths from tigers from 1969 to 1971. In the 10 years prior to that period, about 100 attacks per year in the Sundarbans, with a high of around 430 in some years of the 1960s.[82] Unusually, in some years in the Sundarbans, more humans are killed by tigers than vice versa.[82] In 1972, India's production of honey and beeswax dropped by 50% when at least 29 people who gathered these materials were devoured.[82] In 1986 in the Sundarbans, since tigers almost always attack from the rear, masks with human faces were worn on the back of the head, on the theory that tigers usually do not attack if seen by their prey. This decreased the number of attacks only temporarily. All other means to prevent attacks, such as providing more prey or using electrified human dummies, worked less well.[186]
At least 27 people were killed or seriously injured by captive tigers in the United States from 1998 to 2001.[187][187]
In some cases, rather than being predatory, tiger attacks on human seem to be territorial in nature. At least in one case, a tigress with cubs killed eight people entering her territory without consuming them at all.[188]
Cultural depictions
Tigers and their superlative qualities have been a source of fascination for mankind since ancient times, and they are routinely visible as important cultural and media motifs. They are also considered one of the charismatic megafauna, and are used as the face of conservation campaigns worldwide. In a 2004 online poll conducted by cable television channel Animal Planet, involving more than 50,000 viewers from 73 countries, the tiger was voted the world's favourite animal with 21% of the vote, narrowly beating the dog.[189]
In myth and legend
The Hindu goddess Durga riding a tiger. Guler school, early 18th century
The tiger's tail appears in stories from countries including China and Korea, it being generally inadvisable to grasp a tiger by the tail.[191][192]
In Buddhism, the tiger is one of the Three Senseless Creatures, symbolising anger, with the monkey representing greed and the deer lovesickness.[190] The Tungusic peoples considered the Siberian tiger a near-deity and often referred to it as "Grandfather" or "Old man". The Udege and Nanai called it "Amba". The Manchu considered the Siberian tiger as "Hu Lin," the king.[63] In Hinduism, the god Shiva wears and sits on tiger skin.[193] The ten-armed warrior goddess Durga rides the tigress (or lioness) Damon into battle. In southern India the god Ayyappan was associated with a tiger.[194]
The weretiger replaces the werewolf in shapeshifting folklore in Asia;[195] in India they were evil sorcerers, while in Indonesia and Malaysia they were somewhat more benign.[196] In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, tigers are fiercer and more ruthless than lions.[197]
In literature, art and film
Tiger are also mascots for various sports teams around the world. Tony the Tiger is a famous mascot for Kellogg's breakfast cereal Frosted Flakes. The Esso (Exxon) brand of petrol was advertised from 1969 onwards with the slogan 'put a tiger in your tank', and a tiger mascot; more than 2.5 million synthetic tiger tails were sold to motorists, who tied them to their petrol tank caps.[199]
The tiger appears in heraldry but is distinct from the heraldic beast tyger, a wolflike, snouted creature which has its roots in European Medieval bestiaries.
Political symbolism
An early silver coin of king Uttama Chola found in Sri Lanka shows the Chola Tiger sitting between the emblems of Pandyan and Chera
The Bengal tiger is the national animal of India and Bangladesh.[203] The Malaysian tiger is the national animal of Malaysia.[204] The Siberian tiger is the national animal of South Korea. Since the successful economies of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore were described as the Four Asian Tigers, a tiger economy is a metaphor for a nation in rapid development.
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