TIGER

Tigers (Latin:Panthera tigris, of Iranian origin: tighra) are mammals of the Felidae family and one of four "big cats" in the Panthera genus. They are predatory carnivores and the largest and most powerful of all living cat species. The Indian Subcontinent is home to more than 80% of the wild tigers in the world. Tigers breed well in captivity, and the captive population in the United States may rival the wild population of the world.

Most tigers live in forests and grasslands (for which their camouflage is ideally suited). Among the big cats, only the tiger and jaguar are strong swimmers; tigers are often found bathing in ponds, lakes, and rivers. Tigers hunt alone and eat primarily medium-sized herbivores such as deer, wild pigs, and buffalo. However, they will also take larger or smaller prey on occasion. Humans are the tiger's only serious predator and often kill tigers illegally for their fur or penises. Their bones and nearly all body parts are used in Chinese Medicine for a range of purported uses including pain killers and aphrodisiacs. Poaching for fur and destruction of habitat have greatly reduced tiger populations in the wild, and it has been placed on the endangered species list.

Physical characteristics

Although different subspecies of tiger have different characteristics, in general male tigers weigh between 150 and 325 kg (330 lb and 715 lb) and females between 100 and 167 kg (220 lb and 367 lb). The males are between 2.6 and 3.3 metres (8 ft 6 in and 10 ft 9 in) in length, and the females are between 2.3 and 2.75 metres (7 ft 6 in and 9 ft) in length. Of the living subspecies, Sumatran Tigers are the smallest, and Amur (Siberian) Tigers the largest.

White Tigers

The ground of the coat may be any color from yellow to orange-red, with white areas on the chest, neck, and the inside of the legs. A common recessive variant is the white tiger, which may occur with the correct combination of parents. They are not true albinos. Black or melanistic tigers have been reported. Another variant, the golden tabby tiger (also called the "golden tiger" or "tabby tiger"), has a golden hue, much lighter than the colouration of normal tigers, and brown stripes. This form is very rare, and only a handful of golden tabby tigers are known to exist, all in captivity. There are also old texts referring to 'blue' or 'Maltese' tigers, actually a silvery-grey tone, though no reliable evidence has been found. The Hindu Upanishads make reference on several occasions to this distinctive variety.

The stripes of most tigers vary from brown or hay to pure black, although white tigers have far fewer apparent stripes. The form and density of stripes differs between subspecies, but most tigers have in excess of 100 stripes. The now extinct Javan Tiger may have had far more than this. The pattern of stripes is unique to each animal, and thus could potentially be used to identify individuals, much in the same way as fingerprints are used to identify people. This is not, however, a preferred method of identification, due to the difficulty of recording the stripe pattern of a wild tiger. It seems likely that the purpose of stripes is camouflage, serving to hide these animals from their prey (few large animals have colour vision as capable as that of humans, so the colour is not as great of a problem as one might suppose). The stripe pattern is found on a tiger's skin and if you shaved one, you would find that its distinctive camouflage pattern would be preserved.

Method of killing

Tigers' extremely strong jaws and sharp teeth make them superb predators.

Tigers overpower their prey from any angle, usually from ambush, and bite the neck, often breaking the prey's spinal column or windpipe, or severing the jugular vein or carotid artery.

Powerful swimmers, tigers are known to kill prey while swimming. Some tigers have even ambushed boats for the fishermen on board or their catch of fish.

Biology and ecology

Adult tigers are mostly solitary. They do not maintain strict territories, but their home ranges are often maintained unless threatened by other tigers. They follow specific trails within their ranges. A tigress may have a home range of 20 sq km while the ranges of males are much larger, covering 60-100 sq km. Male home ranges may overlap those of many females. To identify his territory the male marks trees by spraying urine and anal gland secretions on trees as well as by marking trails with scat. Males show a behavior called flehmen, a grimacing face, when identifying the condition of a female's reproductive condition by sniffing their urine markings.

A female is only receptive for a few days and mating is frequent during that time period. A pair will copulate frequently and noisily, like other cats. The gestation period is 103 days and 3-4 cubs of about 1 kg each are born. The females rear them alone. Wandering male tigers may kill cubs to make the female receptive. At 8 weeks, the cubs are ready to follow their mother out of the den. The cubs become independent around 18 months of age, but it is not until they around 2-2 1/2 years old that they leave their mother. The cubs reach sexual maturity by 3-4 years of age. The female tigers generally own territory near their mother, while males tend to wander in search of mates before taking over the territory of another male tiger. Over the course of her life, a female tiger will give birth to an equal number of male and female cubs.

In the wild tigers mostly feed on deer and pig. Chital are their favored prey in India. In most of their range, tigers are the top predators and they do not fear from any other carnivores other than the dhole or Indian wild dog, which makes up for strength in numbers. They generally stay away from large mammals such as elephants, water buffalo and rhino, although they will sometimes prey on weak young. Siberian Tigers will even kill smaller brown bears, though they are no match for larger bears and large bears are known to kill tigers and steal their kills.

Tigers have been studied in the wild using a variety of techniques. The populations of tigers were estimated in the past using plaster casts of their pugmarks. In recent times, camera trapping has been used instead. Newer techniques based on DNA from their scat are also being evaluated. Radio collaring has also been a popular approach to tracking them for study in the wild

_Subspecies

There are nine subspecies of tiger, three of which are extinct and one of which is almost certain to become so in the near future. Their historical range (severely diminished today) ran through Russia, Siberia, Iran, Afghanistan, India, China and South-east Asia, including the Indonesian islands. These are the surviving subspecies, in descending order of wild population:

Amur or Siberian Tiger
Panthera tigris altaica

• 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.

• The primary prey of the Amur tiger is elk and wild boar ( Ecology and Conservation of the Siberian Tiger, 1998).

• 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.

Wild Tigers: Russia

In this century, the Amur tiger (sometimes called the Siberian, Manchurian, Ussurian, or Northeast China tiger), has survived four wars, two revolutions, and now an onslaught on its forests. Its IUCN status is considered Critical, its numbers in the wild fluctuating from a low of 24 tigers in the 1940s to estimates of about 150 to 200 in 1994. Recent conservation efforts have paid off, and as of 1997 there were estimated to be between 360–406 wild Siberian tigers. There are three protected areas for tigers in Russia-the Sikhote-Alin (3,470 km²), Lazovsky (1,165 km²), and Kedrovaya Pad (178 km²) Reserves-inland from the Sea of Japan in the Russian Far East.

Wild Tigers: China

Sightings of Amur tigers in Changbaishan, near the Chinese border with North Korea, were reported in Chinese newspapers in 1990, and some are still found along the Russian border. The Cat Specialist Group estimates that there are probably fewer than 35 Amur tigers in China. Regardless of their authenticity, it is the tigers in Russia that will define the future of the subspecies. The other sites are too small to harbor tiger populations large enough for long-term viability.

The survival of wild Amur tigers will be linked to securing and enlarging their current habitat and protecting them from poachers. The Law of the Russian Federation on Environmental Protection and Management of 1992 gave the Amur tiger legal protection. Despite this, poaching has received considerable attention in the press, but the "reports" are rife with rumors. Authorities admit that the killing of tigers is a new enterprise, in part arising from on an unstable and worsening economic situation for most people, open borders to China and Korea, and a demand for tiger body parts for traditional Chinese medicine. Many agencies and organizations are promoting efforts to assist Russia in stopping the poaching on tigers and their prey, the marketing of their skins and bones, and the loss of available habitat.

Bengal Tiger
Panthera tigris tigris

• 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).

• Bengal tigers prey primarily on wild deer and wild cattle.

• 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).

Zoo Tigers

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.

Wild Tigers: India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh

The Bengal tiger occurs primarily throughout India, with smaller populations in southern Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and western Myanmar. For several decades, the status of wild tigers in India has been estimated from the individual identification of pug marks (or footprints), a methodology that has been challenged on grounds of human error and manipulation. The first all-India census in 1971 produced a baseline figure of 1,800 tigers. Project Tiger and Wildlife Institute of India officials reported in subsequent censuses that tiger numbers increased to 4,334 in 1989. These estimates were disputed by Indian biologists, who suggested the number is much lower.

The Cat Specialist Group estimated 2,500 to 3,750 Bengal tigers in India in 1998. These tigers are distributed among 66 protected areas, of which more than 20 fall under the umbrella of Project Tiger, a program based on total protection of tigers and conservation of selected habitats as reserves managed primarily for tigers. Another 93-97 tigers live in three protected areas in Nepal, 50-240 tigers are in four protected areas in Bhutan, about 360 tigers live in three protected areas in Bangladesh, and an unknown number of tigers remain in Myanmar. Although the wild Bengal tiger populations are considered more secure in India than other tiger subspecies found elsewhere in Asia, there exists the potential for rapid demise of wild populations through recently increased levels of poaching and poisoning.

White tigers

All wild white tigers were a color variation of Bengal tigers. Wild white tigers were very rare, and none have been reported in the wild since the 1950s.

White tigers in zoos are inbred and crossbred mixtures of Bengal and Siberian. They are neither albinos (in which case they would have pink eyes), nor a separate species; they have chocolate stripes and blue eyes, although several variations in eye and stripe color are seen. White tigers are only born to parents that both carry the recessive gene for white coloring.

The first white cub precursor to all the captive white tigers is believed to be one trapped by the Maharaja of Rewa, who found it orphaned in the jungle in 1951. Named Mohan, the cub was later mated to a normal-colored captive tigress who produced three litters with normal coloring. A few years later, Mohan mated with one of the offspring, producing the first litter of white cubs in captivity—these were to be the ancestors of others now in many zoos the world over.

As of June 1998, there were 30 white tigers in U.S. zoos that participate in SSP (species survival plan) programs. No one knows how many more are in private hands

Indochinese Tiger
Panthera tigris corbetti

• 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 Indochinese tiger eats wild pig, wild deer and wild cattle.

• 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.

Zoo Tigers

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.

Wild Tigers: Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia

The status of wild populations of the Indochinese tiger is relatively unknown. This is mostly due to its very broad distribution across most of Indochina, which includes southern China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, Malaysia, and eastern Myanmar. In these countries, tigers live in remote forests in hilly to mountainous terrain, most of which occurs along boundaries with neighboring countries. Access to these areas is often restricted, and biologists have only recently been granted limited permits for field surveys. According to the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, as of 1997 there were estimated to be 1,227 to 1,785 Indochinese tigers in the wild.

Wild Tigers: Thailand

In Thailand, the center of the Indochinese tiger's range, a 1990 survey reports that about 250 tigers were still left, while Thai Royal Forest Department (RFD) officials suggest an estimate of 600 tigers. Many of these tiger populations are subject to encroachment, fragmentation, and isolation; conditions which lead to even fewer tigers. To Thailand's credit, eight interconnected forest areas larger than 2,000 km2 are currently maintained; one is larger than 12,000 km², making it one of the largest contiguous habitats for tigers in Southeast Asia. The RFD is currently making a country-wide assessment of all protected areas using Geographic Information System (GIS) methodology to more accurately assess the extent of tiger populations and available habitat.

Wild Tigers: Lao PDR

The status of the Indochinese tiger in Lao PDR (formerly Laos) is unclear, because only recently has a protected areas system been established. Most of these areas exist only on paper, and they have yet to be staffed. In 1992, the first general surveys of these areas were initiated by the Lao Wildlife Department. Tigers were reported to occur in at least 17 sites, but definite signs of tigers were only found in four of the five larger sites, and then only occasionally. Also disturbing was the near absence of common tiger prey in all of the sites. Most lowland forest is gone, restricting tigers to prey-poor upland forests. Illegal trafficking in wildlife is well documented, and poaching is considered to be heavy. The Lao Wildlife Department considers its tiger populations to be declining. These observations suggest a bleak future for Indochinese tigers in Lao PDR.

Wild Tigers: Cambodia

The status of Indochinese tigers in Cambodia is even less precise. The Cambodian Wildlife Department is virtually nonexistent, trafficking and poaching are reputed to be heavy, and no zoos are established. According to the a 1995 presentation by Samith, Sophana, Vuthy and Rotha, the population is estimated to be from 150 to 300 animals. Until better information is available, the tiger's future must be considered bleak too.

Wild Tigers: Myanmar

Under the Wildlife Conservation and Sanctuaries Division of the Forestry Department of Myanmar (formerly called Burma), a Protected Areas System of 16 Wildlife Sanctuaries and five National Parks was established in 1981. Today 40% of the country is still covered with closed forest. The Irrawaddy River, which separates the Indochinese and Bengal tiger subspecies, flows from the north to the south through the middle of Myanmar. Fifteen years ago estimates placed about 3,000 tigers in Myanmar, half of these Indochinese. A report delivered at the Year of the Tiger Conference (Uga and Than, 1998, unpublished), estimated between 106 and 234 Indochinese tigers extant in eastern Myanmar. Like Lao PDR and Cambodia, trafficking and poaching are heavy. The Government of Myanmar is seeking ways to improve the situation for tigers. Wildlife and Protected Areas legislation was enacted in June 1992, placing the tiger in the Completely Protected category of their Protected Species List. They have also drafted a comprehensive Tiger Conservation Action Plan.

Wild Tigers: Vietnam

According to the Ministry of Forestry in Vietnam, the Indochinese tiger is found in 24 of the 87 established Nature Reserves and National Parks. Some reserves are quite large, and a comprehensive interview census is currently underway to establish tiger numbers. In 1994 the Cat Specialist Group reported an estimated 200-300 tigers were living in seven Nature Reserves. A 1995 presentation by Bao et al. suggested that no more than 200 tigers survived. Poaching is ongoing, and tiger skins, teeth, and bones can be readily purchased in major cities. Officials admit that tiger populations are declining in Vietnam.

Wild Tigers: Malaysia

Under the Protection of Wildlife Act, the Indochinese tiger in Malaysia has been designated a totally protected species since 1976. At that time, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks estimated that some 300 tigers were found on the Peninsula; its numbers have now increased to about 520 individuals in about 10 existing sites, and possibly as high as 600-650 if restricted access security sites are included. Most of these sites are quite small, and the resident tiger populations may be too small to be considered viable. The existing protected system area of Malaysia is over 1.1 million hectares, and another 2 million hectares could be considered tiger habitat. Unlike elsewhere in Asia, Malaysia has been very effective in reducing poaching. They estimate the rate has decreased from about 19 tigers per year (during 1972–1976) to one tiger per year. Malaysia is interested in establishing two transborder reserves with Thailand, where some 40 tigers are believed to occur. A presentation at the Year of the Tiger Conference by Jasmi bin Abdul (1998, unpublished) estimated the Malaysian population between 491 and 510.

South China Tiger
Panthera tigris amoyensis

• 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 found in central and eastern China.

• 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.

Wild Tigers: China

China is unique among tiger range countries because four of the surviving tiger subspecies at one time lived within its borders: the Amur (Siberian) tiger in the far northeast bordering Russia and North Korea; the South China tiger (which is considered the evolutionary antecedent of all tigers) in the central parts of China; and the Indochinese and Bengal tigers in the far south bordering Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Assam (India). The tiger is a favorite subject of Chinese artists, depicted as fierce and powerful.

The current status of wild South China tigers is vague. Only 40 years ago there were reputed to be more than 4,000 tigers, but the government declared them pests, and they were hunted mercilessly. A 1987 field survey by Chinese scientists reported a few tigers remaining in the Guangdong mountains bordering Hunan and Jiangxi, and another survey in 1990 noted evidence of about a dozen tigers in 11 reserves in the remote mountains of Guangdong, Hunan, and Fujian Provinces of South China. No tigers were seen. The only evidence came from anecdotal stories of former hunters (at least they claimed to have stopped hunting). An unconfirmed report from the Ministry of Forestry in 1995 suggests that the wild population is fewer than 20 individuals.

The current situation is that no wild tigers have been seen anywhere by Chinese officials for more than 20 years. The Chinese Ministry of Forestry lists 21 reserves within the presumed range of the tiger, and Chinese specialists believe between 20 and 30 tigers are still left in the wild. The last time a wild tiger was seen in the wild was 10 years ago These facts suggest that the South China tiger is the rarest of the five living tiger subspecies, the most threatened, and the closest to extinction.

Sumatran Tiger
Panthera tigris sumatrae

• 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.

Wild Tigers: Indonesia

The historical documentation of tigers in Sumatra is sketchy. In 1978, a question-and-answer survey in Sumatra estimated the number of tigers to be about 1,000. Since then, Sumatra has undergone much agricultural development, and subsequently tiger habitat has declined. More recent surveys for Sumatran tigers by the Indonesian Department of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation (PHPA) put the number "not in the thousands but in the hundreds." In 1985, a survey of local forestry staff and people living near tiger areas estimated the distribution of tigers and tentatively identified 26 protected areas in Sumatra where tigers might live. If these habitats were completely saturated with tigers, there could be up to 800 Sumatran tigers.

In 1992, the Indonesian Department of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation (PHPA) estimated that about 400 Sumatran tigers were living in five National Parks and two Game Reserves and another 100 in unprotected areas that would soon be lost to agriculture. Some poaching occurs, and forest loss has further fragmented these populations. The largest population is estimated to be about 110 tigers in Gunung Leuser National Park; the remaining populations are about one-half this number or fewer. These small populations are extremely vulnerable to poaching or removal of problem animals. To address this crisis, the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry developed the Indonesian Sumatran Tiger Conservation Strategy, a document that outlines management strategies for both wild and captive tiger populations

EXTINCT TIGER

Bali Tiger (Panthera tigris balica), also called the Balinese Tiger, is an extinct species of tiger found solely on the small Indonesian island of Bali. The tiger was one of three sub-species of tiger found in Indonesia along with the Javan Tiger (also extinct) and Sumatran Tiger (severely endangered)

It was the smallest of the tiger sub-species and the last tiger to be shot was in 1925, though the sub-species became extinct around the end of 1937. Given the small size of the island, and limited forest cover, the original population could never have been large, and it is considered impossible that any survive today.

Characteristics

Weight

• The weight of a male tiger was usually 90-100kg (198-221 pounds).
• Females weighed in at 65-80kg (143-176 pounds).

Length

• A male Bali Tiger's length was around 7'-3" to 7'-7".
• A female's length would have been 6'-3" to 6'-6".

Appearance

Bali Tigers had short fur that was deep orange colored and darker, fewer stripes than other tiger sub-species. Occasionally, between the stripes, there were small black spots. Bali Tigers also had unusual bars on the head.

Prey/Predators

The only known predators of Bali Tigers were humans. Tigers are carnivorous, Bali tigers preyed upon most large and smaller mammals, including deer, pigs, birds, etc.

Cubs

Female Bali tigers, after mating, had a gestation period of 103 days on average. They beget two or three cubs each mating, and the cubs weighed two or three pounds at birth. They were born blind. Cubs became weaned at around one year of age, and were fully independent at 18 months to two years of age. Sometimes the cubs stay with there mother for another year.^{[citation needed]}

Lifespan

Bali tigers lived around ten to fifteen years in the wild. Apparently, living in zoos and circuses increases the lifespan of all tigers.

Javan Tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) was limited to the Indonesian island of Java. It now seems likely that this subspecies was made extinct in the 1980s, as a result of hunting and habitat destruction, but the extinction of this subspecies was extremely probable from the 1950s onwards (when it is thought that fewer than 25 tigers remained in the wild). The last specimen was sighted in 1972. A track count in 1979 concluded that three of the tigers were in existence.

In the 1990s, there were some unverified reports of sightings

The Caspian Tiger or Persian Tiger (Panthera tigris virgata) is the smallest subspecies of tiger found in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Mongolia, and the Central Asiatic area of Russia until it became extinct in the 1970s. The extinction was caused by politicians working to eradicate the species. They sought to eliminate the tigers because the Russian government was planning a land reclamation program. Soon the tigers were referred to as the "travelling leopards" or as the "road", due to their habit of following migratory herds of their prey animals. Although thought to be extinct, there have been several sightings of the tiger.

Characteristics

Of all the tigers known to the world, the Caspian tiger, now extinct, was the third largest. [1] The body of this subspecies was quite stocky and elongated with strong legs, big wide paws and unusually large claws. The ears were short and small, and gave the appearance of being without hair on the tips. Around the cheeks the Caspian tiger was generously furred and the rest of its fur was long and thick. The coloration resembled that of the Bengal tiger. The skin specimen in the British Museum has a yellow-gold colour over the back and flanks, while the sides of the body are lighter that the back and the striping also varies from light to dark brown. The chest and abdomen is white with yellow stripes, while the facial area is yellow with brown stripes on the forehead and obvious white patches around the eyes and cheeks. Outer portions of the legs are yellow and the inner areas white. The tail of this subspecies is yellow and has yellowish white stripes. In winter, the hair of the Caspian Tiger was very long, and the tiger had a well-developed belly mane and a short nape mane.

Habits and mating

Caspian tigers remained solitary for the most of their life; they rarely socialized with other tigers outside the mating season. The males tiger was larger than the female and lived from ten to fifteen years. Caspian Tigers bred at any time of year, but they usually mated in winter or spring. The mating period of the tigers lasted twenty to thirty days. If a female did not find a mate at this time, she came into heat again later. After a gestation period of approximately 100 days, the tigers gave birth to about two to three cubs. These cubs were born blind and did not open their eyes until about ten days after birth. The cubs will drink their mothers milk for about the first eight weeks of their life. The father took no responsibility in raising the young it was done all by the mother. The curious, playful cubs first left the den with their mother after about two weeks. The mother needed to hunt for three instead for one; however hunting time was severely restricted by the amount of time needed to spend looking after the cubs. The cubs themselves began to hunt after about eleven weeks but until then they were mostly dependent on their mother.

A Caspain tigress bore cubs only once every three to four years.

History and extinction

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian government worked heavily to eradicate the Caspian tiger during an extensive land reclamation program. There was no room for the tiger in their plans, and government officials instructed the Russian army to exterminate all tigers found around the area of the Caspian Sea, a project that was carried out very efficiently. Once the extermination of the Caspian tiger was almost complete, farmers cleared forests and planting crops such as rice and cotton. Due to intensive hunting and deforestation, the Caspian tiger retreated first from the lush lowlands to the forested ranges, then to the marshes around some of the larger rivers, and finally, deeper into the mountains, until it almost certainly became extinct.

The last stronghold of the Caspian tiger in the former Soviet Union was in the Tigrovaya Balka area. Though the tigers were reported as being found there until the mid-1950s, the reliability of these claims is unknown.

An exact date of extinction is unknown. Some reports state that the last Caspian tiger was shot in Golestan National Park (Iran) or in Northern Iran in 1959. There are claims of a documented killing of this subspecies at Uludere, Hakkari in Turkey during the 1970s. Yet other reports state that the final Caspian tiger was captured and killed in Northeast Afghanistan in 1997. The most frequently quoted date for extinction is the late 1950s, but there is almost no evidence to back that claim. It appears this date came to be accepted after being quoted by H. Ziaie in "A Field Guide to the Mammals of Iran." More evidence reflects an even earlier date of extinction. The area of Iran that contained the last Caspian tigers was the eastern region of Mazandaran, Northern Iran. According to E. Firouz in “A Guide to the Fauna of Iran, 1999”, the last tiger was killed in 1947 near Agh-Ghomish Village, 10 km East of Kalaleh, on the way to Minoodasht-Bojnoord. No one knows it really for certain

Traditional Asian Medicine

Tiger parts are used in traditional Asian medicines. Many people in Asia believe that tiger parts have medicinal properties. There is no scientific corroberation to these beliefs which include:

• The tail of the tiger is sometimes ground and mixed with soap to create an ointment for use in treating skin cancer. The bones found from the tip of the tiger’s tail are said to ward off evil spirits.
• Crushed tiger bones added to wine serves as a Taiwanese general tonic.
• Tiger’s skin is said to cure a fever caused by ghosts. In order to use it effectively, the user must sit on the tiger’s skin, but beware. If too much time is spent on the tiger’s skin, the legend says the user will become a tiger.
• Adding honey to the gallstones and applying the combination to the hands and feet is said to effectively treat abscesses.
• Burnt tiger hair can allegedly drive away centipedes.
• Mixing the brain of a tiger with oil and rubbing the mixture on your body is an alleged cure for both laziness and acne.
• Rolling the eyeballs into pills is an alleged remedy for convulsions.
• If whiskers are kept as a charm, legend says one will be protected against bullets and have increased courage.
• One will allegedly possess courage and shall be protected from sudden fright if you wear a tiger’s claw as a piece of jewelry or carry one in your pocket.
• Alleged strength, cunning, and courage can be obtained by consuming a tiger’s heart.
• Floating ribs of a tiger are considered a good luck talisman.
• The tiger’s penis is said to be an aphrodisiac.
• Small bones in a tiger’s feet tied to a child’s wrists are said to be a sure cure for convulsions

Tigon

Adult Tigon

A tigon is the artificially bred hybrid of a male tiger and a female lion. Like all hybrid species, there is no scientific name assigned to this animal. The tigon is not as common as the converse hybrid, the liger, however in the late 1800s and early 1900s, tigons were more common than ligers. Tigons do not occur naturally in the wild, as the lion and tiger have very different behaviours and habitats.

Tigons can exhibit characteristics of both parents: they can have both spots from the mother (lions carry genes for spots - lion cubs are spotted) and stripes from the father. Any mane that a male tigon may have will appear shorter and less noticeable than a lion's mane and is closer in type to the ruff of a male tiger. Tigons usually grow smaller than lions or tigers, due to the fact that they inherit growth-inhibitory genes from both parents; they often weigh around 150 kilograms (350 lb). They appear "housecat-like". However, some have reached the size of the smaller parent.

The comparative rarity of tigons is attributed to male tigers finding the courtship behaviour of a lioness too subtle and thus may miss behavioural cues that signal her willingness to mate. However lionesses actively solicit mating so their current rarity is most likely due to them being less impressive in size than ligers. A century ago, tigons were evidently more common than ligers. Gerald Iles, in "At Home In The Zoo" (1961) was able to obtain 3 tigons for Manchester's Belle Vue Zoo, but wrote that he had never seen a liger. A number of tigons are currently being bred in China.

Liger

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A liger

The liger is a cross (a hybrid) between a male lion and a female tiger. It is therefore a member of genus Panthera. As is the case with all hybrid species, there is no scientific name assigned to this animal. A liger looks like a giant lion with diffused stripes. Ligers, unlike lions, like swimming.

A cross between a male tiger and a female lion is called a tigon. According to "The Tiger, Symbol of Freedom" (Nicholas Courtney, editor): Rare reports have been made of tigresses mating with lions in the wild.

Large size

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A liger and its trainer, October 2005.

Ligers grow much larger than tigers or lions. It is believed this is because female lions transmit a growth-inhibiting gene to their descendants to balance the growth-promoting gene transmitted by male lions. (This gene is due to competitive mating strategies in lions.) A male lion needs to be large to successfully defend the pride from other roaming male lions and pass on his genes; also, in prides with multiple male adult lions, a male's cubs need to be bigger than the competing males for the best chance of survival. Thus, his genes favor larger offspring. A lioness, however, will have up to 5 cubs, and a cub is typically one of many being cared for in a pride with many other lions. As such, it has a relatively high survival rate, and need not be huge as it will not need to look after itself very quickly. Smaller cubs are more easily cared for and fed and are less strain on the pride; hence, the inhibiting gene developed.

Male tigers do not compete for status and mates in the way lions do; a tigress only mates with one tiger when in season, so a tiger does not have the same genetic predisposition to produce large competing offspring. Also, a tigress typically has fewer cubs, and those have a much lower survival rate due to the tiger's solitary nature, so being large and growing quickly are an advantage; there is no need for a growth inhibitor. Being the offspring of a male lion and female tiger, the liger inherits the growth-promoting gene unfettered by a growth-inhibiting gene and typically grows larger than either animal; this is called growth dysplasia. Some male ligers grow sparse manes.

Because of the impossibility of a gene being inherited from only females, there is a competing hypothesis. This untested hypothesis holds that the lion's sperm is damaged somehow during fertilization and that a growth-inhibiting gene is typically destroyed. Female tigons and female ligers both possess a tiger X chromosome and a lion X chromosome, yet only the female ligers will grow large, which suggests that either something happens to alter the genes or the cause of the growth dysplasia lies at least partially outside of genetics.

Another possible hypothesis is that the growth dysplasia results from the interaction between lion genes and tiger womb environment. The tiger produces a hormone that sets the fetal liger on a pattern of growth that does not end throughout its life. The hormonal hypothesis is that the cause of the male liger's growth is its sterility — essentially, the male liger remains in the pre-pubertal growth phase. This is not upheld by behavioural evidence - despite being sterile, many male ligers become sexually mature and mate with females. In addition, female ligers also attain great size but are fertile.

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Vocalisation and behaviour

Ligers may exhibit emotional or behavioural conflicts due to their mixed ancestry.

They inherit different or mixed vocabularies (tigers "chuff", lions roar). G Peters included several hybrids (liger, tigon, leopon, liguar) in his "Comparative Investigation of Vocalisation in Several Felids" published in German in Spixiana-Supplement, 1978; (1): 1-206.

They may inherit conflicting behavioural traits from the parent species. Ligers may exhibit conflicts between the social habits of the lion and the solitary habits of the tiger. Their lion heritage wants them to form social groups, but their tiger heritage urges them to be intolerant of company. Opponents of deliberate hybridization say this causes confusion and depression for the animals, especially after sexual maturity. How much of their behaviour is due to conflicting instincts and how much is due to abnormal hormones or the stress of captive conditions is not fully known.

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Colors

Ligers have a tiger-like striping pattern on a lion-like tawny background. In addition they may inherit rosettes from the lion parent (lion cubs are rosetted and some adults retain faint markings). These markings may be black, dark brown or sandy. The background colour may be correspondingly tawny, sandy or golden. In common with tigers, their underparts are paler. The actual pattern and colour depends on which subspecies the parents were and on the way in which the genes interact in the offspring.

White tigers have been crossed with lions to produce "white" (actually pale golden) ligers. In theory white tigers could be crossed with white lions to produce white, very pale or even stripeless ligers. A black liger would require both a melanistic tiger and a melanistic lion as parents. Very few melanistic tigers have ever been recorded, most being due to excessive markings (pseudo-melanism or abundism) rather than true melanism. No reports of black lions have ever been substantiated. The blue or Maltese tiger is now unlikely to exist, making gray or blue ligers an impossibility. It is not impossible for a liger to be white, but it is very rare. Female ligers weigh about 700 pounds and stand at about 10 feet tall.

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Recent ligers

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United States

It was 1994 when Ariana, a female liger, was brought to the Wildlife Waystation for permanent sanctuary after her former owner, a private resident in Oregon, could no longer care for her. She was an Adult when she arrived.

Ariana came to the Wildlife Waystation at the same time as her close friend Sandora, a Bengal Tiger, who belonged to a friend of Ariana’s former owner.

She now shares a roomy enclosure with Sandora, and they seem to greatly enjoy each other's company. When Ariana isn't busy with one of her lengthy cat naps, she can usually be found batting around her toy ball in a high spirited game of big cat soccer (she has invented many goal posts around her enclosure). She is best known for her playful disposition and affectionate nature[1].

Hercules, one of the most widely-publicized ligers in the world, can be found at Parrot Jungle Island in Miami, Florida. In 2005, Hercules was profiled on European news outlets as well as The Today Show, Good Morning America, and CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 in the United States. Hercules and Parrot Jungle Island are owned by Bhagavan Antle, a highly successful animal trainer of many exotic species for use in films, television, commercials, infotainment shows, as well as public displays such as Renaissance Fairs.

Antle also owns an adult liger named Sudan on display at The Preservation Station in Barefoot Landing, an outdoor mall in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Sudan is the result of an accidental breeding at Antle's South Carolina compound. According to Antle's website, "We have lions and tigers living together in large enclosures. We had no idea how well one of the lion boys was getting along with a tiger girl."

A liger named Hobbs lives at Sierra Safari Zoo, Reno, Nevada, USA. He is the offspring of an African lion and a Bengal tigress. According to the zoo, "He roars like a lion and swims like a tiger. He's definitely all cat. He likes to play, and for all his incredible bulk he moves just as silently as any other cat". He is estimated to weigh about 450 kilograms (approximately 1000 pounds), about twice the average for male Siberian Tigers, the largest non-extinct, naturally-occurring member of family Felidae.

Shambala Preserve, a not-for-profit big cat refuge in Acton, California, has a liger called Patrick who weighs an estimated 800 pounds (360 kg) [2]. He has a golden coat with slightly darker golden stripes and a modest mane that resembles an overdeveloped tiger ruff. Patrick was born in 1990 and lived at Deer Path Animal Haven, a roadside zoo in Illinois. When this closed in 1998, Patrick went to Shambala.

Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, Georgia, in the USA, has been breeding ligers since 2000. As of October 2005, they had several adult ligers.

A pair of private exhibitors doing business as the Domestic Panthera Behavioral Research Programme in the USA promote a large feline named Lady Kali as a ti-liger. At two years old she weighed 400 pounds (180 kg). Lady Kali has reportedly been exhibited as a roadside zoo attraction in various North Carolina locations from at least 1999 through 2004, and is apparently not part of any active breeding program despite the website's declared intent to create a fully domesticated Panthera breed.[3] Her owners have USDA Class C exhibitor's licenses[4] valid through most of 2006 on display at their website.

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Worldwide

In September 1975, a tigress sharing a cage with a lion at a zoo in Osaka, Japan, gave birth to 3 cubs described as having tiger's heads and lion's bodies. Two died soon after birth and the third soon after the news reported.

A liger born in 2002 at Fuzhou, Fujian Province, lived for more than 100 days.

In 2005, two tigons and three ligers were bred at the Shenzhen safari park, in southern China (near Hong Kong).

In July 2004, a liger cub born in a wildlife park in Hainan, China died of respiratory failure 72 hours after birth. It had been born to the tigress "Huanhuan" and a lion called "Xiaoerhei". It was born underweight and its death was attributed to congenital respiratory failure. Huanhuan had rejected the cub and it had been suckled by a domestic dog that had just whelped in the hope of getting colostrum. The zoo plans to breed further ligers.

On 6th December 2004, a Bengal tigress produced healthy liger cubs sired by an African lion. The Russian Information Agency Novosti claimed it to be the first liger ever produced from this combination (possibly the first in Russia). The parents lived in neighbouring caves in the Novosibirsk zoo and got accustomed to one another. The female liger cub was named Zita and resembles her tigress mother with clear tiger stripes, but has a lion's background colour and many leonine features. Her brother remains with his parents in another Siberian zoo.

In April 2005, a liger (erroneously called a tigon) called Samil was born at the Italian Circus in Vigo, northwestern Spain. Samil is a cross between a female tiger and a lion and therefore is a liger