Background

Species on the Edge

Less than a century ago, tigers prowled the forests of eastern Turkey and the Caspian region of western Asia. They lived in the Indian sub-continent, and across to Indochina through China, Myanmar and Thailand. Branching out south, tigers inhabited the lowland rainforests and montane forests of Malaysia and the Indonesian islands of Bali, Java and Sumatra. They were also found in the Koreas, extending up to the Russian Far East.

But by the 1980s, tigers on Bali and Java, and those in the Caspian region, were extinct. Of the remaining 6 subspecies, 3 (the Amur, South China and Sumatran) are critically endangered. The other 3 (the Bengal, Indochinese and Malayan) are under serious threat due to poaching and habitat loss.

Today, tigers are found in 13 or 14 countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia (only on the island of Sumatra), Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia (Far East), Thailand, Vietnam and possibly North Korea. But these charismatic mammals, their prey and their habitat are under increasing threat in most of these countries.

Revered, yet persecuted
The tiger is a revered and powerful symbol among the variety of cultures that live across its range. Even in places where it has become extinct or never existed in the wild, the tiger is present in myth and legend.

Tigers, on  top of the food chain
Hunting primarily by sight and sound, tigers have been known to eat crocodiles, fish, birds, reptiles, and even other predators such as leopards and bears. Their preferred and essential food, however, is ungulates - hoofed animals such as deer and wild pigs. As top predators, they keep populations of wild ungulates in check, thereby maintaining the balance between herbivores and the vegetation upon which they feed.