Year of the Tiger

On February 14, 2010, the Chinese lunar calendar rolls into the Year of the Tiger. Learn more

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The Wild Things

The Wild Things

Listen to the story of how WWF helped a masked bandit return to the prairie, in the newest edition of WWF's podcast series "The Wild Things." Listen.

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Tigers

Subspecies

Three tiger subspecies - the Bali, Javan, and Caspian - have become extinct in the past 70 years. The six remaining subspecies - Amur, Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan, South China, and Sumatran - live only in Asia, and all are threatened by poaching and habitat loss.


© WWF-Canon / Vladimir FILONOV

Amur or Siberian Tiger
Panthera tigris altaica

  • 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.

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© WWF-Canon / Vladimir FILONOV

Bengal Tiger
Panthera tigris tigris

  • 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.

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© WWF-Canon / Elizabeth KEMF

Indochinese Tiger
Panthera tigris corbetti

  • 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.

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© Martin HARVEY / WWF-Canon

Malayan Tiger
Panthera tigris jacksoni

  • The Malayan tiger was only identified as being a separate subspecies from the Indochinese tiger in 2004. It is found only in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula, that is, in the southern tip of Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia. Its status has not yet been determined.

  • While morphologically similar to the Indochinese tiger, the Malayan tiger is smaller, being more close in size to the Sumatran tiger. The average weight for adult males is 120kg and for females is 100kg.

 

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Sumatran Tiger
Panthera tigris sumatrae


© WWF-Canon / Alain COMPOST

 

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

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© WWF-Canon / John MacKINNON

South China Tiger
Panthera tigris amoyensis

  • It is estimated that the South China tigers is functionally extinct. 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.

 

 

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Danger Watch

A species relative risk of extinction, as determined by the IUCN - The World Conservation Union. More

  1. Link Title

    Extinct

    No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.

  2. Link Title

    Extinct in the Wild

    Known only to survive in cultivation, in captivity or as a naturalized population.

  3. Link Title

    Critically Endangered

    Facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

  4. Link Title

    Endangered

    Facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

  5. Link Title

    Vulnerable

    Facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

  6. Link Title

    Near Threatened

    Likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future.

  7. Link Title

    Least Concern

    Does not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endagnered, Vulnerable or Near Threatened

More on Tigers

Related Places

Related Places

Amur-Heilong  |  Borneo and Sumatra  |  Eastern Himalayas  |  Mekong

Species News

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Species Stories

Current Tiger Range


Tiger population has decreased by about 95 percent since 1900 and its range has decreased by 93 percent.
View larger map

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Tiger Trade - Facts and Fallacies


Tiger Trade Facts & Fallacies

WWF Experts

Dr. Sybille Klenzendorf

Managing Director
Species Conservation and TRAFFIC North America

"Young people are the future of conservation. We must inspire them and we must lead them by our example."

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WWF Experts

Shannon Barber-Meyer

Tiger Conservation Program Officer
Species Conservation Program and TRAFFIC North America

"Tracking wild wolves on the hunt, watching emperor penguin chicks huddle for warmth and hearing the roar of a wild tiger – these have been some of the most amazing experiences of my life. Through WWF’s conservation efforts these experiences can be shared by generations to come."

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Tiger Video

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The Tiger Study

See Tigers with WWF

Travel with WWF to see tigers in the wild.

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Take Action

Take action through WWF's Conservation Action Network, where you can speak out for wildlife and wild places around the globe.

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