Endangered Tigers

The Bengal tiger, Siberian tiger, Indochinese tiger, South China tiger, Malayan tiger, and Sumatran tiger are the six subspecies of tiger that are still found in the wild. In the past 70 years, three other tiger subspecies have become extinct: the Javan tiger, the Bali tiger, and the Caspian tiger. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has designated all six of the surviving tiger subspecies as endangered or critically endangered. There are currently about 500 Sumatran and 250 Malayan tigers remaining in the wild, as the number of wild tigers is steadily declining. In authorized U.S. zoos, there are roughly 70 more Malayan and 72 Sumatran tigers. A Species Survival Plan is used by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to oversee the captive population. Zoos are essential to the effort to prevent the extinction of these apex predators. At the Point Defiance Zoo, I had the chance to take pictures of the Sumatran and Malayan tigers. I spoke with zookeepers and watched these lovely animals for many hours. One fascinating fact I discovered about tigers is that they may be distinguished from one another because of distinctive marks above their eyes. Kind of like a fingerprint! The Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is the smallest subspecies of all tigers, and they live only in Sumatra, Indonesia. The Malayan Tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni) subspecies is found in the Malay Peninsula.