The Five Survivors

Today there are approximately 5,000 to 7,000 wild tigers left living across Asia, which divide into five subspecies: the Bengal, Sumatran, Indochinese, South China and Siberian. In the past century, the world has lost three of the original eight tiger subspecies: the Caspian, Javan and Balinese.

Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)
There are more Bengal (Indian) tigers remaining in the wild than any other tiger subspecies. It is estimated that between 3,000 and 4,500 individuals roam the forests, grasslands and swamps of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan. Male Bengal tigers measure an average 2.9 metres from head to tail and weigh about 180 to 230 kilograms. Females are smaller, measuring about 2.5 metres in length and weighing approximately 125 to 160 kilograms. White tigers are a colour variant of Bengal tigers and, though there are some white tigers living in captivity, experts doubt that any remain in the wild.

Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti)
The Indochinese tiger, also called the Corbetts tiger, lives in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia and southern China. It is smaller and darker than the Bengal tiger, with shorter, narrower stripes, and its stomach, throat and cheeks have large white markings. The Indochinese tiger is one of the smaller subspecies of tiger, with the male measuring 2.3 to 2.6 metres long and weighing 150 to 200 kilograms. Since so much of the Indochinese tiger’s territory is in remote forests on the borders between countries, little is known about its status in the wild, but estimates indicate there are only between 1,220 and 1,785 wild Indochinese tigers in existence today.

Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae)
As its name suggests, the Sumatran tiger is only found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where it lives in, and around the five national parks. The Sumatran tiger has the most stripes and the darkest coat of all tigers. Its broad, black stripes are close together and sometimes doubled. Unlike the Siberian tiger, it has stripes on its forelegs. Male tigers have a distinctive ruff around the back of the head. Sumatran males average 2.4 metres from head to tail and weigh about 120 kilograms. This tiger’s (relatively) small size allows it to move through the jungle more easily. Only 400 to 500 Sumatran tigers remain in the wild.

Siberian (Amur) tiger (Panthera tigris altaica)
The Siberian Tiger is the largest living cat in the world. It used to roam across Siberia, but now lives on a thin strip of land in eastern Russia that runs along the coast of the Sea of Japan. It is also thought that a very small population still inhabits the northernmost corners of Korea and China. Males can grown up to a mammoth 350 kg and measure 3.3 metres from head to tail. So that it blends in with its snowy habitat, the Siberian tiger’s winter coat is pale and lacks the red stripes of tigers living in warmer climates. To withstand temperatures as low as -45° centigrade, it has the thickest coat, with the most hairs per square inch of all the tigers. Only 366 to 406 Siberians are thought to remain in the wild, making it the second most endangered tiger subspecies on the planet.

South China Tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis)
The South China tiger - also known as the Amoy tiger - lives in central and eastern China. It is considered to be the evolutionary ancestor of all the other tiger subspecies. One of the smaller tiger subspecies, South China males measure an average of 2.5 metres from head to tail and weigh approximately 150 kilograms. The South China tiger has short broad stripes that are spaced further apart than those of the Bengal and Siberian tigers. Due to illegal hunting, the South China tiger now faces extinction. It is estimated that, at most, only 20 to 30 South China tigers are left in the wild, making it the most critically endangered tiger on the planet.