Distribution
The eight recognized tiger subspecies are extremely varied in their habitat and distribution.
- The Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) is native to the Indian subcontinent.
- The Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is mainly found in Manchuria by the Amur River.
- The south Chinese tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) is native to south central China, slightly northward from the Indo-Chinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti)
- The Indo-Chinese tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti) has a southeastern distribution in China.
- Indonesia is where the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae) is found.
- The Javan (Panthera tigris sondaica) and Balinese (Panthera tigris balica) tigers are now extinct but were native to Bali and Java in Indonesia respectively.
- The Caspian tiger, now extinct, (Panthera tigris virgata) was historically found in Turkey through central and west Asia.
Habitat
Tigers live in a diverse array of habitats such as tropical rainforests, mangrove swamps, evergreen forests, grasslands, savannahs, and rocky areas.
Population
The Wildlife Conservation Society in 1995 estimated the total tiger population to be less than 5,000 individuals. The following is a free-ranging estimation of the number of tigers per country.
- India & Nepal: 2,045
- Malaysia: 500 to 600
- Myanmar (Burma): 500
- Thailand: Fewer than 200
- China (South China subspecies): 20 to 50
- Sumatra: 400 to 500
- China (including both North China and Siberian subspecies): 50 to 100
- Siberia: 250 to 300
- Vietnam: 200
- Laos: Fewer than 200
- Cambodia: Fewer than 200
- Bhutan: 200
- Bangladesh: 500