Tiger Species Overview

Tiger Species Overview

There are 6 remaining species of tigers in the world. Protecting them is very important both in the wild and in captivity. It isn’t enough for these animals to merely survive only in captivity. We need to make sure they are able to continue surviving out there in the wild as well.

Tigers evolved millions of years ago and are able to adapt to a variety of different things in their environment. Yet when their environment is destroyed and large numbers of them are killed they don’t have a chance.

The South China Tiger

The South China Tiger is the one that most researchers are the most worried about. This particular species is believed to possibly be extinct over the next decade. Hopefully the powerful efforts in place will help to prevent that from happing. Right now this animal is listed on the top ten of endangered animals which isn’t a good sign as to their future though.

The Siberian Tiger

The largest and most well known is the Siberian Tiger. This particular one is no longer found in either Asia or Russia. The biggest problem for them is their own genetics. They are closely related even with those that aren’t decedents of each other. This makes effective breeding even in captivity difficult and that can be a natural threat to this particular species of tiger.

The South China Tiger

One of the larger species of tigers is the Bengal. They have the highest numbers when it comes to them in the wild too with about 1,400 of them. While they have two or three times more than the other species they are still at a very high risk of being extinct so they are currently classified as being endangered.

The Malayan Tiger

The Malayan Tiger is one that we know the least about. Until 2004 they weren’t even recognized as their own species. They too are endangered with only about 800 of them remaining in the wild. They often conflict with humans due to the fact that they prey on livestock when it is readily available.

The Indochinese Tiger

The last species is the Indochinese Tiger and only about 200 of them remain in the wild. Their main diet consists of wild pigs, deer, and even cattle thanks to the many people that have invaded their natural habitat to make their own living quarters. In the 1930’s there were more than 2,000 of them but open hunting for them as well as the destruction of their habitat has changed all of that.

There are many efforts around the world in place to help protect these different species of tigers. Educating people of all ages about them as well as their role in the ecosystem is very important. That way people can discover why keeping these tigers alive is extremely important. There are approximately 7,500 tigers remaining alive out there in the world today.

This includes both those in the wild and in captivity. Reaching out to do your part will help to ensure that these animals are able to continue being part of our world. We definitely need to see these species of tigers living for millions more years not less than a decade which is possible if changes don’t occur now because we simply are running out of time.