The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to 3.38 m over curves and exceptionally weighing up to 388.7 kg in the wild. The extent of area occupied by tigers is estimated at less than 1,184,911 km² , a 41% decline from the area estimated in the mid-1990s.

They sport long, thick reddish coats with white bellies and white and black tails. Their heads, bodies, tails and limbs have narrow black, brown or gray stripes. There were once nine subspecies of tigers: Bengal, Siberian, Indochinese, South Chinese, Sumatran, Malayan, Caspian, Javan and Bali. Of these, the last three are extinct, one is extinct in the wild, and the rest are endangered.

 

Tiger in the woods

Population:

In the early 1900s, there were around 100,000 tigers throughout their range. Today, an estimated total of around 3,000-4,500 exist in the wild. Below is a breakdown of tiger numbers by subspecies.

Bengal tiger: Less than 2,000
Indochinese tiger: 750-1,300
Siberian tiger: Around 450
Sumatran tiger: 400-500
Malayan tiger: 600-800
South Chinese tiger: Extinct in the wild
Caspian tiger: Extinct
Javan tiger: Extinct
Bali tiger: Extinct

Many wildlife researchers believe that, historically, tigers inhabited much of Asia, and that various tiger subspecies naturally migrated and spread out over time. Pleistocene glacial fluctuations and geographic boundaries, however, probably made it too difficult for tigers to return to Africa. According to University of Minnesota conservation biology researcher Shu-Jin Luo, tigers did not disperse westward to India until 16,000 years ago.

Now, although tigers are not indigenous to Africa, they can be found there in zoos, special reserves and even kept as pets. And that's how you might come across one in the wild.

In fact, this past July, a 310-pound (140 kg), 17-month-old pet Bengal tiger named Panjo escaped in South Africa. Panjo broke free from his owner's vehicle while being driven to the vet for a checkup, setting off a massive, panicked search party consisting of police and locals. He was found two days later, hiding by a farm, where his owner coaxed him safely out.

Tigers are endangered in India, Nepal, Indonesia, Russia, China and elsewhere largely because of habitat destruction, poaching and loss of prey. Only 3,000 remain in the wild, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Some 5,000 tigers are held captive in the United States, a prime location for refuge, to protect them from illegal poachers. In 2005, the Save China's Tigers foundation "imported" two rare South China tiger cubs (Cathay, female, and Hope, male) to a remote corner of South Africa in hopes of having them adapt to living in the wild, breed and pass on their hunting skills to their offspring.

Another pair of South China tigers named Madonna and Tiger Woods was sent to the South African preserve, which is 81,510 acres (127.36 square miles). There they roamed, regained their hunting skills and killed their own food, which included blesbok, a white-faced African antelope. After surviving independently in their South African training grounds and having several litters of cubs, the tigers were returned to the Chinese reserve in 2008.