Subspecies Of Tigers

Tiger is the largest of the four big cats and belongs to a family member known as felidae. However the cat has several subspecies. There are nine subspecies, three of which are now extinct. The surviving subspecies are widely spread in: India, China, Siberia, Iran, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, and Southern Asia. There is Sumatran Tiger found only in Indonesian island of Sumatra and it's highly endangered. It is the smallest of all living tiger subspecies. They are very small in size which is due to an adaptation to the thick and dense forest of the island. Adult males weigh between 100- 140 and females between 75-110 kilograms. Their population is 400- 500 and confined to the island's national parks.

Tigers from Siberia are known as Siberian tigers and are considered the largest subspecies. They are also known as Amur, Manchurian, Altaic and Korean and the heaviest wild Siberian subspecies' on record weighed 384 kilograms but on average males weigh 227 kilograms. There is Bengal tiger or the Royal Bengal tiger which is the most common subspecies of tiger and found in India and Bangladesh. Males weigh 205 to 227 kilograms while females weigh 140kgs. Their population according to National Tiger Conservation Authority is around 1,141 wild tigers. However the species is under threat and there have been massive conservation project know as Project Tiger.

Tigers from China are smaller and darker than Bengal species. They are known as Indochinese or Corbett's. Their preferred habitat is forests in mountainous or hilly regions. Males weigh 150-190kgs while females are smaller and weigh 110 -140kgs. The species is at extreme risk of poaching and prey depletion due to poaching of deer's and wild pigs. The others are Bali and Javan tigers which have now become extinct due to hunting.

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