Tiger (Panthera tigris)

Length:4.5 - 9.2 ft.

Weight:165-675 lbs.

Tail Length:2-3 ft.

Litter Size:2-4 cubs

Gestation:100 days

Life Span:15 years

Status:The distribution of tigers once ranged from eastern Turkey through southern Asia and the islands of Sumatra, Bali, and Java. After the destruction of the Asian rain forests and grasslands, today the small populations of tigers are in southeast Asia in fragmented areas. There are five out of eight subspecies left; Bengal tigers are found in Bangladesh, India, Bhutan, Nepal, and Western Burma with a population from 3,000 to as many as 4,050; Siberian tigers are found in China, Eastern Russia, and parts of North Korea with a population of around two-hundred (there may be more in zoos then in the wild); Sumatran tigers are found only in Sumatra with a population from four to five- hundred; Indo-Chinese tigers range from Eastern Burma to Vietnam and Malaysia with populations from 1,100 to 1,800; there are about twenty or thirty South China tigers left in South China. In the 1920's, about 100,000 roamed the wild. Today, there are less than 7,000. Three subspecies are now extinct: the Caspian tigers, Javan tigers, and Bali tigers. The greatest threat to the tiger is the destruction of its habitat. As the population of humans boom, forests are logged, agriculture spreads, and the natural prey of the tiger decreases. Will the day come when tigers are found only in zoos?