Only about 4,000 wild tigers remain worldwide. How are they distributed and what is their protection status?
Wild tigers are distinct from captive-bred tigers, but after centuries of hunting their numbers have become very scarce. It is reported that only about 4,000 wild tigers remain worldwide! Where exactly are they distributed? What protection level do wild tigers have?
1. Only about 4,000 wild tigers remain worldwide!
At present only 6 tiger subspecies remain worldwide, and due to habitat loss and continuous poaching by humans, only about 4,000 wild tigers remain worldwide.
2. Where exactly are wild tigers distributed worldwide?
Wild tigers are mainly distributed in Asia, but different subspecies are distributed in different areas. For example:
1. Siberian tiger
The Siberian tiger, also known as the Amur tiger, originated in northeastern Asia, namely the Siberian region of Russia, Korea and the northeastern region of China, and has a 3-million-year evolutionary history.
2. Bengal tiger
The Bengal tiger was once widely distributed in the broad-leaved forests of southeastern Tibet, China, but now only a few are distributed within Medog County, Tibet, estimated at fewer than 20, on the verge of disappearing at any moment. Wild Bengal tigers are very elusive, and no tiger attacks on people have occurred in Medog.
3. Indochinese tiger
The Indochinese tiger, abbreviated as Indochinese tiger, is distributed in China only in the jungles at the border of Yunnan Province with Laos and Myanmar, in extremely small numbers (possibly no more than 10), and is very difficult to find.
4. Malayan tiger
Distributed in the southern part of the Malay Peninsula, within Malaysia and Thailand.
5. Sumatran tiger
Lives on the island of Sumatra, which belongs to Indonesia, and is the smallest surviving tiger subspecies.
3. What protection level do wild tigers have?
Listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species 2015 ver3.1——Endangered (EN).
Listed in the Convention on Washington (CITES) as a Class I protected animal.
At present only 4,000 wild tigers remain worldwide, and the Javan tiger, Bali tiger and Caspian tiger are wild tiger subspecies that have already become extinct and will never be seen again.