Tiger

Quick facts

• The tiger’s scientific name is Panthera tigris; it is the largest extant felid (big cat) and is native to parts of Asia from the Russian Far East to the Sunda Islands. ([iucn.org](https://iucn.org/story/202208/future-panthera-tigris-thailand-and-globally?utm_source=openai))
• The species is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List (2022 assessment). Recent assessments estimate roughly 3,700–5,600 wild tigers, with a best estimate around 4,500 individuals; monitoring improvements account for part of the apparent increase since 2015. ([images.assettype.com](https://images.assettype.com/ncfindia/2022-09/af66cf19-429a-4df5-8332-5de974587ff2/Goodrich_et_al____2022__RedList.pdf?utm_source=openai))
• Taxonomy at the subspecies level has been revised in recent years: the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group (2017 onward) treats tiger populations as the species Panthera tigris, with the living populations generally grouped into two recognized subspecies for conservation purposes — the continental P. t. tigris and the Sunda Island P. t. sondaica — though finer subspecific interpretations remain under review. ([catsg.org](https://www.catsg.org/living-species-tiger?utm_source=openai))
• A tiger’s vertical dark stripe pattern on an orange/tan background is individually unique (like a fingerprint) and is used by researchers with camera traps to identify and count animals; the pattern corresponds to underlying integument and remains stable as the animal grows. ([wwf.org.uk](https://www.wwf.org.uk/learn/world-days/global-tiger-day?utm_source=openai))
• The main threats to wild tigers are illegal poaching and trade in body parts, habitat loss and fragmentation, and human–wildlife conflict; these threats are the focus of global and regional conservation programs. ([images.assettype.com](https://images.assettype.com/ncfindia/2022-09/af66cf19-429a-4df5-8332-5de974587ff2/Goodrich_et_al____2022__RedList.pdf?utm_source=openai))