Tigers of the World

Although critically endangered, wild tigers still prowl the border of India and Bangladesh — one of the most densely populated places on earth; the western Terai of India and Nepal; the untamed borderlands of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia; and the vast boreal forests of the Russian Far East.

How many roam is the million dollar question.

"Estimating the number of tigers in a population has always been a contentious issue," says John Seidensticker, chairman of the Save the Tiger Fund Council, and senior scientist at the National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution. "Estimates provided by range countries are, in most cases, based on nothing more than optimism."

One thing for sure is that a century ago there were eight subspecies of tiger, all native to Asia. Now there are only five: The 1980s saw the last of the fearsome Javan tiger, a 250-pound animal that could take down 2,000-pound bulls. The Caspian tiger went extinct in the 1970s. And the last Bali tiger probably died in the 1940s.

Click on the tigers below for a description of those subspecies still living and more about their current status.

South China Tiger
The South China tiger was recently declared extinct in the wild by tiger researcher Ron Tilson, conservation director at the Minnesota Zoo.

Amur Tiger
Also known as the Siberian or Manchurian tiger, the Amur is the largest of the great cats.

Bengal Tiger
The Bengal is the most numerous tiger subspecies, with 3,250 to 4,700 tigers remaining in the wild.
Indochinese Tiger
Fewer than 1,500 Indochinese tigers remain in Thailand and surrounding countries.

Sumatran Tiger
The last of the island tigers, this cat is generally smaller than mainland tigers.