Peril and Promise for Wild Tigers
Great Cats Photo Gallery 
Tiger Cam
Celebrating Endangered Tiger Triplets
Adopt a Sumatran Tiger!If your neighborhood were home to tigers, would you welcome these majestic beasts? Some people would probably work to protect them, but others might want to eliminate them, citing dangers to life and limb. As far-fetched as this might seem, it's exactly the problem facing tigers in their natural habitats of Asia.
Many tigers
live near dense populations of poor people. These cats have not fared well as human needs
for land and forest products have grown. Even public
land and reserves are not a safe habitat for tigers.
Tigers have been poisoned, blown up by land mines, trapped,
and shot. Many have fallen victim to the demand
of the continuing illegal wildlife trade in live animals
and body parts. Despite noteworthy international and
local efforts, the tiger is increasingly under threat.
While there are no accurate estimates, the current world
tiger population in the wild is thought to have fallen
by about 95 percent since 1900 to fewer than 6,000 animals.
The National Zoo Helps Tiger
Conservation
The National Zoo, along with other conservation organizations,
is working to combat the demise of the many of the great
cats—lions, cheetahs, clouded leopards, and tigers. The Zoo is particularly committed to
the survival of the Sumatran tiger, one of the most
endangered tiger subspecies. Fewer than 500 of these
cats are believed to exist in the wild, and
210 live in zoos around the world. Through a Species
Survival Plan (SSP), the Zoo’s efforts
to manage and maintain genetic diversity in Sumatran
tigers are helping to ensure the future of these animals.
With a history of more than 30 years of research on tigers in the wild and in zoos, the National Zoo has become a critical and productive breeding center for Sumatran tigers, helping to maintain healthy zoo populations. In May 2006, under the SSP, the Zoo's female Sumatran tiger gave birth to a litter of three cubs, two females and one male.
Celebrate the Zoo's key role
in tiger conservation by adopting a Sumatran tiger. Your donation will help
fund exhibit improvement, equipment, and medical care
for the Zoo’s Sumatran tigers and the
2,400 other animals that live at the Zoo and
its Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal,
Virginia.
Dwindling Range, Dwindling
Numbers
The tiger’s range historically stretched from
Turkey eastward to the coasts of Russia and China, and
as far north as Eastern Siberia south to the Indonesian
island of Bali. Today this range is diminished dramatically
to isolated forest patches in India to southeastern
China and from Siberia to Indonesia. Tigers in one such
pocket often cannot reach tigers in other pockets, resulting
in the loss of genetic diversity.
Three of nine tiger subspecies (Bali, Caspian, and Javan) went extinct in the 20th century, and the South China tiger is down to fewer than 50 captive animals. While there are 400 to 500 Amur tigers in the Russian Far East, the Chinese population of this subspecies is considered critical.
A Tiger’s Basic Needs
 |
| An elusive predator, the tiger is rarely seen in the wild, even in preserves. Researchers often must use camera traps to estimate populations. |
Forest cover: Tigers are solitary hunters, stalking and then killing in a blinding flash. Without cover, the stealthy approach doesn't work.
Prey: Tigers average a large kill every eight days or so, consuming more than 50 prey animals a year. In a single night, they can eat 60 pounds of meat.
Water: Tigers never live too far from water. They need to drink daily and, particularly in the tropics, water offers a cooling break from the heat.
A place to have young: Mothers need a secluded area to give birth and raise their young.
A Future in the Wild?
Save The Tiger Fund, World Wildlife Fund, and other
organizations have taken bold steps to save this keystone
species. Important initiatives include:
- Working with Asian and other governments to discourage the importation and consumption of tiger derivatives for medicinal purposes and encourage the use of effective substitutes.
- Working with the governments of supplying countries to suppress trade in tiger skins, bones, and other body parts, including uncovering of illicit trade routes.
- Supporting projects in countries with tiger populations to protect and restore habitat. A key to the success of these efforts must include involvement of local residents to appreciate the importance of live tigers and develop ways to share forest habitat. They must also include alternative ways to generate income, food, and fuel. They often include ecotourism schemes in which local people share the income and jobs generated from visitors.
National Zoo scientists have also led efforts to secure a future in the wild for this species. For example, one Zoo scientist is seeking to understand the ecological and political conditions needed to sustain wild tiger populations in Asia. He is also working to develop effective science-based conservation leaders in places with tigers.
Want to Help?
Adopt a Sumatran tiger
and help support the Zoo’s important tiger conservation
programs, as well as exhibit improvement, equipment,
and medical care for these great cats and the 2,000
other animals that live at the National Zoo and its
Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Virginia.
Because your contribution is dedicated directly to animal care, you truly make a difference!
Photos by Jessie Cohen/NZP
