Tiger Habitat
A Quick Guide to the Tiger Habitat
Classic movies such as Tarzan show immense tigers roaming hungrily through dense jungles; these, however, are not the only tiger habitat where the magnificent creature can be found. While there are others, the habitats of these highly adaptable tigers are quickly disappearing.
There are six existing subspecies of the tiger family: Bengal, Malayan, Siberian, Sumatran, Indochinese and South China tigers. For each species of tiger, habitats will vary according to the topography of the area for which they are indigenous, and range from steamy jungles to below zero woodland.
Bengal tiger habitats are varied, as the cat is found in India, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh all of which have diverse geography. India provides the most widespread domain for the Bengal, since it offers the two dependant factors for cat inhabitation: adequate cover in the form of vegetation, and adequate food in the form of prey. There are a few highly acclaimed reserves of tiger habitats within India that boast the highest populations of the Bengal tiger, from plains to deserts and evergreen forests to mangrove swamps.
A relatively new subspecies to the cat world, the Malayan tiger habitats are confined to the Malay Peninsula, southern most Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia, although in meager supply throughout. There are thought to be only between 500-1000 of these cats in the wild, where geography tends to lean toward humid rainforests and highlands. The Malayan tiger was previously counted as their biological simile, the Indochinese tiger, although in size they rank closer to the Sumatran.
The giant of the tiger subspecies is the Siberian. Found in Russia, China and North Korea, this massive cat can be found in the coldest climates of Siberia. Thicker layers of fat along the belly and flanks help this cat to exist in what must be the harshest of tiger habitats, along with its thick coat of orange and brown stripes. Paler than most cats, its fur helps to disguise the Siberian in grassy areas while also providing cover against the snowy landscape.
The Sumatran tiger is unique in that its only native domain is on the island of Sumatra. The smallest of the cat species has two tiger habitats here, with slightly different identifiers. The higher mountainous forested regions offer less prey than the thickly treed lowlands, meaning more tigers will be found in the lowlands where they can find food. Swamp lands, both freshwater and peat, are also prevalent in the tiger habitats.
Warm, tropical humid forests of Southeast Asia make up the tiger habitats of the Indochinese species, along with mountainous regions with deciduous trees. This cat is among the critically endangered, with most of the wild populations forced to live within refuges due to depleting habitat and poaching.
It is important to note that all tiger subspecies are endangered, due largely to diminishing tiger habitats in the wild. Conservation groups are stringently working to save the tiger, the most favored creature in the world.