Tigers are aggressive and energetic animals. They are considered the largest cat species. They can live in almost any condition, whether striking cold or extremely warm. They are found in every region throughout the world. Many people ask if they have further species like other wild animals. The answer is yes, they do have species spread throughout the world. If you want to learn about different types of tigers, continue reading as we discuss their types and some facts about them.
Basics About Tigers
The tigers have some exceptional adaptation that allows them to live in any condition. That’s why they are found everywhere on Earth, whether it’s Africa, Europe, or Asia. Their carnivorous nature and amazing hunting skills help them a lot when it comes to finding food even in harsh conditions.
Other than that they have many more unique features such as their stripes. Each individual has different stripes on their fur. Due to this feature, an individual can be identified easily.
Different Types of Tigers
Tigers are members of the Felidae family and belong to the Mammalia class. There are nine different types of tigers. Each species is native to a different region with different characteristics. Their species are:
- Bengal tigers
- Indo-Chinese tigers
- South-China tigers
- Sumatran tigers
- Malayan tigers
- Siberian tigers
- Javan tigers
- Bali tigers
- Caspian tigers
Now we will discuss each of them one by one, their region and characteristics will also be discussed.
Bengal Tigers
They are considered the biggest wild cats living on Earth. They belong to the world’s charismatic megafauna. History suggests that they have been present in the Indian subcontinent since the Late Pleistocene for about 12,000 to 16,000 years. It was recorded that only fewer than 2,500 individuals are alive. Their population is considered threatened because of their hunting, poaching, and loss of habitat. Most of their habitats are destroyed by humans for their agendas.
They are originally native to the Indus River Valley, India, Pakistan, Southern Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Southwestern China. As of today, they inhabit India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Southeastern China.
Their coat color varies from yellow to orange, their stripe color may be brown to black. Their underparts are white like all other tigers, with their tail being orange with black rings. The males are 122 inches in length and weigh around 260 kg. The female tigress ranges between 100 and 112 inches in length and they weigh around 200 kg.
Indo-Chinese Tigers
This species of tiger is native to Southeast Asia. Only fewer than 1,200 individuals are thought to be left throughout the world. Their ground coloration is darker, with their stripes being more narrow than the others. Their skull size is smaller than the Bengal tiger. Their body size is also smaller than the Bengal ones.
The male one measured 112 inches in length and weighed 195 kg while the females were around 100 inches in length and weighed around 130 kg on average. They usually have 21 to 31 stripes on their body, with each having a different pattern.
South-China Tigers
These tigers are originally native to the Southern China region. They mainly inhabit Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Hunan provinces. They are listed as a critically endangered species. They have probably gone extinct in the wild with no individuals recorded in the wild since the 1980s. In the time around the late 1990s, it was noticed that if any individual had survived, now it couldn’t survive anymore because of habitat loss, less prey, and other environmental issues in China. The tigers only in captivity are left.
The male South China tigers may measure around 104 inches in length and their average weight is between 175 kg. The female tigresses have an average length of 94 inches and they weigh around 115 kg on average.
Malayan Tigers
Malayan tigers are native to Peninsular Malaysia. They mainly inhabit the Southern and Central parts of the Malay Peninsula. They are also listed as critically endangered species because there are about 80 to 120 individuals left in the wild with their population continuously declining.
There is no clear difference between a Malayan tiger and a Indo-Chinese tiger, they both are very similar to each other. The male’s average length is 94 inches and has an average weight of 129 kg. The female’s average length is 80 inches and has an average weight of 88 kg.
Sumatran Tigers
They are the only surviving tigers on the Sunda Islands with their partners Javan and Bali tigers now gone extinct. They are native to the Indonesian Islands of Sumatra. They have darker fur color and their stripes are broader than the other species.
They are one of the smallest tigers in the world. A male Sumatran tiger measures around 100 inches in length on average with an average weight being 140 kg. A female Sumatran tigress measures around 91 inches in length with an average weight of around 110 kg.
Siberian Tigers
The Siberian tigers are native to the Russian Far East, Northeast China, and possibly North Korea. They mainly inhabit the region including the Sikhote-Alin mountain region in Southwest Primorye Province in the Russian Far East. Fortunately, their population is stable because of human efforts.
They are also called Amur, Manchurian, Korean, and Ussurian tigers depending on the region where they are living in. Their fur color is mainly reddish-rusty, with their stripes being narrow black transverse. Their body length for the males is around 89 inches and they weigh around 306 kg on average. The females are measured around 80 inches in length and they weigh around 167 kg on average.
Javan Tigers
Unfortunately, these tigers have now gone extinct. History suggests that they were hunted to extinction. Their hunting was at its peak because of their beautiful fur. They had distinctive fur that attracted the hunters to hunt these tigers.
They were native to the Indonesian islands of Java. They were one of the three tiger populations on the Sunda Islands. Their natural habitat is now converted for Infrastructure and Agricultural uses.
These tigers were of the same size as the Sumatran ones, they were larger than the Bali tigers but they were smaller than the other subspecies of the Asian mainland. The stripes on their body were more numerous than the other tigers. The males were 98 inches in length and they weighed around 140 kg while the females were smaller than the males and they weighed around 115 kg on average.
Bali Tigers
Unfortunately, these tigers have also gone extinct since the 1950s. The last of their group was recorded in the 1930s, after that an individual might have survived until the late 1940s or possibly the early 1950s after that no signs of them surviving were found. They also went extinct because of too much hunting. Their natural habitats were converted for human use.
They were native to the Indonesian islands of Bali. They were the smallest tigers on the Sunda Islands. The males were measured about 91 inches in length and weighed 100 kg while the females were about 81 inches in length and they weighed around 80 kg on average. Only 7 skins and skulls of them are known to be preserved in a museum collection.
Caspian Tigers
This is also an extinct species of the tiger. They went extinct around 2003. They were also known as the Balkhash, Hyrcanian, Turanian, and Mazantaran tigers. These tigers were intermediate in size between Bengal and Siberian tigers.
They were native to Eastern Turkey, Northern Iran, Central Asia to Northern Afghanistan, the Xingjiang region in Western China, Mesopotamia, and the Caucasus around the Caspian Sea. Their fur was of some distinctive look, it was brighter and more uniform than the other species of tigers. The males measured about 116 inches in length and weighed around 240 kg while the females measured around 102 inches and their weight was around 135 kg on average.
FAQs
How Many Types of Tigers Are There?
There are a total of 9 types of them with each having different characteristics.
Which is the Heaviest Tiger Species?
The Siberian tigers are the heaviest of them all with their average weight being around 306 kg (675 pounds).
Which Tigers Are Gone Extinct?
The Javan, Bali, and Caspian tigers unfortunately have gone extinct in the wild and also there are none left in captivity as well.
Which Tigers Are Critically Endangered?
The South China and Malayan tigers are listed as critically endangered species because there are just a few of them left throughout the world and their population is declining continuously.
Which Tigers are Threatened?
The Bengal tigers are listed as threatened species with reason being the same as South China and Malayan tigers, that their population is facing a continuous decline.
Are Tigers Aggressive?
Yes, they are one of the most aggressive animals out there. They can attack and rip off any creature with their pointed claws and teeth. Most of the time they become aggressive when they are starving or if they have any injury. Trying to hunt them or capture them might also raise their aggressiveness.
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