Panthera tigris ssp. sumatrae

The Sumatran tiger is the smallest of all extant tiger subspecies. The average male Sumatran tiger has an average body length (from head to tail) of 234 cm and an average weight of 120 kg. The average female Sumatran tiger has an average body length of 198 cm and an average weight of 90 kg. Its stripes are narrower than those of other tiger subspecies, and its beard and mane are thicker (especially in males).
The Sumatran tiger was named and established as a new species in 1929 by Pocock, a famous zoologist at the Natural History Museum in London, England. Its ancestors originated from mainland tigers in the early and middle Pleistocene. Rising sea levels 12,000 years ago isolated the Sumatra region from the Asian continent, and tens of thousands of wild tigers were separated into new subspecies with significant differences. The Sumatran tiger has dark orange fur and dense stripes, typical features that distinguish it from mainland tiger species.

Distributed in Sumatra, Indonesia. It is the only tiger that is only distributed on the island. There are only 400 wild Sumatran tigers, and less than 300 are bred artificially.
The habitat of the Sumatran tiger is mainly the tropical rainforest within the Sumatra Islands. The range of activity depends on the density of prey and the size of the habitat. The average distribution density is 5 tigers/100 square kilometers.

The Sumatran tiger (scientific name: Panthera tigris ssp. sumatrae), also known as the Sumatran Tiger in English, is the smallest subspecies of the same species of tiger.

The main food of the Sumatran tiger is sambar deer, wild boar, porcupine, crocodile, baby rhinoceros and baby elephant. Unlike cheetahs and lions living in the plains, the Sumatran tiger in the rainforest must rely on lurking to attack prey.

Sumatran tigers can mate all year round, but they mate mainly in late winter and early spring. The gestation period of female tigers is about 103 days, and each litter gives birth to 2-4 cubs. When they are just born, the cubs weigh about 1 kg to 1.4 kg. The cubs at this time have not yet opened their eyes and are extremely fragile. The female tiger needs to protect the cubs at all times to protect them from male tigers or other animals. Ten days later, the cubs open their eyes and rely entirely on breast milk from the first to the eighth week. The lactation period is about 5-6 months. The cubs rely entirely on breast milk for the first 8 weeks. After about 6 months, the female tigers begin to teach them hunting skills. The cubs live independently at around 2 years old and become sexually mature at 4 years old. The longest lifespan of wild Sumatran tigers is 15 years, and the longest lifespan in captivity is 20 years.

As early as 1990, APP (Asia Pulp & Paper) opened a factory on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. The World Environmental Protection Organization has asked APP and other paper companies to immediately stop destroying the Sumatra forests, because the destruction of the forests has caused a large loss of habitat for Sumatran tigers, which has put them on the verge of extinction. The rapid development of the paper industry has caused the forest coverage rate to shrink rapidly. The "Global Forest Watch" estimated in 2001 that Indonesia's forest coverage rate has decreased by 72%. A report from the World Bank pointed out that Indonesia's annual deforestation volume reached 30 million mu, equivalent to the size of Belgium. According to statistics from the "World Resources Institute", during the 32 years of former President Suharto's rule, Indonesia has lost 600 million mu of forest, which is equal to the combined area of Germany and Finland.

Tiger hunting has always been rampant in Sumatra. Tiger bones, claws, skins and other tiger products can be seen for sale on the local streets. In the early 1930s, Dutch businessman Florin received 150-350 Sumatran tiger skins every year. At that time, each tiger skin sold for $100, and the price rose to $3,000 in the 1970s. South Korea imported 6,128 kilograms of tiger bones between 1975 and 1992, an average of 340 kilograms per year, of which 3,720 kilograms came from Indonesia, which is equivalent to hunting 333 Sumatran tigers (the average weight of air-dried tiger bones is about 12 kilograms). 1981 was the year with the largest tiger bone exports from Indonesia, when 1,060 kg of tiger bones were exported; the second largest year was 1975, when 620 kg of tiger bones were exported; and 560 kg of tiger bones were exported in 1988. After 1992, Indonesia's tiger bone exports dropped sharply, with only 55 kg of tiger bones exported in 1992, because there were really not many tigers in the wild. Despite this, it is estimated that 42 tigers were still killed in 1992; about 51 tigers were killed in 1994; 66 tigers were killed between March 1998 and 2000; and a live tiger was even smuggled into Malaysia in 2001. According to a survey by relevant conservation organizations in 2002, in 24 cities in eight provinces in Sumatra, 484 stores openly sold tiger products. Most of these stores were souvenir shops, pharmacies and fur markets. Due to the rapid increase in Java's population, about 600,000 people migrate from Java to Sumatra every year. This wave of immigration has brought greater pressure to Sumatra Island and further increased human-tiger conflicts.

Due to human invasion and destructive exploitation of natural resources, the habitat of the Sumatran tiger has been continuously reduced and cut into pieces. A survey conducted in 1978 estimated that there were about 1,000 wild Sumatran tigers. In 1985, surveyors from the Indonesian Forestry Department estimated that there were signs of tigers in 26 nature reserves, with a population of about 800. By 1992, the Indonesian Forestry Department and the Nature Conservation Association (PHPA) made a statistics that there were still 400 tigers distributed in five national parks in Sumatra, including: Kambas National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park, Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park.

Captive Sumatran tigers are mainly exhibited in zoos in Indonesia, North America, Europe, Australia and Japan. According to estimates by the Indonesian Zoo Association (PKBSI), there are more than 230 Sumatran tigers in zoos around the world, including 65 in Indonesian zoos, 100 in European zoos, 12 in Australian zoos, 55 in North American zoos, and 2 in Japanese zoos. There are also 32 males and 29 females living in the Sumatran Tiger Conservation Center on the island of Java.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Endangered Species, the Sumatran tiger is the most endangered subspecies, facing increasing pressure from poaching and shrinking jungle habitats. Authorities have called on communities and plantation companies not to set traps in forest areas where wild animals may cross.

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