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THE TIGER AT A GLANCE
Counting tigers is difficult because they live secretly in dense forests. Pugmarks, scratches on trees, vocalizations, and occasional sightings are often the only indication of their presence. India has attempted to obtain an exact count, but the methodol ogy and the results have been challenged. The population figures given in this booklet have been gathered from a wide variety of sources in tiger range countries. They provide a reasonable picture of the status of the tiger and indicate that the world pop ulation is between 5,000 and 7,500. There are no reliable estimates of the number of tigers earlier in the century for comparison. Indian Subcontinent : The Indian subcontinent is the home of the Bengal tiger, which is found in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and western Myanmar. The tiger populations of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Myanmar are extensions of the Indian population. Of particular importance are those in the Sundarban mangrove forests, which spread over 1,000km2 along the coast of India and Bangladesh and may harbour about 500 tigers, almost certainly the largest surviving population in the world. In Nepal, tigers are found almost exclusively in Royal Chitwan and Royal Bardia National Parks, and Royal Sukhla Phanta and Parsa Wildlife Reserves, which adjoin India. It is estimated that there are about 180, including more than 90 breeding females. The Himalayan foothills of Bhutan do not constitute the best tiger habitat, but tigers are reported to be widespread. Estimates of their number range from 50 to 240. Southeast Asia : Southeast Asia from eastern Myanmar to Vietnam is the range of the Indo-Chinese tiger. Because of lack of research in much of the area, the overall estimate of 1,000 to 1,850 is the only figure available and is the least reliable f or any area. Myanmar : Disturbed conditions in Myanmar for decades have thwarted research and management and it is not known how many tigers exist. Thailand : In Thailand, a tiger specialist estimated the total number of tigers in the country at 250, but the Royal Forest Department puts the number at 501. The specialist confirmed the presence of tigers in 19 protected areas, but many are relat ively small, except for Huai Kha Khaeng/Thung Yai (5,775km2), Khao Yai/Tab Lan (4,410km2), Kaeng Krachan (2,910km2), Omkoi (1,225km2), and Phu Khieo (1,560km2). Vietnam : Tigers survive in Vietnam where suitable habitat remains, but there are no data beyond the confirmation of their presence in 11 protected areas. Apart from Muong Nhe (1,820km2), other protected areas are less than 500km2 in area. Tigers a re also found outside reserves, but Vietnamese specialists believe that there are fewer than 200 tigers in all. Cambodia : Cambodia has been racked by several decades of war, which has prevented wildlife surveys. Officials have suggested a provisional figure of 150 to 200 tigers in the country. If Government plans to grant 30 logging concession on 6.5 millio n ha of remaining forest land go ahead, some of which are adjacent to and possibly in declared protected areas, the future of the country's tigers would be dire indeed. In 1994, some 23 protected areas on 3.5 million ha of forest land were granted protect ion by a Royal Decree, but some of these areas, many of which are believed to contain tigers, are already under threat. Laos : A questionnaire survey of villagers indicated that tigers are still widespread in the Lao PDR, but the number is not known. Lao PDR has proposed to create a system of 14 protected areas but virtually all of these areas, many of which are pri me tiger habitat, are under threat because of poaching and development plans. Malaysia : Tigers are widely distributed in peninsular Malaysia and number around 500, according to the Forest Department. Apart from the National Park of Taman Negara (4,344km2), tigers are found in a network of protected areas for wildlife and fo rest reserves which cover 30,000km2. Indonesia : With the extinction in the past 50 years of the Bali and Javan tigers, Indonesia now has only the Sumatran tiger. Recent estimates identify about 400 tigers in five national parks and two reserves on the island of Sumatra: Gunung Leuser (7,927km2), Kerinci Seblat (14,846km2), Berbak (1,900km2), Barisan Selatan (3,650km2), and Way Kambas (1,300km2). Around 100 scattered tigers have poor prospects of survival. China : China once had many tigers throughout the heartland. In the northeast, there was the Siberian tiger, and in the south, the South China tiger, while Bengal and Indo-Chinese tigers frequented the southern border areas. Today, fewer than 100 t igers survive. A 1990 survey found pugmarks, scrapes and other signs of the South China tiger in 11 reserves in the mountains of Hunan, Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Fujian provinces. However, few areas with intact forest and grassland cover more than 400km2, a part from Hupingshan in Hunan and Wuyishan. No tigers were sighted, but Chinese specialists believe around 30 tigers remain. Sightings of Siberian tigers in Changbaishan, near the border with North Korea, were reported in Chinese newspapers in 1990 and some are still found along the border with the Russian Far East, which is now the main population centre. There are probably fe wer than 35 in China. Russia : In the Russian Far East, Amur or Siberian tigers are distributed through the Sikhote Alin mountains in Primorski and Khabarovski Territories. The total population was estimated in 1996 at 415 to 476. Tigers are confirmed in the reserves of Sikhote Alin (3,470km2), Ussuriisk (404km2) and Lazovsky (1,165km2). They are also present in the Kedrovaya Pad reserve (178km2) near the border with China, west of Vladivostok. Ru ssian conservationists are presently designing new national parks and reserves that would substantially increase protected tiger habitat in the region.
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