IndoChinese Tiger
 Name: Panthera tigris corbetti
named after Jim Corbett, an Indian hunter and naturalist of
British descent.
Description: Indo-Chinese tigers are a bit smaller
and darker than Bengal tigers, with shorter, narrower stripes. Males
average 2.7 meters (9 feet) from head to tail and weigh about 180
kilograms (400 pounds). Females are smaller, measuring about 2.4 meters
(8 feet) in length and weighing approximately 115 kilograms (250
pounds).
Distribution: The distribution of the Indo-Chinese
tiger is centered in Thailand. Indo-Chinese tigers are also found in
Myanmar, southern China, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Within this range,
tigers live in remote forests in hilly to mountainous terrain, much of
which lies along the borders between countries. Access to these areas is
often restricted, and biologists have only recently been granted limited
permits for field surveys. As a result, relatively little is know about
the status of these tigers in the wild.
Biology: The Indo-Chinese tigers eat Muntjac deer,
Sambar deer, pig, hog badger and porcupines. The specific range size of
this tiger is not known, but the population density is thought to be
approximately 4 to 5 adult tigers/100 km 2 (39 mile2) in optimal
habitat.
Status in the wild: An estimated 736–1,225
Indo-Chinese tigers are left in the wild according to a 1998 expert
assessment compiled by Peter Jackson in the following countries:
Indo-Chinese tigers generally occur in very low densities and have
been poached severely in many parts of their range, and have disappeared
from some reserves in Cambodia and Thailand in the last 10 years.
Captive breeding: In July 1995 the Zoological Parks
Organization of Thailand (ZPO) held a masterplan meeting to develop a
captive management program for Indochinese tigers in Thai zoos.
Participants from zoos and wildlife agencies in Malaysia, Vietnam, Lao
PDR, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Singapore assisted at the meeting in the
analysis of the origin of captive tigers, the role of Thai and other
Asian zoos in supporting the conservation of wild tigers, and the
development of a ZPO Indochinese Tiger Masterplan. However, a genetic analysis of the phylogeny of tigers in 2004
split the Indo-Chinese subspecies into two distinct subspecies: the
Indo-Chinese tiger and the Malayan tiger and the authors argue that the
captive populations for these two subspecies should be managed in a
similar way to the other recognized subspecies and it is unclear how
this information will be used by the zoo community.
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