Sumatran Tiger
 Name: Panthera tigris sumatrae (Sumatran
Tiger)
Description: The Sumatran tiger has the darkest coat
of all tigers. Its broad, black stripes are closely spaced and often
doubled. Unlike the Siberian tiger, it has striped forelegs. Sumatran
tigers are the smallest tiger subspecies. Males average 2.4 meters (8
feet) in length from head to tail and weigh about 120 kilograms (264
pounds). Females measure approximately 2.2 meters (7 feet) in length and
weigh about 90 kilograms (198 pounds).
Distribution: The Sumatran tiger is found only on
the Indonesian island of Sumatra in habitat that ranges from lowland
forest to submontain and montain forest with some peat-moss forest.
Biology: The Sumatran tiger eats wild pig, big deer
(called rusa), and small deer (called muntjak or barking deer). The
specific range size of this tiger is not know, however the population
density is approximately 4–5 adult tigers/100 km 2 (39 mile 2) in
optimal lowland rainforest. As elevation increases through submontain
and montain forests, the number of tigers in any given area decreases
because there is less prey available.
Status in the wild: 400-500 wild Sumatran tigers
were believed to exist in 1998, primarily in the island's national park
areas, but no island-wide census or monitoring system has been possible.
Tiger numbers have continued to decline because of poaching of tigers to
supply the illegal trade in tiger parts. The last remnants of lowland
forest are being eliminated to establish oil palm plantations and for
shifting agriculture by recent settlers from other areas of Sumatra and
Indonesia. Ongoing road development makes many formerly inaccessible
mountain areas accessible to illegal logging even on the steepest
slopes, and many mountainous areas are being converted into plantations
for coffee and other products for international markets. Tigers are
legally protected but are not highly valued.
Captive breeding: For three years, the Indonesian
Zoological Parks' Association (PKBSI) has been working with the Tiger
Global Conservation Strategy to develop a conservation program for
Sumatran tigers. In addition to the 65 Sumatran tigers living in
Indonesian zoos, there are 55 tigers managed by North American zoos, 100
in European zoos, and 12 in Australasian zoos. This captive population
is descended from 37 wild-caught founders.
The Indonesian Sumatran Tiger Masterplan now has the potential to
function as the heart of the Sumatran tiger population worldwide. It is
designed to preserve sufficient genetic diversity to reinforce both
captive and wild populations, thus fulfilling its goal to ensure that
the in situ tiger program comprises verifiable founders permanently
identified and registered in the Indonesian Sumatran Tiger Studbook. It
also extends the capabilities of Indonesian zoo staff to professionally
manage their tiger programs in Indonesia, and at the same time serves as
a model for other range country tiger management programs in Southeast
Asia.
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