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Sumatran Tiger

Mammals

The smallest living tiger subspecies, found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where it survives in fragmented patches of lowland and mountain rainforest that continue to shrink under logging and conversion to palm oil and pulpwood plantations. Its comparatively small size and dark, closely spaced stripes are thought to be adaptations to Sumatra's dense forest, where camouflage and maneuverability among close-growing vegetation matter more than the raw size that favors tigers hunting in more open terrain elsewhere in Asia. Like other tigers it is a solitary, territorial ambush predator, and camera-trap studies remain the primary tool for estimating how many survive in a landscape too dense and remote for a direct count.

Facts
Classification
Diet
Carnivore 2
System (Realm)
Terrestrial 2
Living or Extinct
Yes 1
Derived from this species' own Conservation Status: this atlas's IUCN category list has no Extinct value, so a set conservation-status is itself evidence of living status (w-bfill-g5-0924 browse backfill).
Disputed
Population Estimate
600 4
Published estimates for the remaining wild population range from under 400 to roughly 600 individuals depending on survey year and method; camera-trap-based density estimates for a wide-ranging, low-density forest predator carry substantially more uncertainty than a count of a visible, aggregated species, so this figure is the upper end of recent published estimates, not a settled number.
Identification
Distinguishing Appearance
It is darker in fur colour and has broader stripes than the Javan tiger. Stripes tend to dissolve into spots near their ends, and on the back, flanks and hind legs are lines of small, dark spots between the regular stripes. 1
Scientific Name
Panthera tigris sondaica 3
Conservation Status
Critically Endangered 1
IUCN Red List, assessed by Linkie, Wibisono, Martyr and Sunarto in 2008; fewer than 400 mature individuals estimated in more recent (post-2008) population reviews cited elsewhere in the literature.
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Panthera, Taxa
Source Catalogue of Life

In Biome

Tropical Rainforest, Biomes
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica

In Ecosystem

Sumatran Lowland Rainforest, Ecosystems

Characteristic large predator of the Sumatran lowland rainforest per the ecoregion's own species roster.

Source Sumatran Lowland Rain Forests (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Sumatran Tiger (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • References, IUCN citation
    Linkie, M.; Wibisono, H.T.; Martyr, D.J.; Sunarto, S. (2008). Panthera tigris ssp. sumatrae. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008 e.T15966A5334836.
  • Wikipedia, Characteristics section
    It is darker in fur colour and has broader stripes than the Javan tiger. Stripes tend to dissolve into spots near their ends, and on the back, flanks and hind legs are lines of small, dark spots between the regular stripes.
View the Source
2. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
  • System/realm (stated plainly in the entity own recorded description)
    The smallest living tiger subspecies, found only on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, where it survives in fragmented patches of lowland and mountain rainforest that continue to shrink under logging and conversion to palm oil and pulpwood plantations.
  • In Biome: Tropical Rainforest
View the Source
3. Encyclopedia of Life
Encyclopedia of LifeView the Source
4. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
International Union for Conservation of NatureView the Source
Sumatran Lowland Rain Forests (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIn Ecosystem: Sumatran Lowland Rainforest, Fauna sectionView the Source
Catalogue of Life
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of LifeChild Taxon Of: PantheraView the Source
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