WalkingTiger

A Sumatran tiger female (Panthera tigris sumatrae), looks at you through the grass at the Toronto Zoo. Note the more reddish tone that this subspecies of tiger is known for.

Those who have been attacked by tigers in the wild don't usually see the tigers coming. Tigers are masters at stalking and ambushing their prey and they can make short work of human beings as our senses are nowhere near as developed as the tiger's typical prey. When I was walking through the jungles of Sumatra, I couldn't help but get chills when I thought about the very real possibility of a tiger out there. Man-eating is rare, but when you enter the jungle you are entering their domain and you know that you are not welcome and you are certainly not equipped to do anything should a tiger decide to attack. We saw the fresh pugmarks of a tigress so perhaps those piercing eyes of the forest had been watching us.

We'll never know...

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Tigers are the largest of the big cats and are exclusively found in Asia from India to Vietnam, from Indonesia to the Russian Far East. The tiger can be divided into 9 subspecies: 4 are currently critically endangered and 3 are already extinct. Though estimations of tiger populations only a few years ago was 5,500-6,000, today populations are likely closer to 3,500 and are still declining. Dramatic declines of the tiger in India, thought to host the majority of the world's tigers, have fallen to less than 1,411. Overall, the past decade has seen a 40% reduction in tiger habitat, which now represents a mere 7% of its historic range. Poaching is a significant problem throughout the tiger's range, the demand for its body parts in traditional medicines, tonics, and exotic dishes driving a lucrative trade that is wiping out entire populations. Long-term threats include habitat fragmentation and prey depletion, which is accelerating the tiger's demise and subsequently reducing the long-term genetic viability of many populations.

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