The Sumatran tiger (Panthera Tigris Sumatrae)

Wild Sumatran tigers have survived within the isolated and somewhat continuous political environment of the Island of Sumatra. This has afforded researchers, such as The Sumatran Tiger Project team, an opportunity to study these animals’ genetic status in their natural habitat over an extended period of time. As a result, important first-hand field data has been generated which is relevant to all the surviving tiger subspecies.

Tigers eat mostly sambar, chital, Red deer, Swamp deer, Rusa deer, and Wild pigs. Occasionally, however, they will kill a rhino or elephant calf. About one in ten or twenty attempts to catch prey is successful. Unlike the cheetah, the large tiger cannot outrun most of its prey. Instead, it relies on the element of surprise by hiding in the tall grass and ambushing it prey.

The Sumatran tiger represents a uniquely hopeful opportunity for the survival of an individual subspecies of tiger in the wild. Specifically, the animal is isolated geographically to the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. This is important for many reasons. First, the animal has been genetically isolated. This offers felid biologists the opportunity to study the effects of such genetic isolation on a particular subspecies, unlike other surviving subspecies, which until the beginning of the last century, could roam among and between the realms of neighboring subspecies.

Unlike the cheetah and lion, the tiger does not live in open areas. They rely on ambushing their prey, which requires something to hide them. As a result, they prefer to live in moderate to dense cover.

Sumatran tigers are especially well represented in zoos around the world, most of which participate in sophisticated global conservation breeding programs. More than 270 Sumatran tigers are now documented in formal studbooks and are involved in captive breeding programs aimed at preserving their genetic uniqueness. This captive population is occasionally supplemented by wild Sumatran tigers, which are captured when they come into conflict with their surrounding human populations, or are rescued from situations that preclude them from living in the wild. Thanks to the presence of a one-of-a-kind research facility at Taman Safari on the island of Java, these tigers and their extremely rare genes can be preserved instead of being exterminated like most other problem tigers. Through an important scientific, community and political collaboration, these tigers have been spared so that their precious genes may bolster breeding programs for the Sumatran subspecies.

After a gestation period of about 103 days, the mother tiger gives birth to 2-4 cubs. The cubs weight about 2.2 pounds each, are totally blind, and completely helpless. The mother raises them alone, since the male tiger does not stay with any one of his several mates. The mother hunts and periodically returns to her den to feed her cubs. Later, the cubs will join her on the hunt and will learn the art from their mother.

The Sumatran tiger represents a uniquely hopeful opportunity for the survival of an individual subspecies of tiger in the wild. Specifically, the animal is isolated geographically to the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. This is important for many reasons. First, the animal has been genetically isolated. This offers felid biologists the opportunity to study the effects of such genetic isolation on a particular subspecies, unlike other surviving subspecies, which until the beginning of the last century, could roam among and between the realms of neighboring subspecies.

Wild Sumatran tigers have survived within the isolated and somewhat continuous political environment of the Island of Sumatra. This has afforded researchers, such as The Sumatran Tiger Project team, an opportunity to study these animals’ genetic status in their natural habitat over an extended period of time. As a result, important first-hand field data has been generated which is relevant to all the surviving tiger subspecies.