Sumatran Tiger Panthera tigris sondaica

Sumatran tiger Panthera tigris sondaica

Critically Endangered

Extant (resident): Sumatra, Indonesia

The Sumatran tiger Panthera tigris sondaica is a critically endangered big cat, with less than 600 of their species alive in the wild today. Once living in Java and Bali, they are now only found in Sumatra, Indonesia. The smallest tiger species, they possess darker coats and narrower stripes than their mainland counterparts. Each pattern is as unique and distinct as a fingerprint. Sumatran Tigers face serious and grave threats from palm oil habitat destruction, poaching, and human-wildlife conflict. Sumatra’s ongoing deforestation, driven by palm oil and acacia plantations, continues to shrink their habitat. While illegal poaching for the wildlife trade is decimating their population. Conservation efforts are underway, but the future of this magnificent species hangs in the balance. You can help protect the Sumatran tiger every time you shop. Learn how to boycott palm oil on the Palm Oil Detectives website. Raise awareness of them on social media using the hashtags #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife.

Fewer than 600 Sumatran #Tigers remain wild today Their number slashed by #palmoil #deforestation and illegal #poaching for body parts. Fight for their survival every time you #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife ️ in the shops @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-8QT

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Mighty apex #predator, the Sumatran #Tiger’s stripes are unique like fingerprints. Critically #endangered, a few 100 remain alive! Major threats: #palmoil #ecocide and #poaching. Fight for them! ️ #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://wp.me/pcFhgU-8QT

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Appearance & Behaviour

• Their distinctive stripes are unique to each individual, similar to human fingerprints.
• They are strong swimmers, often moving between islands and across rivers in order to seek new territory or hunt prey.

Sumatran tigers possess a rare combination of strength, beauty, and mystery that has captivated the human imagination since time immemorial. Their deep orange coats with distinctive black stripes seem to ripple as they move stealthily through dense forests. Unlike their mainland cousins, their coats are darker, and their stripes dissolve into spots, making them even more unique. Tigers in Sumatra are known for their grace and ferocity, moving silently through their home territory, often evoking admiration, fear and awe in all other species.

They are the smallest subspecies of tiger. Males weigh between 100-140 kg and females between 75-110 kg. Their compact size, compared to other tiger species, helps them move with agility through the dense forests of Sumatra.

These tigers like many other big cats prefer deep forests where they can blend into the foliage. Solitary creatures, Sumatran tigers only coming together for mating or a mother raising her young. These tigers are fiercely protective of their territory and will patrol vast areas to ensure their dominance. Their elusive and cryptic nature, combined with their regal appearance, inspires deep reverence from those who witness them.

Threats

Palm oil and timber deforestation

Clearing of forests for palm oil plantations and illegal logging for timber continues to destroy the Sumatran tigers’ natural habitat. Between 1985 and 2014, forest cover on Sumatra was reduced from 58% to just 26%. Forest destruction isolates tiger populations, making it difficult for them to hunt, breed, and thrive.

Illegal poaching and black market trade in body parts

Tigers are killed for their skins, bones, and teeth, which are highly valued in traditional medicine and as luxury items. This illegal trade continues despite intensified conservation efforts, leading to significant population declines.

Human-Tiger Conflict

As tigers lose their forest homes, they move closer to human settlements, sometimes attacking livestock. Retaliatory killings by villagers and farmers on palm oil plantations often result in the death of tigers, further reducing their numbers.

Genetic Conditions from Captive Breeding

Tigers captured from the wild and then bred in Zoos face genetic disorders due to inbreeding, such as vestibular dysfunctions. Vestibular dysfunctions include: head tilt, circling, ataxia (loss of muscle control), strabismus (being cross-eyed) and nystagmus (rapid uncontrolled movements of the eyes). A 2015 study observed these signs observed between birth and 2 months of age. These conditions can affect their health and ability to thrive and reproduce.

Habitat

Sumatran tigers inhabit a wide variety of forest habitats, including lowland tropical forests, hill forests, and montane forests. They are known to live in areas from sea level up to elevations of 3,200 metres in the highlands of Gunung Leuser National Park. Although they prefer dense forest areas for cover, Sumatran tigers are also forced to enter human-dominated landscapes such as farms and monoculture plantations at the edges of protected areas. Habitat fragmentation mainly occurs due to palm oil deforestation. These areas are less ideal for tigers and increase the likelihood of human-tiger conflicts. Sumatran tigers require large, contiguous forest blocks to roam, breed, and hunt effectively.

Diet

Sumatran tigers are apex predators, feeding primarily on medium to large-sized mammals. Their diet consists of wild pigs, sambar deer, Malayan tapirs, and occasionally monkeys and birds. Tigers rely on stealth and ambush tactics to catch their prey, stalking their target before launching a powerful and precise attack. In some areas, prey depletion has forced tigers to rely more on smaller animals or venture closer to human settlements, which increases the risks of conflict with humans. Their role as top predators is crucial in maintaining the balance of their ecosystem by controlling prey populations. This prevents overgrazing and helps to preserve forest vegetation.

Mating and breeding

Sumatran tigers are solitary animals that come together only for mating. Females typically give birth to litters of two or three cubs after a gestation period of about 3.5 months. Cubs are born blind and helpless, relying on their mother for protection and food for up to two years. During this time, the mother teaches the cubs essential hunting skills. Tigers reach sexual maturity at around 3 to 4 years of age. Due to their territorial nature, males will fight to defend their territory from other males, and only the strongest males have the opportunity to mate.

Conservation

Several organisations are working to protect the Sumatran tiger, including Fauna & Flora International, Panthera, and TRAFFIC.

Support Sumatran Tigers by going vegan and boycotting palm oil in the supermarket, it’s the #Boycott4Wildlife

Further Information

Fauna & Flora International. (n.d.). Sumatran tiger. Fauna & Flora. Retrieved September 15, 2024, from https://www.fauna-flora.org/species/sumatran-tiger/

IUCN Red List. (2020). Panthera tigris sondaica. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved September 15, 2024, from https://www.iucnredlist.org/fr/species/15955/214862019#population

Wheelhouse, J. L., Hulst, F., Beatty, J. A., Hogg, C. J., Child, G., Wade, C. M., & Barrs, V. R. (2015). Congenital vestibular disease in captive Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris ssp. sumatrae) in Australasia. Veterinary Journal, 206(2), 178–182. https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.tvjl.2015.09.005

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Sumatran tiger. Wikipedia. Retrieved September 15, 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumatran_tiger

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