Tigers have lost 93% of their historic range.
Where do tigers live?
Tiger range, former and current
Historic and present range of tiger territory (Feb 2010)
Prowling the forests of Asia
Tigers are found in a wide range of habitats in Asia and the Russian Far East, in increasingly fragmented and isolated populations.
Less than 100 years ago, tigers prowled almost all of Asia.
They could be found from the forests of eastern Turkey and the Caspian region of Western Asia, all the way to the Indian sub-continent, China, and Indochina, south to Indonesia, and north to the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East.
Today, their range has been reduced to just 7% of its former size.
Tigers are now found in only 13 range states:
They could be found from the forests of eastern Turkey and the Caspian region of Western Asia, all the way to the Indian sub-continent, China, and Indochina, south to Indonesia, and north to the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East.
Today, their range has been reduced to just 7% of its former size.
Tigers are now found in only 13 range states:
- Bangladesh
- Bhutan
- Cambodia
- China
- India
- Indonesia (Sumatra)
- Lao PDR
- Malaysia
- Myanmar
- Nepal
- Russia
- Thailand
- Viet Nam
Tiger in the wild
WWF priority tiger conservation areas
DIfferent places, different tigers
All tigers need dense vegetation, the presence of large ungulate prey, and access to water to be able to survive.
Different tiger subspecies live in very different habitats with these features – including tropical rainforests, evergreen forests, mangrove swamps, grasslands, savannas, and temperate forests.
For example, in Bhutan tigers have been found at 4,000 meters, almost overlapping with snow leopards. But in the Sunderbans, tigers swim in mangroves with bull sharks and crocodiles.
Habitat information for different subspecies:
Different tiger subspecies live in very different habitats with these features – including tropical rainforests, evergreen forests, mangrove swamps, grasslands, savannas, and temperate forests.
For example, in Bhutan tigers have been found at 4,000 meters, almost overlapping with snow leopards. But in the Sunderbans, tigers swim in mangroves with bull sharks and crocodiles.
Habitat information for different subspecies:
- Amur (Siberian) tiger
- Bengal (Indian) tiger
- Indochinese tiger
- Malayan tiger
- South China tiger
- Sumatran tiger
Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), the largest tiger subspecies.
Losing ground
Growing human populations, particularly since the 1940s, have both contracted and fragmented the tiger’s former range.
While extensive habitat remains in some places, in most areas agriculture, clearing of forests for the timber trade, and rapid development – especially road networks – are forcing tigers into small, scattered islands of remaining habitat. Today, tigers only occur in scattered populations.
While extensive habitat remains in some places, in most areas agriculture, clearing of forests for the timber trade, and rapid development – especially road networks – are forcing tigers into small, scattered islands of remaining habitat. Today, tigers only occur in scattered populations.
- More about tiger habitat loss
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