10 Fascinating Tiger Facts — And Photo Gallery!

Tiger fact 10: Three subspecies of tigers have become extinct in the last 80 years: The Bali tiger, Caspian tiger, and Javan tiger.

Killing wild tigers to make Chinese “remedies” from tiger body parts is the main reason for the devastating population decline. Loss of habitat to commercial interests – such as mining – is an increasing threat, particularly in India.

There are six surviving tiger subspecies:

• Amur Tiger (Panthera tigris altaica): 431-529
• Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris): 1841-2463
• Indochinese Tiger (Panthera tigris corbetti): 736-1275
• Malayan Tiger: (Panthera tigris jacksoni): 491-510
• Sumatran Tiger: (Panthera tigris sumatrae): 400-500
• South China Tiger: (Panthera tigris amoyensis): Functionally extinct; possibly a few individuals surviving.

International Tiger Day

International Tiger Day is celebrated on the last Sunday of September. The event was created by The Phoenix Fund – a non-governmental organization founded by Russian and U.S. conservationists – to raise global awareness for tiger conservation.

Read more about International Tiger Day.

Sources – and to learn about how you can help protect tigers:

• The Phoenix Fund
• Defenders of Wildlife
• WWF
• Tigers in Crisis
• Big Cat Rescue

Image source: istock.com (except where noted)