Indochinese Tigers - Panthera tigris corbetti

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The Indochinese Tiger is described as a distinct subspecies as recent as 1968, corbetti is a smaller, darker, and less boldly striped tiger then the Bengal subspecies found in India. Males can reach a length of 9 feet and obtain a weight of 400 pounds. Female Indochinese Tigers like other female tiger subspecies, are smaller then their male counterparts. Females achieve a head to tail length of eight feet and weigh approximately 250 pounds.

As recently as 1930, there was an estimated three thousand Indochinese Tigers in Malaysia alone. Due to the rapid spread of firearms and the opening of forests for agriculture, human settlement, and mining, these numbers have drastically declined. It is estimated that only 1200 to 1800 Indochinese Tigers are left in the wild; with an additional 60 animals being maintained in American and Asian zoos.

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The largest wild populations of Indochinese Tigers now live in Thailand. They also inhabit southern China, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and parts of the Malaysia peninsular. Within this range, corbetti inhabits the remote forests hills and mountainous terrain of the region. Much of this terrain lies between the borders of multiple countries with extremely limited access. Due to the restricted status of these areas, biologists have only recently been grated permits to study this rare feline in the field. As a result, very little is known about this subspecies' status and behaviors in the wild.

Let us all hope that the various captive management programs are successful in their attempts to save this unique subspecies of tiger. Without human intervention it will surely become EXTINCT!

For more information on Tigers, go to 5 Tigers.org . The most comprehnsive tiger website!