Indochinese tiger

The Indochinese tiger is a tiger from a specific population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies that is native to Southeast Asia.[2] This population occurs in Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos. It has been listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2008, as the population seriously declined and approaches the threshold for critically endangered. In 2011, the population was thought to comprise 342 individuals, including 85 in Myanmar and 20 in Vietnam, with the largest population unit surviving in Thailand estimated at 189 to 252 individuals during 2009 to 2014.

Indochinese tiger
Indochinese tiger at Berlin Zoological Garden
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Pantherinae
Genus: Panthera
Species:
P. tigris
Subspecies:
P. t. tigris
Trinomial name
Panthera tigris tigris
Distribution of the Indochinese tiger (excluding Myanmar)
Synonyms

P. t. corbetti Mazák, 1968

Taxonomy

Vratislav Mazák proposed Panthera tigris corbetti as a scientific name for this specific population in 1968 based on skin colouration, marking pattern and skull dimensions. It was named in honor of Jim Corbett.[3]

In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy and now recognizes the tiger populations of mainland South and Southeast Asia as belonging to the nominate subspecies P. tigris tigris.[2] Results of a genetic study published in 2018 supported six monophyletic clades based on whole genome sequencing analysis of 32 tiger specimens. The specimens from Malaysia and Indochina appeared to be distinct from other mainland Asian populations, thus supporting the concept of six living subspecies.[4]

Characteristics
Young Indochinese tiger

The Indochinese tiger's skull is smaller than that of the Bengal tiger; the ground colouration is darker with more rather short and narrow single stripes.[3][5] In body size, it is smaller than Bengal and Siberian tigers. Males range in size from 255 to 285 cm (100 to 112 in) and in weight from 150 to 195 kg (331 to 430 lb). Females range in size from 230 to 255 cm (91 to 100 in) and in weight from 100 to 130 kg (220 to 290 lb).[6]

Distribution and habitat
Map showing the distribution of the Bengal tiger in South Asia (red), and the Indochinese tiger in Myanmar (yellow)

The Indochinese tiger is distributed in Myanmar, Thailand and Laos.[1] It has not been recorded in Vietnam since 1997.[7] Available data suggest that there are no more breeding tigers left in Cambodia and China.[8]

In Myanmar, the presence of tigers was confirmed in the Hukawng Valley, Htamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary, and in two small areas in the Tanintharyi Region. The Tenasserim Hills is an important area, but forests are harvested there.[9] In 2015, tigers were recorded by camera traps for the first time in the hill forests of Karen State.[10]

More than half of the total population survives in the Western Forest Complex in Thailand, especially in the area of the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary. This habitat consists of tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests.[11] Camera trap surveys from 2008 to 2017 in eastern Thailand detected about 17 adult tigers in an area of 4,445 km2 (1,716 sq mi) in Dong Phayayen–Khao Yai Forest Complex. Several individuals had cubs. The population density in Thap Lan National Park, Pang Sida National Park and Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary was estimated at 0.32–1.21 individuals per 100 km2 (39 sq mi).[12][13]

In Laos, 14 tigers were documented in Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area during surveys from 2013 to 2017 covering four blocks of about 200 km2 (77 sq mi) semi-evergreen and evergreen forest that are interspersed with some patches of grassland.[14]

In China, it occurred historically in Yunnan province and Mêdog County, where it probably does not survive any more today.[15] In Yunnan's Shangyong Nature Reserve, three individuals were detected during surveys from 2004 to 2009.[16]

Results of a phylogeographic study using 134 samples from tigers across the global range suggest that the historical northwestern distribution limit of the Indochinese tiger is the region in the Chittagong Hills and Brahmaputra River basin, bordering the range of the Bengal tiger.[17][18] Manas-Namdapha, Orang-Laokhowa and Kaziranga-Meghalaya are Tiger Conservation Units in northeastern India, stretching over at least 14,500 km2 (5,600 sq mi) across several protected areas.[19] Tigers are also present in Pakke Tiger Reserve.[20] In the Mishmi Hills, tigers were recorded in 2017 up to an elevation of 3,630 m (11,910 ft) in snow.[21]

In southeastern Tibet, tigers were photographed in Medog County during a camera trapping survey in 2018.[22]

Ecology and behaviour

In Thailand's Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, seven female and four male tigers were equipped with GPS radio collars between June 2005 and August 2011. Females had a mean home range of 70.2 ± 33.2 km2 (27.1 ± 12.8 sq mi) and males of 267.6 ± 92.4 km2 (103.3 ± 35.7 sq mi).[23]

Between 2013 and 2015, 11 prey species were identified at 150 kill sites. They ranged in weight from 3 to 287 kg (6.6 to 632.7 lb). Sambar deer, banteng, gaur and wild boar were most frequently killed, but also remains of Asian elephant calves, hog badger, Old World porcupine, muntjac, serow, pangolin and langur species were identified.[24]

Threats

The primary threat to the tiger is poaching for the illegal wildlife trade.[1] Tiger bone has been an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 1,500 years and is either added to medicinal wine, used in the form of powder, or boiled to a glue-like consistency. More than 40 different formulae containing tiger bone were produced by at least 226 Chinese companies in 1993.[25] Tiger bone glue is a popular medicine among urban Vietnamese consumers.[26]

Between 1970 and 1993, South Korea imported 607 kg (1,338 lb) of tiger bones from Thailand and 2,415 kg (5,324 lb) from China between 1991 and 1993.[27] Between 2001 and 2010, wildlife markets were surveyed in Myanmar, Thailand and Laos. During 13 surveys, 157 body parts of tigers were found, representing at least 91 individuals. Whole skins were the most commonly traded parts. Bones, paws and penises were offered as aphrodisiacs in places with a large sex industry. Tiger bone wine was offered foremost in shops catering to Chinese customers. Traditional medicine accounted for a large portion of products sold and exported to China, Laos and Vietnam.[28]

Between 2000 and 2011, 641 tigers, both live and dead, were seized in 196 incidents in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and China; 275 tigers were suspected to have leaked into trade from captive facilities. China was the most common destination of the seized tigers.[29]

In Myanmar's Hukaung Valley, the Yuzana Corporation alongside local authorities has expropriated more than 200,000 acres (81,000 ha) of land from more than 600 households since 2006. Much of the trees have been logged, and the land has been transformed into plantations. Some of the land taken by the Yazana Corporation had been deemed tiger transit corridors. These are areas of land that were supposed to be left untouched by development in order to allow the region's Indochinese tigers to travel between protected pockets of reservation land.[30]

Conservation

Since 1993, the Indochinese tiger is listed on CITES Appendix I, making international trade illegal. China, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and Taiwan banned trade in tigers and sale of medicinal derivatives. Manufacture of tiger-based medicine was banned in China, and the open sale of tiger-based medicine reduced significantly since 1995.[31]

Patrolling in Thailand's Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary has been intensified since 2006 so that poaching appears to have reduced, resulting in a marginal improvement of tiger survival and recruitment.[32] In a remote region of Thailand, 3 subadult tigers were photographed in spring 2020 that are thought to be dispersing.[33]

In captivity
Two tigers at Cincinnati Zoo

The Indochinese tiger is the least represented in captivity and is not part of a coordinated breeding program. As of 2007, 14 individuals were recognized as Indochinese tigers based on genetic analysis of 105 captive tigers in 14 countries.[34]

National Geographic Society News Watch contributor Jordan Schaul wrote in 2010:

Prior to the designation of the Malay subspecies there were approximately 60 Indochinese tigers in Asian, European and North American zoos. Today there are less than a handful. Zoos are committed to conserving the genetic integrity of the subspecies that do exist in the wild.[35]

See also

References
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