Sequences from complete mitochondrial genes of 34 tigers support the hypothesis that Sumatran tigers are diagnostically distinct from mainland subspecies.[4] In 2017, the Cat Classification Task Force of the Cat Specialist Group revised felid taxonomy and recognizes the living and extinct tiger populations in Indonesia as P. t. sondaica.[1]
Panthera tigris sumatrae was proposed by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1929, who described a skin and a skull of a tiger zoological specimen from Sumatra.[6] The skull and pelage pattern of tiger specimens from Java and Sumatra do not differ significantly.[7][8]P. t. sondaica is therefore considered the valid name for the living and extinct tiger populations in Indonesia.[1]
Evolution
Analysis of DNA is consistent with the hypothesis that Sumatran tigers became isolated from other tiger populations after a rise in sea level that occurred at the Pleistocene to Holocene border about 12,000–6,000 years ago. In agreement with this evolutionary history, the Sumatran tiger is genetically isolated from all living mainland tigers, which form a distinct group closely related to each other.[4] The isolation of the Sumatran tiger from mainland tiger populations is supported by multiple unique characters, including two diagnostic mitochondrial DNA nucleotide sites, ten mitochondrial DNA haplotypes and 11 out of 108 unique microsatellitealleles. The relatively high genetic variability and the phylogenetic distinctiveness of the Sumatran tiger indicates that the gene flow between island and mainland populations was highly restricted.[9]
Characteristics
Resting Sumatran tiger in Lok Kawi Wildlife Park
The Sumatran tiger was described based on two zoological specimens that differed in skull size and striping pattern from Bengal and Javan tiger specimens. It is darker in fur colour and has broader stripes than the Javan tiger.[6] Stripes tend to dissolve into spots near their ends, and on the back, flanks and hind legs are lines of small, dark spots between the regular stripes.[10][7] The frequency of stripes is higher than in other subspecies.[11] Males have a prominent ruff, which is especially marked in the Sumatran tiger.[12]
The Sumatran tiger is one of the smallest tigers. Males measure between the pegs 2.2 to 2.55m (7ft 3in to 8ft 4in) in head-to-body length, with the greatest skull length of 295 to 335mm (11.6 to 13.2in) and weigh 100 to 140kg (220 to 310lb). Females weigh 75 to 110kg (165 to 243lb) and measure 2.15 to 2.30m (7ft 1in to 7ft 7in) in length between the pegs with a greatest length of skull of 263 to 294mm (10.4 to 11.6in).[10]
Distribution and habitat
The Sumatran tiger persists in small and fragmented populations across Sumatra, from sea level in the coastal lowland forest of Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park on the southeastern tip of Lampung Province to 3,200m (10,500ft) in mountain forests of Gunung Leuser National Park in Aceh Province. It is present in 27 habitat patches larger than 250km2 (97sqmi), which cover 140,226km2 (54,142sqmi). About a third of these patches are inside protected areas.[13][14]
Sumatran tigers prefer lowland and hill forests, where up to three tigers live in an area of 100km2 (39sqmi). They use non-forest habitats and human-dominated landscapes at the fringes of protected areas to a lesser degree.[15]
In 1978, the Sumatran tiger population was estimated at 1,000 individuals, based on responses to a questionnaire survey.[16] In 1985, a total of 26 protected areas across Sumatra containing about 800 tigers were identified.[17] In 1992, an estimated 400–500 tigers lived in five Sumatran national parks and two protected areas. At that time, the largest population unit comprised 110–180 individuals in Gunung Leuser National Park.[18] As of 2011, the tiger population in Kerinci Seblat National Park in central Sumatra comprised 165–190 individuals, which is more than anywhere else on the island. The park has the highest tiger occupancy rate of Sumatra's protected areas, with 83% of the park showing signs of tigers.[19]
Sumatra's total tiger population was estimated at 618 ± 290 individuals in 2017.[15]
Sumatran tigers strongly prefer uncultivated forests and make little use of plantations of acacia and oil palm even if these are available. Within natural forest areas, they tend to use areas with higher elevation, lower annual rainfall, farther from the forest edge, and closer to forest centres. They prefer forest with dense understory cover and steep slope, and they strongly avoid forest areas with high human influence in the forms of encroachment and settlement. In acacia plantations, they tend to use areas closer to water and prefer areas with older plants, more leaf litter, and thicker subcanopy cover. Tiger records in oil palm plantations and rubber plantations are scarce. The availability of adequate vegetation cover at the ground level serves as an environmental condition fundamentally needed by tigers regardless of the location. Without adequate understory cover, tigers are even more vulnerable to persecution by humans. Human disturbance-related variables negatively affect tiger occupancy and habitat use. Variables with strong impacts include settlement and encroachment within forest areas, logging, and the intensity of maintenance in acacia plantations.[20]Camera trapping surveys conducted in southern Riau revealed an extremely low abundance of potential prey and a low tiger density in peat swamp forest areas. Repeated sampling in the newly established Tesso Nilo National Park documented a trend of increasing tiger density from 0.90 individuals per 100km2 (39sqmi) in 2005 to 1.70 individuals per 100km2 (39sqmi) in 2008.[21]
People with a trapped tiger in Soepajang, Bovenlanden Padang on Sumatra's west coast, 1895.
Major threats include habitat loss due to expansion of palm oil plantations and planting of acacia plantations, prey-base depletion, and illegal trade primarily for the domestic market.[22]
Tigers need large contiguous forest blocks to thrive.[20] Between 1985 and 1999, forest loss within Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park averaged 2% per year. A total of 661km2 (255sqmi) of forest disappeared inside the park, and 318km2 (123sqmi) were lost in a 10-km buffer, eliminating forest outside the park. Lowland forest disappeared faster than montane forest, and forests on gentle slopes disappeared faster than forests on steep slopes. Most forest conversions resulted from agricultural development, leading to predictions that by 2010, 70% of the park will be in agriculture. Camera-trap data indicated avoidance of forest boundaries by tigers. Classification of forest into core and peripheral forest based on mammal distribution suggests that by 2010, core forest area for tigers will be fragmented and reduced to 20% of the remaining forest.[23]
Sumatra's largest tiger population in Kerinci Seblat National Park is threatened by a high rate of deforestation in its outer regions. Drivers are an unsustainable demand for natural resources created by a human population with the highest rate of growth in Indonesia, and a government initiative to increase tree-crop plantations and high-intensity commercial logging, which ultimately leads to forest fires. The majority of the tigers found in the park were relocated to its center where conservation efforts are focused, but issues in the lowland hill forests of the outskirts remain. While being a highly suitable tiger habitat, these areas are also heavily targeted by logging efforts, which substantially contributes to declines in local tiger numbers.[24]
The expansion of plantations is increasing greenhouse gas emissions, playing a part in anthropogenic climate change, thus further adding to environmental pressures on endangered species.[25] Climate-based movement of tigers northwards may lead to increased conflict with people. From 1987 to 1997, Sumatran tigers reportedly killed 146 people and at least 870 livestock. In West Sumatra, Riau, and Aceh, a total of 128 incidents were reported; 265 tigers were killed and 97 captured in response, and 35 more tigers were killed from 1998 to 2002. From 2007 to 2010, the tigers caused the death of 9 humans and 25 further tigers were killed.[14]
In 1997, an estimated 53 tigers were killed by poachers and their parts sold throughout most of northern Sumatra. Numbers for all of Sumatra are likely to be higher. Farmers killed many of the tigers to prevent livestock losses. They sold them to gold and souvenir shops, and pharmacies.[26] In 2006, wildlife markets were surveyed in 28 cities and nine seaports in seven Sumatran provinces; 33 of 326 retail outlets offered tiger parts like skins, canines, bones, and whiskers. Tiger bones fetched the highest average price of US$116 per kg, followed by canines. There is evidence that tiger parts are smuggled out of Indonesia. In July 2005, over 140kg (310lb) of tiger bones and 24 skulls were confiscated in Taiwan in a shipment from Jakarta.[27]
In 2013–2014, Kerinci Seblat National Park experienced an upsurge in poaching, with the highest annual number of snare traps being removed for a patrol effort similar to previous years. Evidence is scarce and misunderstood on whether the strategies implemented to diminish poaching are succeeding despite the investment of millions of dollars annually into conservation strategies.[28]
Panthera tigris is listed on CITES Appendix I. Hunting is prohibited in Indonesia.[12]
In 1994, the Indonesian Sumatran Tiger Conservation Strategy addressed the potential crisis that tigers faced in Sumatra. The Sumatran Tiger Project (STP) was initiated in June 1995 in and around the Way Kambas National Park to ensure the long-term viability of wild Sumatran tigers and to accumulate data on tiger life-history characteristics vital for the management of wild populations.[29] By August 1999, the teams of the STP had evaluated 52 sites of potential tiger habitat in Lampung Province, of which only 15 were intact enough to contain tigers.[30] In the framework of the STP, a community-based conservation programme was initiated to document the tiger-human dimension in the park to enable conservation authorities to resolve tiger-human conflicts based on a comprehensive database rather than anecdotes and opinions.[31]
In 2007, the Indonesian Forestry Ministry and Safari Park established cooperation with the Australia Zoo for the conservation of Sumatran tigers and other endangered species. The program includes conserving Sumatran tigers and other endangered species in the wild, efforts to reduce conflicts between tigers and humans, and rehabilitating Sumatran tigers and reintroducing them to their natural habitat.[32] Indonesia's struggle with conservation has caused an upsurge in political momentum to protect and conserve wildlife and biodiversity. In 2009, Indonesia's president committed to substantially reduce deforestation, and policies across the nation requiring spatial plans that would be environmentally sustainable at national, provincial, and district levels.[33]
Between 2005 and 2015, about US$210 million have been invested into tiger law-enforcement activities that support forest ranger patrols, as well as the implementations of front-line law-enforcement activities by the Global Tiger Recovery Plan, which aims to double the number of wild tigers by 2020.[34] In November 2016, Batu Nanggar Sanctuary was opened in North Padang Lawas Regency, North Sumatra for conservation of Sumatran wildlife.[35]
An interview survey among 600 consumers revealed that most were willing to pay consistently more for a "tiger-friendly" produced good if this product would be conducive to Sumatran tiger conservation.[36]
As of 2013, about 375 captive Sumatran tigers were listed in the global studbook and management plan, with 50 of them housed in 14 zoos in Australia and New Zealand. All of them were offspring of 15 founders. Fourteen cubs showed congenitalvestibular system dysfunctions such as ataxia, strabismus, nystagmus, head tilting and falling that resolved when they were two years old. The cause for this disorder is most likely their close genetic relation and inbreeding.[37]
The tiger is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus Panthera. It is most recognisable for its black stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on ungulates, such as deer and wild boar. It is territorial and generally a solitary but social predator, requiring large contiguous areas of habitat to support its requirements for prey and rearing of its offspring. Tiger cubs stay with their mother for about two years and then become independent, leaving their mother's home range to establish their own.
The Bengal tiger is a population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies and the nominate tiger subspecies. It ranks among the biggest wild cats alive today. It is considered to belong to the world's charismatic megafauna.
The Indochinese tiger is a population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies that is native to Southeast Asia. This population occurs in Myanmar and Thailand 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 the period 2009 to 2014.
The Caspian tiger was a Panthera tigris tigris population native to eastern Turkey, northern Iran, Mesopotamia, the Caucasus around the Caspian Sea, Central Asia to northern Afghanistan and the Xinjiang region in western China. Until the Middle Ages, it was also present in southern Russia. It inhabited sparse forests and riverine corridors in this region until the 1970s. This population was regarded as a distinct subspecies and assessed as extinct in 2003.
The South China tiger is a population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies that is native to southern China. The population mainly inhabited the Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the China's Red List of Vertebrates and is possibly extinct in the wild since no wild individual has been recorded since the late 1980s. In the late 1990s, continued survival was considered unlikely because of low prey density, widespread habitat degradation and fragmentation, and other environmental issues in China. In the fur trade, it used to be called Amoy tiger.
The Javan tiger was a Panthera tigris sondaica population native to the Indonesian island of Java until the mid-1970s. It was hunted to extinction, and its natural habitat converted for agricultural land use and infrastructure. It was one of the three tiger populations in the Sunda Islands.
The Bali tiger was a Panthera tigris sondaica population on the Indonesian island of Bali which has been extinct since the 1950s.
Gunung Leuser National Park is a national park covering 7,927 km2 in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, straddling the border of Aceh and North Sumatra provinces, a fourth portion and three-fourths portion, respectively. The national park, settled in the Barisan mountain range, is named after Mount Leuser (3,119 m), and protects a wide range of ecosystems. An orangutan sanctuary at Bukit Lawang is located within the park. Together with Bukit Barisan Selatan and Kerinci Seblat National Parks, it forms a World Heritage Site, the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra.
The Malayan tiger is a tiger from a specific population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies that is native to Peninsular Malaysia. This population inhabits the southern and central parts of the Malay Peninsula and has been classified as nationally critically endangered. As of April 2014, the population was estimated at 80 to 120 mature individuals with a continuous declining trend.
The Sumatran striped rabbit, also known as the Sumatra short-eared rabbit or Sumatran rabbit, is a rabbit found only in forests in the Barisan Mountains in western Sumatra, Indonesia, and surrounding areas. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Kerinci Seblat National Park is the largest national park on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It has a total area of 13,791 km2 and spans four provinces: West Sumatra, Jambi, Bengkulu, and South Sumatra.
The Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. It comprises three Indonesian national parks on the island of Sumatra: Gunung Leuser National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park and the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park. The site is listed under Criteria vii - outstanding scenic beauty; ix- an outstanding example representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes; and x- contains the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation. The Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra has been placed on the Danger List since 2011 to help overcome threats posed by poaching, illegal logging, agricultural encroachment, and plans to build roads through the site.
The Sumatran ground cuckoo is a large, terrestrial species of cuckoo. It was introduced to Western science in 1879 and was formerly considered conspecific with the Bornean ground cuckoo but was given status as a unique species in 2000. This elusive species was initially known from just eight specimens and evaded notice from 1916 until 1997, when it was rediscovered and photographed by Andjar Rafiastanto. The Sumatran ground cuckoo's diet is thought to consist of invertebrates, small mammals, and reptiles.
The Sunda clouded leopard is a medium-sized wild cat native to Borneo and Sumatra. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2015, as the total effective population probably consists of fewer than 10,000 mature individuals, with a decreasing population trend. On both Sunda Islands, it is threatened by deforestation. It was classified as a separate species, distinct from the clouded leopard in mainland Southeast Asia based on a study in 2006. Its fur is darker with a smaller cloud pattern.
The tiger is an iconic species. Tiger conservation attempts to prevent the animal from becoming extinct and preserving its natural habitat. This is one of the main objectives of the international animal conservation community. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has played a crucial role in improving international efforts for tiger conservation.
Bukit Tigapuluh National Park - The Thirty Hills - is a 143,223 hectare National Park in eastern Sumatra, consisting primarily of tropical lowland forest, largely in Riau province, with a smaller part of 33,000 ha in Jambi province. It is famous as one of the last refuges of endangered species such as the Sumatran orangutan, Sumatran tiger, Sumatran elephant, and Asian tapir, as well as many endangered bird species. It forms part of the Tesso Nilo Complex biodiversity hotspot. The Park is inhabited by the indigenous peoples of the Orang Rimba and Talang Mamak tribes.
Batang Gadis is a national park covering 1,080 km2 in North Sumatra province, Indonesia extending between 300 and 2,145 metres altitude. It is named after the Batang Gadis river that flows through the park. Signs of the endangered Sumatran tiger and the threatened Asian golden cat, leopard cat and clouded leopard were seen in the park. The protection of Batang Gadis as a national park is part of a plan to create the Northern Sumatra biodiversity conservation corridor, which would be connected, via a series of protected areas and forests, to Gunung Leuser National Park in the north of the island.
The Sumatran clouded leopard is a subspecies of the Sunda clouded leopard and is native to the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Batu. It differs in molecular, craniomandibular and dental characteristics from the Bornean clouded leopard. It was recognized as a valid subspecies in 2017.
The Sumatran montane rain forests ecoregion covers the mountainous elevations of the Barisan Mountains Range that runs the length of the southwestern side of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. The ecoregion is almost completely surrounded by the lower elevation Sumatran lowland rain forests. The area is one of very high biodiversity - because of the relative isolation, and variety of forest types, there are 7 endemic species of mammals and eight endemic species of birds.
Isau-Isau Wildlife Reserve is a nature reserve in South Sumatra, Indonesia. It is home to a large number of species, many of which are threatened or endangered. Formerly protected as Isau-Isau Pasemah Nature Reserve since 1978, the modern Wildlife Reserve was founded in 2014 and is managed by the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) of South Sumatra Province. The reserve is listed as IUCN Management Category IV.
↑ Temminck, C. J. (1844). "Aperçu général et spécifique sur les mammifères qui habitent le Japon et les iles qui en dépendent". In von Siebold, F.; Temminck, C. J.; Schlegel, H.; de Haan, W.; Nakazawa, K.; Tanaka, S.; Kuroda, N.; Okada, Y. (eds.). Fauna Japonica sive Descriptio animalium, quae in itinere per Japoniam, jussu et auspiciis superiorum, qui summum in India Batava imperium tenent, suscepto, annis 1825 - 1830. Mammalia. Lugduni Batavorum: Arnz et Socius. pp.1–59.
1 2 Pocock, R. I. (1929). "Tigers". Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 33: 505–541.
1 2 Mazák, J. H. & Groves, C. P. (2006). "A taxonomic revision of the tigers (Panthera tigris) of Southeast Asia". Mammalian Biology - Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde. 71 (5): 268–287. doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2006.02.007.
↑ Luo, S.-J.; Johnson, W. E.; Smith, J. L. D.; O'Brien, S. J. (2010). "What is a tiger? Genetics and phylogeography"(PDF). In Tilson, R.; Nyhus, P. J. (eds.). Tigers of the World: The Science, Politics and Conservation of Panthera tigris (Seconded.). London, Burlington: Academic Press. pp.35–51. ISBN978-0-08-094751-8.
1 2 Nowell, K. & Jackson, P. (1996). "Tiger Panthera tigris (Linnaeus 1758)"(PDF). Wild Cats: status survey and conservation action plan. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group. pp.55–65.
1 2 O’Brien, T. G.; Kinnard, M. F. & Wibisono, H. T. (2003). "Crouching tigers, hidden prey: Sumatran tiger and prey populations in a tropical forest landscape". Animal Conservation. 6 (2): 131–139. doi:10.1017/S1367943003003172. S2CID86006229.
↑ Borner, M. (1978). "Status and conservation of the Sumatran tiger". Carnivore. 1 (1): 97–102.
↑ Santiapillai, C. & Ramono, W. S. (1987). "Tiger numbers and habitat evaluation in Indonesia". In Tilson, R. L. & Seal, U. S. (eds.). Tigers of the World: The Biology, Biopolitics, Management, and Conservation of an Endangered Species. New Jersey: Noyes Publications. pp.85–91. ISBN0815511337.
↑ Griffiths, M. (1994). "Population density of Sumatran tigers in Gunung Leuser National Park". In Tilson, R. L.; Soemarna, K.; Ramono, W. S.; Lusli, S.; Traylor-Holzer, K.; Seal, U. S. (eds.). Sumatran Tiger Populations and Habitat Viability Analysis. Apple Valley: Indonesian Directorate General of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation and IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group. pp.93–102.
↑ Franklin, N.; Bastoni; Sriyanto; Siswomartono, D.; Manansang, J.; Tilson, R. (1999). "Last of the Indonesian tigers: a cause for optimism". In Seidensticker, J.; Christie, S.; Jackson, P. (eds.). Riding the Tiger: Tiger Conservation in Human-Dominated Landscapes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp.130–147. ISBN978-0521648356.
↑ Tilson, R. (1999). Sumatran Tiger Project Report No. 17 & 18: July − December 1999. Grant number 1998-0093-059. Jakarta: Indonesian Sumatran Tiger Steering Committee.
↑ Nyhus, P.; Sumianto; Tilson, R. (1999). "The tiger-human dimension in southeast Sumatra". In Seidensticker, J.; Christie, S.; Jackson, P. (eds.). Riding the Tiger: Tiger Conservation in Human-Dominated Landscapes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp.144–145. ISBN978-0521648356.
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