Indo-Chinese tigers are found in six countries in South-East Asia, but their numbers are dwindling fast with an estimated 70% drop in population in the past decade.

The current estimate is 150 – 300 animals, of which an estimated 100 are in Thailand, and this population represents the best prospect for the future survival of the species.

The other countries each with a small population are Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Between the six nations, there are around 30 Tiger Conservation Landscapes (TCLs), each hosting a small number of isolated tigers.

Until 2004, the Indo-Chinese tiger population was strong in number due to the inclusion of the Malaysian population. However, this populations has recently been re-categorised as Malayan tigers, leaving the Indo-Chinese sub-species very low in number.

In its recent report, Saving Tigers Now: A Prognosis for Tigers in Eight Priority Landscapes, the Wildlife Conservation Society placed the Indo-Chinese tiger in the ‘yellow’ code meaning that the population is increasingly threatened and conservation plans are significantly challenged.

The Thailand population fares best but the Cambodia and Vietnam populations are on the brink of local extinction with an estimated combined population being as less as 10 tigers.

The Vietnamese population isn’t expected to last the next decade whilst according to a December 2009 report by London’s Daily Telegraph, China’s last known Indochinese tiger was killed and eaten by a villager in the Yunnan Province.

This is put in perspective by Nick Cox, of the WWF Greater Mekong tiger programme: “There is a potential for tiger populations in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to become locally extinct if we don’t step up actions to protect them.”

Indo-Chinese tigers are known to inhabit deciduous and evergreen forests in hilly to mountainous terrain, making it harder to estimate their exact population.

Despite the wide area coverage spread over the South-East Asia, Indo-Chinese tigers are suffering as a result of the region’s development, especially heavy deforestation which has led habitat fragmentation.

Except for Thailand, which has a sizeable collective population, all the other nations are said to have between ten to thirty tigers making it difficult to mate and reproduce, casting doubts over long-term prospects for the population .

Loss of habitat affects the tigers in two ways:

1) smaller areas means less prey;

2) the smaller the area the easier it is for hunters to find tiger.

INDOCHINESE TIGER FACTS

Indochinese tigers can be up to 229cm but their tails can be another metre long.

Their weight ranges between 180-245kg

by Pallavi Malhotra

TIGER FOCUS NO.2: INDONESIA (SUMATRAN TIGER)
TIGER FOCUS NO.1: INDIA (ROYAL BENGAL TIGER)

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