Tiger (Panthera tigris) Classification

Aim: Indigenous range maps are fundamental documents in biogeography, phylogeny and conservation. We define the indigenous range of a species as ecoregions (or parts of ecoregions) where the species was likely found before humans became a major factor shaping the species' distribution, beginning at a time when the geographical alignment of the continents and the prevailing climate are (or at least were) roughly consistent with current conditions. We developed a structured, generally applicable method to map a species' indigenous range and applied this process to the tiger (Panthera tigris). Location Terrestrial Asia.

Methods: To guide our mapping, we synthesised a database of over 70,000 tiger observations with dates and locations. We developed a structured Delphi process to assign categories of indigenous range to ecoregions aided by a climate niche model. We analysed tiger habitat change at the ecoregional scale using the anthropogenically modified biomes (‘Anthrome 12K’) dataset to suggest dates of first significant human impact. Finally, we estimated extirpation dates for ecoregions where tigers have been extirpated.

Results: We found the tiger once occupied a likely indigenous resident range of approximately 11.5 million km², crossing 116 ecoregions. We also mapped an additional c. 11.7 million km² of exploratory range and 1.2 million km² of possible resident range. Collectively these areas overlap with 36 modern countries. Significant human disruption of the species' habitat seems to have begun over 6000 years ago in some areas, but in other regions has yet to materialise. In a few arid ecoregions, human activities appear to have modestly increased habitat availability in the past, yet overall tigers have lost between 90% and 95% of their indigenous range over the last 8500 years.

Main Conclusions: We define the ‘indigenous range’ of a species, develop a replicable biogeographical procedure, apply the procedure to the tiger and discuss transferability to other species.

Sanderson, Eric & Miquelle, Dale & Harihar, Abishek & Breitenmoser, Urs & Breitenmoser, Christine & Cooper, David & Faziolahi, Kaveh & Fisher, Kim & Goodrich, John & Gray, Thomas & Kang, Aili & Kitchener, Andrew & MacMillan, Douglas & Ostrowski, Stephane & Royte, Lucinda & Thapa, Kanchan & Yamaguchi, Nobuyuki. (2025). The Indigenous Range of the Tiger (Panthera tigris). Diversity and Distributions. 31. 10.1111/ddi.13947.

Tigers are one of the most recognized and charismatic predator on earth, yet their habitats have declined, their numbers are low, and substantial threats to their survival persist. Although, tiger conservation is high priority globally and tigers are generally considered well studied, there has been no comprehensive global assessment of tiger-related publications aimed at identifying trends, assessing their status and pinpointing research gaps.

Utilizing PRISMA framework, we conducted an extensive search across multiple databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect, to gather research related to Bengal tigers. Following thorough screening, we selected and evaluated 491 articles published between 2010 and 2022 to address these issues.

The results show that publications on Bengal tigers have steadily on rise, with an average of 40 papers/year within this period. We found that most research was focused on the theme of tiger biology. Information on leopards and dholes was also frequently associated with tiger research. The highest number of lead authors originated from India (n = 192), where most research was also conducted. Authors from USA (n = 111) and UK (n = 38) were the next most productive, even though tigers are not found in or anywhere near these countries.

We demonstrate that there is only limited amount of transboundary research, and that relatively little tiger research is conducted in the forests beyond protected areas. Similarly, very important but the least studied themes - Poaching, Population and Socio-culture dimension should be the priority of future research efforts. Additionally, research on tourism, economic aspects and technological inputs are essential for the sustainable conservation of Bengal tigers.

Maharjan, A., Maraseni, T., Allen, B.L. et al. A systematic literature review: Trends and current state of research on Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), 2010–2022. Biodivers Conserv 33, 1871–1894 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-024-02856-3

The Amur tiger has a status of being endangered on the world's IUCN red list. The northwestern part of its range is situated in Russia and China, where tigers were killed by humans 50-70 years ago.

To restore the tiger population within the historical range, firstly we estimated the condition of the environment there. We assessed suitability of habitats for the tiger's prey species (wild ungulates) in the Lesser Khingan mountains (North China). For this we made modeling and calculations that were based on the information from satellite images and data we collected personally on the land surface during our expeditions.

The resulting species distribution maps were used to design an ecological network. The habitat patches with the best quality (for tiger) were assigned as cores for the ecological network, which were connected by calculated green corridors.

The recovery of the Amur tiger in habitats of China's Lesser Khingan is confirmed possible. Natural green corridors for moving tigers are mainly located at the forests' edges and characterized with high variability of the trees species.

In this study, we describe three potential transboundary corridors and make recommendations to establish protected areas in the important tiger places. Moreover, it is necessary to implement habitat recovery activities for tiger key areas.

Yachmennikova, A.; Zhu, S.; Kotlov, I.; Sandlersky, R.; Yi, Q.; Rozhnov, V.
Is the Lesser Khingan Suitable for the Amur Tiger Restoration? Perspectives with the Current State of the Habitat and Prey Base
2023  Animals (13): 1-35

Tigers play a crucial role in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Unfortunately, tigers are threatened by poaching, human-wildlife conflict, habitat loss, and more.

In response to these threats, the conservation community pledged to double the worldwide wild tiger population by 2022 (known as TX2) at the "Tiger Summit" in St. Petersburg in 2010, and to track the progress of Tiger Range Countries. Between 2010 and 2022, the Global Tiger Recovery Programme was implemented. To accomplish this TX2 goal, each Tiger Range Country developed a National Tiger Action Plan (NTAP).

The Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme (ITHCP) is a grant-making mechanism that focusses on a subsection of the Global Tiger Recovery Programme. It had twelve projects in six Tiger Range Countries during Phase 1 of the program. Evaluating the proposals of these projects is crucial for resource allocation.

In this study, we assessed project proposals by evaluating how the proposed activities of all twelve ITHCP projects addressed their corresponding NTAPs, by comparing the plans against the proposals. A further comparison was undertaken using the Conservation Assured Tiger Standards Lite, a site-based tiger conservation accreditation system.

Overall, this study shows the importance of both global and national action plans and how comparing project activities with NTAP requirements can help address resource allocation needs to fill gaps in management.

We conclude that projects should be designed to closely align with national action plans, best practice standards, and the activities of other projects in their landscape to maximize conservation outputs and impact. However, projects on their own are not enough to satisfy whole NTAPs.

Diepstraten, J.; Sharma, M.; Pasha, M.K.; Roy, S.
Assessing Project Proposals Based on National and Global Tiger Action Plans: Lessons from the Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme (ITHCP)
2022  Land (11): 2326

Of all the big cats, or perhaps of all the endangered wildlife, the tiger may be both the most charismatic and most well-recognized flagship species in the world.

The rapidly changing field of molecular genetics, particularly advances in genome sequencing technologies, has provided new tools to reconstruct what characterizes a tiger.

Here we review how applications of molecular genomic tools have been used to depict the tiger's ancestral roots, phylogenetic hierarchy, demographic history, morphological diversity, and genetic patterns of diversification on both temporal and geographical scales.

Tiger conservation, stabilization, and management are important areas that benefit from use of these genome resources for developing survival strategies for this charismatic megafauna both in situ and ex situ.

Luo, S.-J.; Liu, Y.-C.; Xu, X.
Tigers of the World: Genomics and Conservation
2019  Annual Review of Animal Biosciences (7): 521-548

In the era of modern development, conserving the tiger is an onerous task.

Ensuring the conservation of this top carnivore guarantees the well-being of our forested ecosystems, the biodiversity they represent as well as the water and climate security they provide.

Monitoring the status of tigers, along with associated biodiversity of the encompassing ecosystem, is important to assess our success at meeting the commitment of conserving our natural heritage.

Jhala, Y.V.; Qureshi, Q.; Nayak, A.K.
Status of tigers, co-predators and prey in India 2018. Summary
Report. National Tiger Conservation Authority, Government of
India, New Delhi & Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.
TR No./2019/05.

Conservation of big cats Panthera spp., a taxonomic group including tigers, lions, jaguars, leopards and snow leopards, is a daunting challenge. As expanding human populations across Panthera range countries exacerbate competition for land and prey, conflicts between humans and big cats are inevitable.

Through a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature published from 1991 to 2014 and indexed in Web of Science and Google Scholar (186 articles), our study explored the current state of knowledge regarding human-Panthera conflict and potential solutions, examining variables such as spatial and temporal distribution of research, methods used to study conflict, evaluation of interventions, and management recommendations.

Our synthesis revealed several key data gaps and research needs. More studies could utilize diverse data collection approaches to focus on both the ecological and socio-cultural context for conflict. Additionally, only 21% of articles included in the review evaluated conflict mitigation interventions, and few of these yielded conclusive results. Success ratios suggest that compensation schemes and livestock management strategies were more effective tools for addressing conflict than either direct interventions (lethal removal or translocation of animals) or community interventions (e.g. education, ecotourism, local management). More studies should systematically evaluate the efficacy of conflict mitigation strategies, many of which are consistently recommended without empirical support.

Results highlight trends and opportunities that can be used to inform future research and management efforts focused on human-Panthera conflict, ultimately enhancing the potential for coexistence between humans and carnivore species worldwide

Holland, K.K.; Larson, L.R.; Powell, R.B.
Characterizing conflict between humans and big cats Panthera spp: A systematic review of research trends and management opportunities
2018  PLoS ONE (13): 1-19