Tiger

A tiger is a large wild cat, Panthera tigris, native to Asia. It is the largest living felid. Every living tiger — Bengal, Amur, Sumatran, Malayan — is one species. The IUCN listed the species Endangered in 2022. Several subspecies are far closer to extinction.

Tigers are solitary, territorial ambush hunters with unique stripe patterns, including on the skin. They swim more readily than most cats. A baby is a cub. A group is rarely a social pride.

This page is the species encyclopaedia. Lion comparison: lion vs tiger. WARN's appeal: tiger appeal.

The related appeal explains potential support and the current funding status; this guide does not confirm a WARN grant. It does not run a tiger reserve and does not place cubs in UK homes.

Globally only a few thousand wild tigers survive — the appeal figure "fewer than 5,000" matches that order of magnitude. Among the rarest, fewer than 600 Sumatran tigers remain in Indonesia, and the IUCN estimates about 80–120 mature Malayan tigers in Peninsular Malaysia.

Mainland populations in India are larger than those two, which is why a global total can sound less desperate than a Sumatran total. Both facts can be true.

Counts are estimates. Camera-trap surveys move. Do not treat a round number as a census of named animals.

WARN does not publish a weekly headcount. Programme work is snares, conflict and trade — tiger appeal.

Yes. The species Panthera tigris is Endangered (IUCN 2022). Sumatran tigers (P. t. sondaica) and Malayan tigers (P. t. jacksoni) are Critically Endangered. That is one step more severe than the species badge. Tigers still breed in forests; they are not Extinct in the Wild.

Extinct in the Wild is a different category. Tigers still breed in forests. The honest urgency is small, fragmented populations losing animals to snares and trade.

CITES Appendix I bans commercial international trade in tigers. Illegal trade continues.

This page will not rank wildlife NGOs. It will not pretend a UK gift buys a named wild tiger.

Both are Critically Endangered subspecies of Panthera tigris. Sumatran tigers live only on Sumatra, Indonesia, and are the smallest surviving tigers. Malayan tigers live in Peninsular Malaysia, with roughly 80–120 mature animals. Mainland tigers (for example Bengal) are typically larger.

They are not different species. They do not need a fake "which is rarer" trophy. Both are in The related appeal explains potential support and the current funding status; this guide does not confirm a WARN grant.

Habitat loss to oil palm and pulp, plus snaring, hit both. Prey depletion follows.

See the comparison table on this page. Do not mix them up with lions or leopards.

Wild tigers usually live about 10–15 years. Animals in managed care can live around 20 years. Poaching and snares cut many lives shorter than biology would allow. Small, fragmented populations cannot absorb those adult deaths. WARN does not run a UK tiger collection.

Cubs stay with the mother for about two years while they learn to hunt. Litters are typically two to four after roughly 100 days' gestation.

Lifespan is not an IUCN generation length you can ignore. Small populations cannot absorb adult deaths.

This is not a zoo-longevity advert. WARN does not operate a UK tiger collection.

Gestation is about 100 days — roughly three months. Litters are typically two to four cubs. Females raise cubs alone. That is slower than a domestic cat and far slower than a rodent, which is why poaching of breeding females collapses a forest.

If you searched because of a cub in the news, the field job is keeping the mother alive and the forest connected, not flying the cub to Britain.

Speak to a veterinary specialist for any captive-animal question. This guide does not replace clinical advice.

Programme context: tiger appeal.

Tigers are carnivores. Wild boar and deer make up most of the diet, plus smaller mammals and sometimes larger prey. They hunt mainly by night, stalking and rushing rather than running for kilometres. When prey is snared out of a forest, conflict with livestock rises.

When prey is snared out of a forest, tigers starve or turn to livestock, and people retaliate. Prey recovery is tiger conservation, not a side issue.

Do not post meat from Britain to a partner. Give at tiger appeal so partners buy locally.

Tigers are not vegetarians and not scavenger-only. They are ambush predators.

Tigers can kill people. They generally avoid humans. Conflict rises where forests shrink, prey is depleted and livestock graze the edge. That is a coexistence and patrol problem, not a reason to treat every tiger as a man-eater. Location matters: a Siberian incident is not a Sumatra programme report.

Lions have a different social hunting story. Do not copy lion-attack headlines onto Sumatran tigers.

The related appeal explains potential support and the current funding status; this guide does not confirm a WARN grant. It is not a promise that gifts stop every incident.

If you asked after a viral video, read the location. A Siberian incident is not a Sumatra programme report.

Tigers are solitary forest hunters with stripes, listed Endangered. Lions are social savanna cats with prides and manes on males, listed Vulnerable. Tigers swim readily. Lions live in groups. They are different species in the same genus, Panthera. A liger is a captive hybrid, not a wild conservation target.

A liger is a captive hybrid, not a wild conservation target.

Full comparison: lion vs tiger. Lion biology: lion. WARN's lion appeal geography is Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa — not interchangeable with Sumatra.

Do not donate to the tiger appeal expecting African pride work, or the reverse.

Skins, bones and other parts enter illegal luxury and medicine markets. Wire snares set for other animals maim tigers and their prey indiscriminately. Even a few adult deaths can collapse a tiny population. CITES Appendix I has not made that trade vanish.

CITES Appendix I does not make the trade vanish. Patrols, snare removal, demand reduction and prosecutions do the slow work.

The related appeal explains potential support and the current funding status; this guide does not confirm a WARN grant. It does not claim to police every Asian market.

Read donate tiger conservation before you pay. No named-tiger invoice.

Yes. Tigers are strong, willing swimmers, unusual among big cats. They enter rivers to cool off, to hunt, and to cross between forest patches. Stripes continue onto the skin. Swimming is not proof they are semi-aquatic like otters or seals.

Swimming is not proof they are "semi-aquatic" like otters. It is one reason fragmented Sumatran forests still need intact riverine cover.

A viral pool video is not a welfare standard. Captive tigers in swimming shows are a different ethical job from wild forest swimming.

This fact is biology, not a fundraising product.

Fund partner-led anti-poaching, snare removal and conflict response in Indonesia and Malaysia rather than posting parcels or volunteering untrained. Give at tiger appeal or donate tiger conservation.

Do not invent a unit cost for one snare pulled or one named tiger. Appeal figures are illustrations. Symbolic adoption: adopt a tiger.

US donors: WARN is not a 501(c)(3). See adopt a tiger us.

If you want a UK zoo visit, stop here. If you want field grants, use the appeal URLs.