Until the end of the 19th century. The tiger was found in Asia Minor, Transcaucasia, Northern Iran, Central Asia, in the southern half of Kazakhstan, from where it penetrated into its central regions, Western Siberia and Altai, Northern Afghanistan, Dzungaria, Eastern (Chinese) Turkestan or Kashgaria (modern Xinjiang -Uyghur Autonomous Region), in the northeastern, central and southern provinces of China (Heilongjiang, Jilin, Zhehe, Hebei, Gansu, Yunnan, etc.), in Nepal, in most of India (except deserts), in Burma, in peninsulas of Malacca (Federation of Malaya) and Indo-China (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam), on the Greater Sunda Islands: Sumatra, Java, Bali (?) (United States of Indonesia), but always apparently absent from the islands of Ceylon * and Borneo. Shrenk (1859) and N.M. Przhevalsky (1870) wrote that tigers come to Sakhalin Island in winter, and K.A. Satunin (1915) and later N.A. Bobrinsky (1944) reported that these animals live on the islands South China Sea Gainan (Hainan) and Formosa (Taiwan). However, the latest researchers do not confirm this information**. In the northeast of its range, the tiger was found in the Baikal region, in the Amur basin, from where it penetrated north to Yakutia, the Ussuri region and Korea.
* (Even Pliny, and later Wendt and others reported that hunting tigers and elephants was the most favorite pastime of the inhabitants of the island of Tarpoban (Ceylon). Knox (1689) listed the tiger in the list of animals of Ceylon and allegedly saw a black tiger at the court of the king. However, other explorers of the island are Ribeiro (1601). Schoutten, Davout (1821) and Hoffmeister did not name this predator in the list of mammals of Ceylon. Hoffmeister, as well as J. F. Brandt (1856), believed that in Ceylon tigers were destroyed during numerous hunts for them in ancient times. At present, the presence of the tiger in Ceylon, even in past eras, is denied.)
** (J. F. Brandt (1856), referring to Witte, wrote that on Fr. In Hainan, tigers are found along with rhinoceroses. If this report is true, then, obviously, tigers were later exterminated there.)
Thus, the area of distribution of this predator until relatively recently occupied most of the southern half of Asia, and in the east it penetrated further north (Fig. 12).
Currently, it is determined that there are 15 thousand tigers living all over the world (Perry, 1964). In individual countries they are distributed approximately as follows: USSR - 120 individuals, Iran - 80 - 100, India and Pakistan - 3000 - 4000, People's Republic of China - 2000, Democratic People's Republic of Korea - 40 - 50, Federation of Malaya - 3000. There are no data for other countries.
The next section will be devoted to the distribution and number of tigers on the territory of the USSR, and in this chapter they are described for all other countries in which this animal was found or still lives.
Türkiye. In Transcaucasia, in the part that currently belongs to Turkey, several tigers were killed annually in the middle of the last century (Blyth, 1863). The described predator was found there later, until the 30s of our century, and entered the Georgian SSR, as well as Armenia, crossing the Arak River. In addition, there is a not entirely definite indication from Yu. K. Efremov (1956) that in historical times the tiger was destroyed in Asia Minor on the Asia Minor Plateau. At present, the tiger is apparently exterminated in Turkey, and if it is found, it is as a great rarity. The Turanian tiger lived in this country.
Iran. To date, only 80 - 100 tigers have survived in the north of this country - in Iranian Azerbaijan, along the eastern slope of Talysh and on the Caspian coast, from where they sometimes penetrate into the Soviet Union. The tiger also inhabited the Caspian provinces of Mazandaran, Gilan and Astrabad, located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. It went south only to the Elburz ridge. On the Iranian Plateau and further south - to the coasts of the Persian and Oman Gulfs of the Arabian Sea - the tiger is no longer found (Perry, 1964; our data).
In the 40s of the current century, according to survey information, the tiger was still encountered quite regularly in the Gorgan (Astrabad) and Mazandaran provinces (G. Dementyev, 1945). However, over the past two decades, tigers have been visiting Turkmenistan less and less, indicating a significant decline in their numbers in Iran and the possibility of rapid extinction there. F. Harper (1945) also writes about this.
The Turanian tiger lives in Iran.
Iraq. From the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, the tiger may have previously penetrated into Kurdistan, a significant part of which already lies in Iraq. J. F. Brandt (1856), for example, believed that through the upper reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers this animal spread to the northern part of Arabia. He also cites data from Diodorus and Ritter about the existence in the recent past of Babylonian tigers in the part of Iraq bordering Syria. For the last region, in addition to the tiger, Diodorus also indicated a lion and a leopard, therefore, he could not confuse the tiger with other cats large species. Recent authors reported that tigers lived along the shores of two large lakes - Deria and Niris in the Persipolis valley.
If the information given above is confirmed, then the southwestern border of the tiger’s distribution can be drawn along the eastern edges of the Syrian Desert and the Great Nefud Desert. In the 20th century There were no tigers in Iraq.
Afghanistan. In this country the tiger is now found only in northern regions and is absent in the central - mountainous and southern - desert. Until the early 50s of the current century, the described predators were common in the tugai forests along the left - Afghan - bank of the Pyanj, from where they often entered Tajikistan. However, such visits have stopped in the last decade, possibly indicating the disappearance of the tiger in this area of Afghanistan.
The Turanian tiger lives in Afghanistan.
India and Pakistan. In India, within its old borders, at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. The tiger was found in areas suitable for it from the foot of the Himalayas in the north to the southern tip of the Hindustan Peninsula - Cape Comorin. To the west, he lived there up to the Central Braguy ridge and the Suleiman Mountains, and possibly even further west - to the Kharan and Registan deserts. In the east, the tiger spread beyond the country - to Burma.
According to information collected by J. F. Brandt (1856), the described predator was very common in many regions of India at that time and terrified the local population.
Since the local population of India did not previously have firearms and, due to religious beliefs, they almost did not hunt tigers, they harmed livestock breeding and often attacked people. The colonial authorities began to intensively exterminate tigers, giving 10 rupees (25 English shillings) for each killed animal. For several years (until 1807), the English government spent up to 30 thousand pounds sterling on bonuses for killed tigers. During this period, tigers were killed in large numbers. Thus, by 1800, one judge in the Terai had shot 360 tigers. Between 1834 and 1862 Georg Palmer caught 1000 of these predators, and Gordon Huming only in two hot seasons in 1863 and 1864. shot 73 tigers in one area along the river. Narbade is north of Satpur. By 1868, Nightingale had killed 300 tigers, mainly in the Hyderabad region (Perry, 1964), and the English general Gerard at the end of the last century set a record by shooting 216 tigers (Gedin, 1899).
In the 19th century, according to R. Perry (1964), at least 100 thousand tigers were exterminated in India, and “possibly two to three times more.” The military killed especially many of them. And yet, at the end of the last century, this predator was still very common in India and, according to English statistics, from 1,400 to 2,200 of these animals were killed there annually at that time.
The slaughter of tigers in India has continued in the current century. In the first decades of the 20th century. only two maharajas killed a thousand tigers each, and in one reserve in Bhutan, 32 animals were shot in ten days (Perry, 1964). Apparently, it was precisely one of them, the Maharaja of Suruguya, the former prince of the Central Provinces, that I.K. Rai (oral communication) had in mind when he said that this hunter had already killed over 1,200 tigers. This maharajah continued to hunt tigers as early as 1959, killing several animals every year. An amazing record that shows how much harm even one person can cause to nature!
In Pakistan today, tigers are absent from densely populated areas in the Indus and lower Ganges valleys, as well as in the Kharan Desert. They are also found in the northwestern border province, in the north of Western Punjab, in the west of Sindh and allegedly in the Bahawalpur region in the valley of the river. Sutlej.
In India, the tiger is now most common in the forested areas of Uttar Pradesh (United Provinces), bordering on the north with Nepal, in Assam, in some forested areas of the Deccan, in Madhya Pradesh in the Central Provinces (Pocock, 1939; I. K. Rai, oral communication). The government of the Central Provinces and Berar pays bonuses for harvested tigers (Hindustan Times, July 7, 1949). In Assam, the tiger lives in the foothills of the Himalayas in peculiar thickets - the terai and is still common there. Near many villages of Assam, located near the jungle, one can still see platforms fortified between two palm trees, on which watchmen sit, warning the village population about the appearance of a tiger or wild elephant (Chechetkina, 1948).
Currently, there are less than 4,000 tigers living in India (Perry, 1964), and according to survey information collected by I.K. Rai, there are 3,000 - 4,000 animals. Of this number, about 400 animals (10%) are hunted annually, therefore, at the current rate of hunting for them, rapid extermination does not threaten them. Over the past 60 years, Van Ingens, a renowned taxidermist in India, has processed more than 150 tiger skins annually.
The Bengal tiger lives in India and Pakistan.
Nepal. In this country the tiger is now found in the foothills of the Himalayas in the Terai and is still numerous. Widespread forest concessions and hunting in Nepal could quickly deplete tiger numbers there too.
The local tiger belongs to the Bengal subspecies.
Union of Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Federation of Malaya. In the last century in Burma, the tiger was found almost everywhere and in some places was quite common. So, in the very south of the country, in Tenasserim, this predator was considered numerous, but since there were still many wild ungulates living there, it did not attack people during the day and the local population was little afraid of it. In the Irrawaddy region, especially in the valley and delta of the river of the same name, there were so many tigers that villagers, in order to protect their homes from their attacks, had to light fires at night. They stayed even in the surrounding areas major cities, for example Mian-ong (Myaung-mya. - A.S.). Many travelers reported a large number of tigers in the southern region of Pegu and their attacks on people there. In the western region of Arakan, which lies along the right bank of the Bay of Bengal, the tiger is a common animal, and in the forests of Jittaguon and Silet, which lie north of Arakan, it was seen very often.
The tiger also lived in the northern part of Burma - in the Kaindu region (Brandt, 1856).
Currently in Burma, according to the survey information we collected, tigers are still common in the eastern Shan region, bordering the Chinese province of Yunnan, Laos and Thailand. For other areas we do not have up-to-date information.
The abundance of tigers in Thailand (Siam) in past centuries has been reported by many authors (Brandt, 1856). Back in the middle of the 19th century. The tiger inhabited all the forests of Siam and often attacked livestock, and often people.
In the 1940s, the tiger was still quite common in most parts of Thailand (Harper, 1945). According to R. Perry (1964), in this country the tiger still lives in all the jungles, being especially numerous in the mountainous areas stretching along the Tanen-Taungji and Kun-Tan ridges.
In Laos and Cambodia in the last century, tigers remained in most areas and were numerous in some places. Their numbers there have now declined, but they still appear in a number of areas.
Previously, the described beast was very common throughout almost the entire territory of Vietnam, especially in its very south. Travelers who visited Cochin (Ambo) said that there were many tigers there, “which chase people right up to their homes” (Bissakhir, 1812). In the river valley Saigon (on which the capital of South Vietnam, Saigon, is now located), tigers were encountered very often and were so daring that they even kidnapped people from their homes. R. Perry (1964) says that "if there are any countries more densely populated by tigers than India, it was the southern half of Indo-China, where Des Fosses, Malley and Maneotrol and others shot and captured many hundreds of tigers." In the middle of the current century, there were already fewer tigers in Vietnam; for example, in Cochin China there were only 200 - 300 individuals (Harper, 1945).
In the Federation of Malaya, located on the Malay Peninsula, tigers lived in most areas in the last century, especially in the Dyor region. In this country, the number of tigers has increased greatly over the years Japanese occupation and they are still found throughout the country, with the exception of Penang and Singapore. Lok made an approximate calculation of the number of tigers living in Malaya, considering that for every 10 sq. miles of jungle or 17 sq. miles of the entire country lives on average one tiger, and came to the conclusion that in the 50s of this century, at least about 3,000 of the described predators lived in this Federation. Currently, forests in the Federation of Malaya are being intensively cut down, and therefore the number of tigers there is rapidly falling.
Although it is not difficult for a tiger to swim across the strait separating the island of Singapore from the mainland, it appeared there relatively rarely even in the last century, and yet this predator became a scourge for Chinese coolies between 1843 and 1863 (Perry, 1964).
Indonesia. In this country, the tiger lives on the vast islands of Sumatra and Java. In addition, there was information that he previously lived on the relatively small island of Bali, located near Java, to the south of it.
Already the first travelers who visited Sumatra spoke about the large number of tigers there and about their daring attacks, “leading to the extermination of the inhabitants of entire villages.” Villagers unsuccessfully defended themselves against these predators with torches or burning logs. In the middle of the last century, tigers still kept the population of this island at bay (Brandt, 1856). Now there are much fewer of them on the island of Sumatra, but they are still common in some of its areas, and R. Perry (1964) considers them still “numerous and widespread.”
Europe learned about the tiger's habitat in Java a long time ago (Bontius, 1658). In the middle of the last century, in many provinces, tigers and leopards terrorized villagers, despite the penetration of civilization deep into the island. There were especially many tigers in the province of Grisse. Even the high bonuses offered by the government for the extermination of tigers did not help: the local population almost did not hunt them, as they believed that the more tigers were destroyed, the more intensively they multiplied.
By 1851, tigers in Java were still found in significant numbers over much of the area, especially on the western edge of that island. By the 1920s, a famous hunter had shot another hundred tigers there (Perry, 1964). Since the 1940s, the tiger in Java has become quite rare and requires protection (Harper, 1945).
Currently, tigers in Java have been almost completely exterminated. According to M. Simon (oral communication), only about 12 tigers now live there, nine of them are in the Udzhun-Kulon reserve. According to other sources, another 20 - 25 tigers survived on this island, of which 10 - 12 are in reserves and sanctuaries. R. Perry (1964) believes that by 1961 the described predators were no longer present in most of Java, and they survived only in the most wild places in the south, for example, in the Ujun-Kulon reserve, where six tigers still remained. It is possible that these are the last tigers on the island.
On the island of Bali in 1909 - 1912. the tiger was considered quite common (Schwartz, 1913). In the 1930s, several tigers allegedly still lived in the northwestern and southwestern parts of the island; they were intensely pursued by hunters from Java. These animals will apparently disappear completely in the near future (Geinsinus-Viruli and Van Gern, 1936). The presence of tigers in Bali has been questioned by a number of researchers, for example Pocock (1939) indicated it for this island with a question mark. H. Meissner (1958), having visited Bali, found out that there were no tigers on it now, and he also did not see places there suitable for its habitat.
Meissner generally doubts that tigers could swim across the sea strait from Java to Bali. Thus, the question of the distribution of the tiger on this island needs new confirmation.
Tigers have never been found on the islands east of Bali, since the nearest island of Lombok is separated from it by a strait 20 miles wide - this is an insurmountable barrier for many land mammals.
Apparently, the Javan tiger lives on all the islands of Indonesia.
China. In this country, the tiger was previously distributed starting from its northwestern part - Kashgaria or East Turkestan (modern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) - and further to the east. In the 70s - 90s of the last century, according to information collected by N. M. Przhevalsky (1878, 1888), S. N. Alferaki (1882), S. Gedin (1899), M. V. Pevtsov (1949) and others, tigers were quite common in the upper reaches of the Ili River and its tributaries (Tekes, Kunges, Kash) and on the Borohoro ridge. These predators were sometimes found north of the Tien Shan spur - the Iren-Khabarga ridge near the city of Shikho, in the Mukurtai swamps and other places, as well as in the Manasa River valley west of Urumqi. In addition, judging by later information, at that time they were supposed to stay near lakes Ebi-Nur and Ulyungur, as well as in the valley of the Urungu River, which flows into the second lake. “In general, in Dzungaria,” wrote N.M. Przhevalsky in 1888, “there are few tigers... In total, there are more tigers in the Tarim Basin, along the Tarim itself, then in Lob-Nor, as well as along the Khotan (Khotan) rivers, Yarkand (Yarkand) and Kashgar" (Kyzylsu ya Kashgar).
At the beginning of the current century, according to S. Miller, cited by D. Carruthers (1914), tigers still lived in dense bushes and reeds in the low places of Dzungaria, as well as in the spurs of the Tien Shan along the valleys of the Kasha, Kungesa, and Dzhingalanga rivers and Ili, where they climbed the mountains to 1200 - 1500 m above sea level. m. At that time, the skins of these predators were sold annually in the markets of Urumqi, Manas and Shikho. In Dzungaria, tigers were hunted using poisons, but they were rarely shot because they were afraid of them. A few years later, T. and C. Roosevelt (1926) reported that there were no tigers on Tekes and in the upper reaches of the Ili River, since local residents destroyed them with poison. V. Morden (1927) also writes that tigers, which formerly lived in the upper reaches of the Ili on the northern slope of the Tien Shan, “now seem to have completely disappeared.” According to our data, tigers survived in the upper reaches of the Ili until the mid-30s of the current century, since before that time they often entered there from the southern Balkhash region. In addition, tigers previously entered South-Eastern Kazakhstan from Dzungaria.
Currently in Dzungaria, according to Beijing Zoo employee Zhu Bo-pin (oral communication), tigers may still exist in the area of Lake Ebi-Nur, but this seems doubtful to us. If tigers still lived near Ebi-Nur, they would appear, as happened in the last century, in the Alakul Basin (USSR), freely passing through the Dzungarian Gate. However, in the Alakul Basin, no one has found either the animals themselves or traces of their presence for a long time. There are also reports that tigers have survived in the Manas River valley (Murzaev, 1956; Kalmykova, Ovdienko, 1957). These data are confirmed by survey information collected on site in 1959 by M. A. Mikulin (oral communication). If tigers still survive in some places in Dzungaria, then very soon they will completely disappear there.
In the northern half of Kitat, after a long break in spreading eastward, tigers again begin to be found in modern Gansu province. Thus, A. Sowerby (1923) reported that they live in Kansu, near the Tibetan border and in the Ala Shan region. To the east, these predators have been recorded in Inner Mongolia and other provinces. For example, N.M. Przhevalsky (1875) writes that tigers used to be found in the Muna-Ula mountains, which are the western extremity of the In-Shan ridge (40°45" N latitude and 110° E longitude). Later M. V. Pevtsov (1951), during his trip in 1878 - 1879, noted that “in the forests of In-Shan, leopards and roe deer live everywhere, there are many pheasants, and even tigers are found near the borders of Manchuria.” ), lying south of Lake Dalai-Nur, a stuffed tiger was kept in the temple, killed on the streets of this city (Soverby, 1923) It is possible that the tiger is still found in Inner Mongolia (Shaw, Hsia Wu-ping, etc.). , 1958).
North of In-Shan, on the vast territory of the Gobi Desert (Shamo), a significant part of which already lies within the Mongolian People's Republic, there were no tigers, but they reappeared in the very west of Manchuria - in Northern Barga (50° N latitude and 120° E longitude).
Chinese zoologists believe that there were no tigers on the Greater Khingan in the last decade, but in 1953 and 1954. Several tigers came to the borders of the Soviet Union, to the South-Eastern Transbaikalia, from beyond the Argun, which could only get there from Barga or from the Greater Khingan. Similar approaches were observed before - in the 19th - early 20th centuries.
Beyond the Greater Khingan, tigers were found throughout the northern half of Manchuria as far as the Ussuri River and Lake Khanka in the east. To the south they were distributed to the Changbai Mountain ridge and its southern spurs, running along east coast The Korean Isthmus is already outside the borders of China, as well as to the Yangtze River valley.
N.A. Baikov (1925) believes that at the beginning of the current century, the indigenous habitat of tigers within Manchuria was the province of Girin, where they were found in large numbers in many places, such as, for example, in the vast virgin forests of the upper reaches of the Sungari, Lilinghe and Ashihe, as well as in the areas of the Mudanjiang, Maihe, Muren and Suifun river basins. After the construction of the Chinese Eastern railway, deforestation by Russians and then Japanese concessions and settlement of the region, the tiger became rare in these areas and appeared only during transitions from one area to another.
In recent years, according to T. X. Shaw, Hsia Wu-ping et al. (1958), as well as Zhu Bo-pin (oral communication, 1958), in the former Manchuria tigers were found in the northern province of Heilongjiang and in southern - Girin. The most common predator described turned out to be in the Lesser Khingan mountains in the area bounded in the north by the city of Yichun, and in the south by the Songhua River. From Yichunxiang County (Yichun, Dailin) in Heilongjiang Province, the mentioned researchers received tigers. Tigers were also common in the mountains of the Zhangguangcailing ridge in the area lying from the city of Mudanjiang to the north to the city of Dunhua to the south and near Lake Jingbohu (Dunhuaxiang and Jianxiang counties, Jirin province), as well as on the Changbai Mountain plateau in Fusunxiang county (Girin province). Until 1955, the medicinal factory in Fusun purchased 20 to 30 tigers annually.
According to survey information we collected in China in 1958, in its northeastern part, in the provinces of Heilongjiang and Jirin, another 200 - 250 tigers lived, and before the ban on hunting, 50 - 60 animals were killed there annually. In the province of Girin, due to deforestation and the extermination of wild ungulates, tigers began to attack horses and cows.
As a result of intensive persecution of Amur tigers, their numbers sharply decreased in the 50s of this century, which prompted the government of the People's Republic of China to completely ban hunting on them and begin to organize reserves in the Lesser Khingan and in other areas lying near the Amur River and its tributaries, in order to protect this most valuable subspecies of the described predator.
South of the former Manchuria, the Amur tiger used to be found in other provinces of the northern half of China. Thus, N. M. Przhevalsky (1875) wrote that he lived in forests stretching north from the Yellow River to modern city Chengde in Zhehe Province. A. Sowerby (1923) reported that tigers were still found in Hebei Province in the area of Dongling and Weichang (Eastern Graves and Imperial Hunting Grounds), north and northeast of Beijing. For example, in the area of the Eastern Graves at the beginning of this century, three animals were seen in different time, one of them was killed in 1912. Currently, judging by the information we have collected, there are no tigers there anymore. Previously, they were mined in the northern and southern counties of Shanxi Province. For example, one animal was killed in the south of this province in 1932 (Harper, 1945).
In the southern half of China, according to G. Allen (1938), tigers were relatively common in many places, for example in Hubei province, in its western part. They were very rare in western Sichuan, although they were sometimes found in the jungles of Washan. These predators are more common in the Chien-chan valley and south through the entire Yunnan province. The described predators were found in significant numbers in Fujian province, but were scarce to the north. One tiger, killed in Anhui province, was shown on the streets of Anqing. Two tigers were killed near Hankou in 1933.
According to T. H. Shaw (oral communication), in 1930, one tiger was killed in the Moganypan Mountains in Zhejiang Province, in addition, in the current century, these animals were killed in the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Fujian and Guangdong, and in the latter two more often than in others.
According to information we collected during a trip to China in 1958, tigers are still quite common in Yunnan Province. In this province, north of the city of Kunming, the described predators are found in Panxiang, Xinzhen and Kunguo counties, and in the latter they are rare. In the south of the province, the tiger is common in Simao and Pu'er counties. In Simao, the described predator lives in almost all counties. Until 1949, in the Simao Valley, due to its low population, near the city of the same name, bushes and weeds grew greatly, in which tigers and leopards often appeared. In 1948, one tiger entered the city of Simao and was killed right on the street. In the 50s of this century, in Simao County, judging by the purchases of the Local Products Campaign, from 30 to 40 tigers were killed annually (Yang Li-tsu, oral communication). Currently, there are approximately 500 to 600 tigers in southwest Yunnan Province, and up to 200 of these predators are hunted annually throughout the province. In recent years, 40 - 50 tiger skins passed annually through the base of the Yunnan Foreign Trade Bureau in Kunming, and in 1957 more than 100 of them passed through.
After the war for the liberation of China, which ended in 1949, many military units remained in the country, in addition, in the south near local population Modern rifled weapons appeared in significant quantities. Large round-ups began to take place against tigers and leopards, in which military units took part. The production of the described predators has increased sharply. According to T. X. Shaw (1958), throughout China in the 50s of the current century, up to a thousand tigers were killed in some years. If the extermination of the described beast continues at this rate, its numbers in the south of the country will quickly decrease and it will become as rare as in the northeastern provinces.
In the northeast of China, in the province of Heilongjiang, the Amur tiger lives, and in the provinces of Jilin, Zhehe and others south to the Yangtze River - the Korean or Ussuri tiger. Some authors consider the Amur and Korean tigers to be one form and call them the Manchurian tiger. In the south of the country there is a South China tiger, and in the southwestern part of Yunnan there is a Bengal tiger, and possibly a tiger of an as yet undescribed form. Thus, over the vast territory of China there live tigers of four or five forms.
Korea. In the second half of the last century, about 150 tiger skins were exported from this country annually to Japan and China (Perry, 1964). According to Won Hong Gu (oral communication), at the very end of the 19th century. tigers were hunted in the south of the country in Chomado and in the north - in Gengsondo, Unsan (Wansan? - A.S.) and Pyongyangdo. F. Barclay (1915) writes that at the beginning of the current century in this country there were more tigers in its northern regions than in the southern ones. At that time, the described predators were still located at the southwestern tip of Korea and on the island of Jindo, where F. Barclay successfully hunted them. In the early spring of 1914, a fresh corpse of a tiger was washed up by the sea in Japan on the island of Honshu (Hondo) near the city of Myatsue. The tiger's corpse could only have come to Japan from South Korea. Won Hong Gu reported that in 1911 tigers were hunted in Zenlanamdo Province, in 1918 in Gongwondo Province, in 1922 in Gyeongseonbugdo Province, and in 1930 in Pyongyangbugdo Province.
At the beginning of the 20s in North Korea the described predators were still common and sportsmen killed several animals there every year (Soverby, 1923).
Currently in South Korea tigers have apparently already been exterminated, and the southern border of their current range lies somewhat south of Pyongyang. In the northern half of this country, tigers remain in areas bordering the province of Jilin (South Manchuria) of the People's Republic of China. So, in 1935, 1952 and 1956. they were mined in Hamgyongbugdo, where they were especially common at the headwaters of the Suifun River. After 1953, in the province of Hamgyongbugdo in the regions of Musan, Yongso, Onseong, Helen, several tigers were captured alive every year, most of which were sold abroad. For example, in 1956, ten tigers were captured, only one of which was left in Korea. Two tigers were killed in the Musan region after 1945. The tigers still held out in Ryangando (Won Hong Gu, oral communication, 1957 and 1958). M. Simon (oral communication) believes that there are still 40 - 50 tigers left on the Korean Peninsula.
In 1958, the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea adopted a resolution banning hunting of the described animal.
The Korean or Ussuri tiger lives throughout the country.
Ecology
Tigers are the largest representatives of the cat family ( Felidae) and some of the most charismatic and endangered animal species. Tiger numbers have declined by 95 percent over the past century, and their habitat has shrunk by 40 percent in the past 10 years, according to International Wildlife Fund.
Tigers belong to the panther genus. We know of nine subspecies of tigers, three of which are already extinct.
1) Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica)
The Amur tiger (also known as the Ussuri or Far Eastern tiger) is the largest representative of the species. Males reach lengths of up to 3.3 meters from head to tail and can weigh around 300 kilograms. Females are slightly smaller - 2.6 meters in length and weigh from 100 to 167 kilograms.
The Amur tiger has a paler orange fur color compared to other tigers and has brown rather than black stripes. They have a white chest and belly, and a ring of light fur around the neck.
According to the data Save the Tigers Foundation International organization protection of wild animals, wild Amur tigers live on Far East in Russia, where their two main populations live. According to scientists, about 450 individuals live on an area of 156 thousand square kilometers in the Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories. Another small population near the Russian-Chinese border and northeast China is home to just 35 tigers.
Russian and Chinese officials have entered into an agreement to protect these areas to save Amur tigers from extinction. Like many endangered animals, tigers are bred in captivity around the world to boost their populations and maintain healthy genetics for the species.
2) Bengal tiger ( Panthera tigris tigris)
One of the most numerous subspecies of tigers, the Bengal tiger, lives in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. India has the largest number of representatives of this subspecies - about 2500-3750 individuals, according to Tiger Rescue Fund.
Most Bengal tigers have the same coat color, but a recessive coat color gene can produce a cream or white coat instead of orange. White tigers are very rarely found in the wild.
Wild tigers live in dry and moist deciduous forests, grasslands, temperate forests and mangrove forests. Although there are more of these tigers in the wild than in captivity, they are still considered a critically endangered subspecies. The Bengal tiger is listed in the Red Book.
3) Chinese tiger ( Panthera tigris amoyensis)
Living in the central and eastern China, the Chinese tiger is seriously endangered, making it one of the top ten most endangered animals. Currently, there are only 47 representatives of this subspecies in Chinese zoos.
It is difficult to determine the exact number of tigers living in the wild, if any are still alive. Just 40 years ago, about 4 thousand individuals existed in the wild, but the government declared them pests and hunters began to destroy the tigers.
Field surveys carried out in 1987 and 1990 in China's remote mountainous region indicated that tigers were still alive, but no specimens were ever found.
4) Malayan tiger ( Panthera tigris jacksoni)
The Malayan tiger was identified as a separate subspecies only in 2004, separating it from its Indochinese relative. They are very similar in appearance, but the Malayan tiger is slightly smaller in size.
These tigers live in tropical and subtropical moist deciduous forests in southern Thailand and the Malay Peninsula. Official name jacksoni The subspecies was named in honor of Peter Jackson, former chairman of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and natural resources, who listed the tiger in the Red Book.
5) Indochinese tiger ( Panthera tigris corbetti)
Also known as the Corbett's tiger, named after the English hunter and naturalist Jim Corbett, this subspecies is native to Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Vietnam, and was formerly found in China. Endangered.
The Indochinese tiger is slightly smaller than the Bengal tiger and has darker coloring with narrower stripes. Males are 3 meters long from nose to tail and weigh an average of 180 kilograms. Females are slightly smaller - 2.4 meters and weighing approximately 115 kilograms, according to Tiger Rescue Fund.
These animals live in remote forests in mountainous and hilly areas, making it difficult for scientists to reach their habitat. As a result, zoologists know very little about these cats living in the wild.
In 1998, the number of Indochinese tigers was estimated to range from 736 to 1,225 individuals. A 2004 genetic analysis helped prove that the Indochinese tiger is a new subspecies and is not related to the Malayan tiger.
6) Sumatran tiger ( Panthera tigris sumatrae)
Found exclusively on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Sumatran tiger is seriously endangered and is listed as endangered. The animal is under the protection of the Indonesian state; for killing a tiger, one faces a prison sentence and pays huge fines. But, despite strict measures against poaching, tigers still fall into the clutches of hunters, since their meat and skins are in great demand.
The Sumatran tiger has the darkest skin of all subspecies. It has wide black stripes located close together, which often bifurcate. Unlike Amur tiger, the Sumatran tiger has stripes on its front legs.
Sumatran tigers are the smallest of all tigers. Males have an average length of 2.4 meters and weigh 120 kilograms. Females are 2 meters and about 90 kilograms.
Currently, there are very few tigers left in the wild - only 300 individuals. In the summer of 2011, the Indonesian government announced the creation of a reserve on one of the islands south of Sumatra, where tigers were to be transferred to save them.
7) Bali tiger ( Panthera tigris balica) - extinct
One of three subspecies of tigers that no longer exist in the wild, the Bali tiger went extinct in the 1940s. The last time a tiger was seen alive was on the island of Bali in the late 1930s. The reasons for the extinction of this subspecies are hunting, loss of forest habitat, and the disappearance of the animals on which it fed. It was not possible to preserve a single representative of this subspecies in captivity.
8) Javan tiger ( Panthera tigris sondaica) - extinct
As early as the 1980s, representatives of this tiger subspecies could be found on the Indonesian island of Java. However, according to official data, the tiger was last seen in Javanese National Park Meru Betiri in 1976. Here and there, residents of Java report seeing tigers and that they have even attacked people, but these reports have not been officially confirmed.
9) Transcaucasian tiger ( Panthera tigris virgata) - extinct
The Transcaucasian tiger, also called the Turanian tiger, became extinct in the 1970s. It lived in sparse forests and near rivers in the west (Turkey) and south (Iran) of the Caspian Sea, as well as in the western part Central Asia in the Taklamakan Desert. Tigers disappeared due to overhunting, destruction of prey, loss of habitat, and the fact that very vulnerable small populations were not protected.
The tiger is one of the largest and most beautiful predators on Earth. These qualities did the animal a disservice: today, according to rough estimates, there are only about 6,500 individuals left in the world - with a fairly extensive geography of settlement. The largest number of tigers are in India, Malaysia and Bangladesh.
In all countries where it lives, the tiger is a protected animal; hunting it is prohibited everywhere.
Tiger range
Today, tigers are preserved in 16 countries - Bangladesh, Bhutan, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Iran, Cambodia, China, North Korea (this fact is controversial), Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Thailand.
Scientists believe that tigers appeared in northern China about 2 million years ago and only began to spread around 10 thousand years ago. Due to excessive hunting of them, the habitat of the animals began to shrink, reaching a peak of reduction at the end of the twentieth century: in 10 years, from 1995 to 2005, the territory of tigers decreased by 40%!
What tigers live in which countries?
There are 9 subspecies of the animal known to modern times, 3 of which were destroyed by humans.
Amur tiger
It is also Siberian, Ussuri, Far Eastern, the most beautiful and largest. In terms of habitat, it is also “the most” - the most northern. The tiger lives in Russia on the banks of the Amur and Ussuri, in the foothills of the Sikhote-Alin, where a sixth of all Amur tigers live.
The number of Amur tigers in nature is negligible on a global scale - just over 500 individuals, of which only 30–40 live in China, the rest in the Russian Federation. For the Russian Ussuri taiga, a number of 500+ is optimal: a larger number of animals simply will not find food for themselves.
Slightly fewer Amur tigers are distributed among zoos around the world - approximately 450.
Bengal tiger
They number about 2,400 individuals and are found in India (more than 1,700 individuals), Pakistan (140 individuals), Nepal (155 individuals), Bangladesh (200 individuals), at the mouths of the Indus, Ganges (Sundarbans territory), and Ravi. There are 5 Bengal tigers living in Russia. 
In the 70s, scientists created a “white version” of the Bengal tiger through inbred crossing. It is not found in nature - only in zoos. In addition to the white color, people admire the amazing blue eyes of these tigers. In total, there are more than 130 white individuals in zoos and private menageries around the world.
Indochinese tiger
It lives in Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Malaysia, Cambodia and numbers up to 1,800 individuals. The largest population belongs to Malaysia, where the most severe punishments are applied to people for hunting tigers.
The Indochinese tiger suffered the most losses due to... China. In the Celestial Empire, the internal organs of the animal were (and are) used to make medicines, means of prolonging life and increasing strength. The Chinese pay huge amounts of money for the “ingredients” for the drugs, which inspires hunters to kill tigers and sell their entrails. This is how ¾ of the Indochinese tiger population in Vietnam was destroyed.
Chinese tiger
According to unconfirmed reports, there are no more than 20 of these animals left. They live in south-central China and are in danger of extinction in the near future. The reason for this is the exclusively consumerist, ruthless attitude of some Chinese towards nature and animals, the killing of tigers for “needs” Chinese medicine».
Sumatran tiger
It lives only on Sumatra, an island in the Malay Archipelago, part of Indonesia. Human economic activity has led to a dangerous decline in the population: today there are less than 300 tigers left, endemic to the island. However, in Indonesia, this problem is being solved and the number of tigers is increasing, although slowly.
Malayan tiger
The Malayan tiger, like the Sumatran tiger, is endemic. It lives on the Malay Peninsula, in its southern part. The population size is about 800 individuals.
Golden Tiger
It is not a separate subspecies, but a variation caused by genetic changes in any subspecies. Golden tigers were first seen at the beginning of the twentieth century. Since then, scientists have been trying to solve the mystery of the amazing color of animals, but so far without success. Bengal tigers provide the most golden tigers to nature. 
You can meet a very beautiful animal, in principle, wherever tigers live. But most likely - in zoos, where today there are about 30 “precious” individuals.
Do tigers live in Africa? and got the best answer
Answer from Zarem Aliyev[guru]
IN AFRICA, TIGERS ARE NOT FOUND IN NATURAL CONDITIONS. They are also found in zoos in Africa.
The tiger is an exclusively Asian species. It formed in northern China at the beginning of the Pleistocene (about 2 million years ago). About 10,000 years ago, tigers moved south through the Himalayas and eventually spread throughout almost all of India, the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali. A few centuries ago, its habitat area was outlined by the following boundaries: 50 degrees N. w. (Kazakhstan), 50 degrees east. d. (Northern Iran), 140 degrees east. d. (mouth of the Amur), 8 degrees south. w. (Sunda Islands). Now, in most of this territory, tigers have been exterminated; the largest populations remain in India and Indochina. Within Russia, a small population of tigers is found only in the Far East, in the Primorsky Territory.
Tigers inhabit a variety of habitats, including mangrove swamps and bamboo thickets in the tropics, dense scrub forests in cooler areas, and bare rocky hills and taiga in the north. In the mountains they rise up to 3000 m above sea level. Depending on the habitat, abundance of prey and sex of the tiger, the individual range of an adult animal occupies from 30 to 3000 km².
Answer from Blood Angel[newbie]
Tigers live only in the jungle and in India. That's right, they exist in India too!!!
Answer from Yamilya Musina[guru]
Tigers don't live in Africa
They live. in India. in the Ussuri taiga and in zoos.
Answer from Natalia Golubintseva[guru]
There are three subspecies of tigers in the wild: the Ussuri tigers live in Siberia, the Bengal tigers live in Asia, and the Sumatran tigers live in Sumatra. There are no tigers in the wild in Africa.
Answer from User deleted[guru]
Maybe
Answer from Iuslan "Lucky" Mansurov[guru]
No! They live in India!
Tiger ( Panthera tigris) - a predator of the class mammals, such as chordates, the order Carnivora, the cat family, the panther genus, the subfamily big cats. It got its name from the ancient Persian word tigri, which means “sharp, fast,” and from the ancient Greek word “arrow.”
The tiger is the largest and heaviest member of the cat family. Some male tigers reach a length of 3 meters and weigh over 300 kg. Tigers are listed in the Red Book, and hunting these animals is prohibited.
Defenseless domestic animals and small elephant calves often become prey. In summer, nuts and fruits are added to the main meat menu of tigers.
Amur tigers eat wapiti, wild boar, elk, and deer. Bengal tigers sometimes attack porcupines.
Indochinese tigers hunt wild boar, sambar, serow, banteng and gaur, and also attack porcupines, macaques, teleda (hog badgers), and muntjac. Malayan tigers feed on wild boars, barking deer, sambar deer, and can even attack the Malayan bear.
Tigers hunt alone, using 2 main methods: sitting in ambush or carefully sneaking up on the prey. Both techniques are successfully completed with rapid jumps or a jerk. One tiger jump is 5 m high and 10 m long. The tiger gnaws the throats of small animals, and knocks large mammals to the ground and gnaws the cervical vertebrae.
If the tiger's hunt was unsuccessful, and the prey turned out to be stronger or ran away, then the tiger does not attack again. Predators eat their prey lying down, holding the meat with their paws.
Tiger breeding
The breeding season for tigers is December and January. Females are ready to bear offspring at 3-4 years, males mature at 5 years. As a rule, a tigress is courted by one male tiger; in conditions of increased numbers, there are fights among the males for the right to own the female.
A tigress can conceive only a few times a year and brings offspring every 2-3 years. On average, tigers gestate for 103 days.
The tigress gives birth in a den built in inaccessible places: rock crevices, caves, impassable thickets.
Usually 2-4 cubs and tiger cubs are born, in rare cases there can be 6 of them. After a week, newborn tiger cubs open their eyes, and for the first month and a half they are milk-fed. At the age of 2 months, the mother and offspring leave the den.
One and a half year old tigers are quite independent, although many do not leave their mother until they are 3-5 years old.
On average, tigers live 26-30 years, during which time a tigress can give birth to up to 20 cubs, many of which often die in their youth.
Tigers adapt well to living conditions in captivity and reproduce well. The increase in the number of offspring bred in captivity contributed to a fall in prices for predatory cats and made it possible for people, in particular Americans, to purchase a tabby predator as a pet.
- Animals such as tigers have long been the subject of all sorts of myths and legends. For example, many consider the saber-toothed tiger to be the progenitor of modern striped predators. In fact, being a member of the cat family, the ancient species is considered a saber-toothed cat, not a tiger.
- Most wild cats are afraid of water and avoid bodies of water whenever possible. But not a tiger. This predator is an excellent swimmer, loves water and never misses an opportunity to soak up the heat in a cool lake or river.
