Classification:

Bali tiger:   (Panthera tigris balica)

This is a Indonesian "island tiger" just like the Javan And the Sumatran. Very rarely seen. The Bali is vanished for good in the last five years or so.

Bengal Tiger:   (Panthera tigris tigris )

The Bengal is large,, averaging ten feet in length. This tiger was saved by a worldwide effort begun in the 1970s. There are now approximately six thousand Bengal's living in the wild in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

Caspian Tiger:  (Panthera tigris virgata)

Similar in size and color to the Bengal. It is now considered extinct, although there are reports of a few tigers still living in a remote part of Afghanistan.

Chinese Tiger:  (Panthera tigris amoyensis)

The Chinese tiger has been hunted to the verge of extinction. There is about a handful in captivity. The Chinese have recently begun a husbandry program, but it may be too late to save the subspecies. There are now perhaps forty Chinese tigers still in existents.

Corbettīs or Indo-Chinese Tiger.  (Panthera tigris corbetti)

These tigers are smaller than the Bengal's, but they have a darker skin. It has short stripes, which turn into spots. The Corbettīs tigers has the second-largest population in the wild after the Bengal, with some fourteen hundred to fifteen hundred tigers at present.

Javan Tiger:   (Panthera tigris sondaicus)

The Javan is similar to the Sumatran but darker with more and closer-set black stripes. A dozen or so of the tigers were known to exist in the 1950s, but this subspecies is now considered extinct.

Siberian Tiger: (Panthera tigris altaica)

This is the largest cat in the world, with the recorded lengths of over thirteen feet. The typical color is lighter than the Bengal, and the stripes are brown and narrow. It has been on the endangered list for some time, with only thirty or so animals known to exist in the wild in the 1930s. Due to conservation efforts and other factors, the population in the wild is now hundred to three hundred. In captivity, Siberians have done very well and now number well over one thousand!

Sumatran Tiger:  (Panthera tigris sumatrae)

This tiger averages eight feet in length. It is a dark red color with cream-colored areas and has long black stripes often in double layers. Due to uncontrolled hunting and massive habitat destruction their number has dropped to half in the last decade. There are now five hundred to six hundred tigers left in the wild, and sadly their future is uncertain!

Pictures from:

• Bannerghatta National Park /India

• Minnesota Zoo

• Ranthambhore National Park/India the state of Rayasthan (158 square miles)

• Bandhavgarh Park/India

• Corbett national Park/India the state of Uttar Pradesh

• The Miami Zoo/Florida

• The National Zoo/Washington D.C.

• The San Francisco Zoo