DID YOU KNOW?
Adding and Subtracting: In 2004, the Malayan tiger was identified as a tiger subspecies. The number of living subspecies, however, will likely remain at five with the recent extinction of the South China tiger. Other extinct subspecies include the Caspian, Javan and Balinese tigers.
Boxed In: The tiger's ability to adapt to a variety of habitats isn't enough to save it from extinction; it requires large, contiguous areas of habitat and lives in some of the most densely populated places on earth.
Javan Origins?: The earliest known fossils of true tigers, dating to around 1.7 million years ago, come from the island of Java in Indonesia, suggesting that the cat evolved there before radiating out.
