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The tiger is the largest member of the filed (cat) family. They sport long, thick reddish coats with white bellies and white and black tails. Their heads, bodies, tails and limbs have narrow black, brown or gray stripes. There were once nine subspecies of tigers: Bengal, Siberian, Indochinese, South Chinese, Sumatran, Malayan, Caspian, Javan and Bali. Of these, the last three are extinct, one is extinct in the wild, and the rest are endangered.Tigers mainly eat ambar deer, wild pigs, water buffalo and antelope. Tigers are also known to hunt sloth bears, dogs, leopards, crocodiles and pythons as well as monkeys and hares. Old and injured tigers have been known to attack humans and domestic cattle.In the early 1900s, there were around 100,000 tigers throughout their range. Today, an estimated total of around 3,000-4,500 exist in the wild. Below is a breakdown of tiger numbers by subspecies.Historic tiger range ran from Turkey through South and Southeast Asia to the far eastern shores of the continent. Today, they are only found in South and Southeast Asia, China and the Russian Far East.Tigers occupy a variety of habitats from tropical forests, evergreen forests, woodlands and mangrove swamps to grasslands savannah and rocky country. They are mostly nocturnal (more active at night) and are ambush predators that rely on the camouflage their stripes provide. Tigers use their body weight to knock prey to the ground and kills with a bite to the neck. They are also very good swimmers and have been known to kill prey while swimming.Tigers essentially live solitary lives, except during mating season and when females bear young. They are usually fiercely territorial and have and mark their large home ranges.Cubs follow their mother out of the den at around 8 weeks and become independent at around 18 months of age. They leave their mothers at about 2 ½ years. Mothers guard their young from wandering males that may kill the cubs to make the female receptive to mating.As climate change continues to warm the planet, tigers are feeling the heat. As we see ocean levels rise, tigers are losing habitat due to costal erosion in areas like India's Sundarban islands. As rising sea levels claim more habitat and sea water moves up river, naturally fresh water is becoming more saline, or more highly concentrated with salt. These factors are forcing the tigers to move northward towards areas more heavily populated by humans and increasing the likelihood of animal/human conflicts.Tigers are also facing many other threats. They are illegally killed or poached because their pelts are valuable in the black market trade, their body parts are used in traditional Asian medicines and they are seen as threats to human communities. There is also large scale habitat loss due to human population growth and expansion. Human encroachment into tiger habitat also decreases prey animals.Despite losing around 93% of their historical habitat and dwindling numbers, a recent study shows that tigers in the India sub-continent retain much of their genetic viability. These genes are critically important to the recovery and survival of tigers and this is giving the Indian government even more incentive to preserve this magnificent animal.Your support will help us fight to protect tigers and other threatened and endangered wildlife.A symbolic adoption helps save real animals in the wild.Visit our Wildlife Action Center to send a message to government leaders.Learn how you can be a powerful advocate for wildlife.Sign up to receive instant alerts and updates about important issues affecting wildlife.Your Defenders membership includes our quarterly publication with fascinating articles and stunning photos of wild animals in their natural habitats.