Sumatran tiger

This is the smallest subspecies of tiger, weighing a maximum of only 140 kilograms. Despite this, they can take down prey up to four times their size, including small elephants, gaurs (large wild cattle) and tapirs, alongside smaller prey such as deer and monkeys. Cubs start hunting by themselves by eighteen months old – until then, they accompany their mothers on her hunts. Sumatran tigers have webbing between their paws, making them strong swimmers, and they sleep for up to twenty hours per day.

The primary threat to Sumatran tigers is organised, transnational poaching for their skin, bones and meat for trade and use in traditional medicine practices. Prey depletion is also an issue, forcing tigers to hunt closer to human settlements; this means they may predate on livestock, leading to human-wildlife conflict and retaliatory killings. Snares laid to catch pigs and deer can also injure tigers and other wildlife. Tiger habitat is also being lost to palm oil plantations, which isolates populations from each other; this means that inbreeding becomes more severe, which in turn leaves individuals more susceptible to diseases.

The Global Tiger Initiative, a strategy which aims to double wild populations of every tiger species, was established in 2010. Actions resulting from this include habitat management, reducing poaching and illegal trade of tigers and engaging with local communities and indigenous communities. 20% of tiger habitats are now protected, although more action is needed to create wildlife corridors between populations. Nature’s SAFE stores samples to safeguard the future of this endangered flagship species.