The Sunda tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) is a critically endangered subspecies of tiger. Known for its distinct appearance, including darker fur and closely spaced, broad black stripes, it is a significant indicator of ecosystem health.
Current Geographic Range
Today, all remaining Sunda tigers are found exclusively on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. They persist in small, fragmented populations across the island. These areas span from the coastal lowland forests of Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in southern Sumatra to the dense mountain forests of Gunung Leuser National Park in the north. The largest known subpopulation resides within Kerinci Seblat National Park, located in western Sumatra.
Preferred Habitats
Sunda tigers inhabit a variety of environments within Sumatra, primarily favoring uncultivated forest areas. These include tropical broadleaf evergreen forests, freshwater swamp forests, and peat swamps. They tend to use areas with higher elevation, lower annual rainfall, and those farther from forest edges and closer to forest centers. They prefer forests with dense understory cover and steep slopes, which provides camouflage and hunting grounds. Tigers avoid areas with high human influence, such as settlements.
Historical Distribution and Range Contraction
The Sunda tiger’s current limited distribution on Sumatra represents a significant contraction from its historical range, as this subspecies once roamed across several parts of the Sunda Islands in Indonesia. Historically, the Sunda tiger group included populations on other islands, notably the Javan tiger and Bali tiger, both now extinct. These tiger populations colonized the Sunda Islands during the last glacial period, approximately 110,000 to 12,000 years ago. Over time, their territory shrunk, leaving Sumatra as the sole remaining island where this subspecies survives. The Javan tiger, for instance, inhabited most of Java but was pushed to remote montane areas before its extinction.
Threats to Their Living Space
The living space of the Sunda tiger is threatened. A primary driver of habitat loss is the rapid expansion of agriculture, particularly for palm oil and other plantations like acacia and rubber. These monoculture plantations replace diverse forest ecosystems, offering minimal value for tigers and their prey. Between 1985 and 2014, Sumatra’s forest cover significantly decreased from 58% to just 26%, largely due to this conversion. Urban development, illegal logging, and infrastructure projects further degrade and fragment their habitats. This habitat fragmentation isolates tiger populations, disrupting their breeding and feeding patterns and increasing their vulnerability.