Population of critically endangered Sumatran tiger in decline
- Erica Pandey, author of Axios Finish Line
Young male tiger in Gunung Leuser National Park, pictured in 2014. Photo: Matthew Scott Luskin
The population of Sumatran tigers — a subspecies of tiger found on the Indonesian island of Sumatra — fell 16.6% from 2000 to 2012, New Scientist reports. Only 400-500 tigers remain, according to the New York Times. The Sumatran tiger is critically endangered due to poaching and deforestation, which has left the animal with just a few places to live. The two are linked, with loggers clearing away trees in forests and creating paths for poachers to hunt tigers.
"We're really at a tipping point in terms of how much habitat is left that tigers need for their long-term survival," Matthew Luskin of the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore told the New Scientist. Over the past two decades, there has been a concerted effort to protect tigers in Indonesia from extinction.