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Kang, A.; Xie, Y.; Tang, J.; Sanderson, E.W.; Ginsberg, J.R.; Zhang, E.
Historic distribution and recent loss of tigers in China
2010 Integrative Zoology (5): 335-341
Historical records can provide important evidence of changes in distributions of wildlife species. Here we discuss the distribution of the tiger (_Panthera tigris Linnaeus_, 1758) over the past 2000 years in China based on 2635 historical records. We also compare tiger distributions outlined in these records with ecosystem type maps. Throughout this time period, tigers maintained a broad distribution across 7 biomes (from forests to deserts). However, in recent decades the range has been significantly condensed. Today, only 2 populations remain, neither of which is independently viable. Tigers have completely disappeared from the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of central China, a region that was traditionally their most important biome in China.
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