It is said that the tiger's earliest habitat was in northeastern Asia, and later to the east and north as far as the Far East at the junction of China and Russia, west to India and Bangladesh in the South Asian subcontinent, and south to the Sunda Islands, forming 9 subspecies. In the dense rainforest of Bali, Indonesia, there was once a group of small mini tigers, the Balinese tiger, which was one of them.
In the past five years, experts have been proposing new classification standards for tigers, and they have changed the subspecies of tigers from 9 to 2, and The Balinese, Javanese and Sumatran tigers belong to the Sunda tiger. In this way, about 500 Sumatran tigers can be used to support the Bali tiger population, and the Bali tiger did not perish, but disappeared in Bali.
<h1>01 Controversy: The number of subspecies of tigers has changed from 9 to 2, and the Balinese tiger belongs to the Sunda tiger and has not perished? </h1>
According to the journal Science Advances, German scientists have compared skull measurements, fur patterns, ecology and genetic characteristics of tigers and concluded that there are only two subspecies of tigers: the Sunda tiger formed by the Sumatran tiger and the Javanese tiger and the Bari tiger, and the continental tiger that contains other tigers.
In fact, as early as 1969, the uniqueness of the Balinese tiger was questioned. Experts from the morphological analysis of several tiger skulls from Bali showed that the size change was similar to that of the Javan tiger skull, and there was no significant difference in the hue and stripe pattern of the Balinese tiger and the Javan tiger fur.
By 2015, studies had suggested that all tiger subspecies on the Asian continent should be merged, and that tigers that originally existed in the Sunda Islands should be unified.
In recent years, the results of the Luo Shujin research group at Peking University have also shown that both the Javan tiger and the Balinese tiger are closely related to the existing Sumatran tiger, indicating that the three island populations originate from a relatively recent common ancestor population, forming geographical isolation and subspecies differentiation after the late glacial period.
In biological research, the concept of "subspecies" is not clear and easy to implement. But a meaningful definition of subspecies needs to be able to reflect true "separation," and two tigers belonging to different subspecies should have more genetic differences than two tigers within the same subspecies.
Using molecular data to speculate on evolutionary history relies on comparing relative differences across multiple genomes. If the genome sequences of two tigers differ less, it means that they are less differentiated and more closely related. For tiger species, there are no significant morphological differences between these subspecies historically defined.
American geneticist O'Brien said it was reasonable to synthesize 3 Sunda subspecies into one subspecies, but the Continental Tiger showed enough genetic differences to be divided into 6 different subspecies.
<h1>02 Form: The world's smallest tiger, smaller than the jaguar, only 1/2 of the Size of the Siberian tiger, the most like to prey on iguanas</h1>
The Balinese tiger belongs to the genus Leopard in the family Cats, hence the name for its habitat in Bali. In addition to the Javanese and Sumatran tigers, the Balinese tiger is the third subspecies of tigers (traditionally divided) that lives in Indonesia and is the smallest known tiger in the world.
The Balinese tiger looks almost like other tigers, but is smaller. It weighs only about 1/3 of the Siberian tiger (Siberian tiger), less than 1/2 of its body size, and even weighs less than the jaguar.
According to measurements of the surviving specimens in the museum, the male tiger is about 220-230 cm long, the skull is about 30 cm long, 21 cm wide, and weighs 90-100 kg, which is about 20-30 kg smaller than the Sumatran tiger; the female tiger is about 190-210 cm long, the skull is 26 cm long, 17.6 cm wide, and weighs 65-80 kg.
Tigers have well-developed canine teeth, even the smallest Balinese tiger, the female tiger has an exposed part of the canine teeth up to 4 cm long, the male tiger can reach about 5 cm, and some even reach 5.7 cm. Balinese tigers also have toe pads on their feet like domestic cats, in order to make as little noise as possible during ambushes.
The Balinese tiger is covered with short hairs, and the cheek hair and whiskers on the face are longer than those of other tigers. The distinctive black stripes on the orange-yellow fur have fewer stripes than other subspecies of tigers, with wider spacing and darker colors, and occasionally small black spots between the stripes. The head of the Balinese tiger also has a special transverse stripe: only a single horizontal stripe on the forehead, and 3 pairs of short stripes on the top of the head and on each side.
Tigers are not as accustomed to living in groups as lions. Adult Balinese tigers generally live alone, and only when they reach the estrus period do the male and female get together, and once mating is complete, they return to their respective homes. However, the tigress is not so relaxed, and she still has to give birth to a cub with a tiger cub.
Bali is home to many mangroves, dunes and savannah vegetation, and the species resources are still relatively rich. Tigers living in Bali have few natural predators, they are the top predators of the island's food chain, whether they swim in the water, fly in the sky, or run on the ground, Balinese tigers can change their taste at any time they want to eat. However, Balinese tigers still like to prey on local iguanas and raw chickens.
<h1>03 History: Bali lived for nearly 70,000 years and was eventually extinct</h1>
75,000 years ago, the global climate cooled, causing the extinction of the original tigers in the Sunda Islands. 67,000 years ago, the Sunda tiger (Sumatran tiger, Javanese tiger and Bali tiger) moved from indochina into the Sunda Islands and began to reproduce. Experts estimate that 12,000 years ago, during the last ice age, the number of Balinese tigers increased in Bali.
Until the 19th century, Bali was isolated. Balinese tigers live freely in the tropical rainforests of Bali, where water and food are plentiful, making them a paradise for Balinese tigers. Although Bali was already inhabited at that time, there were relatively few indigenous people here, and people and tigers were bounded by tropical rainforests and did not disturb each other.
At the beginning of the 19th century, with the expansion of humans, the territory of tigers was constantly decreasing, and people invaded the living space of Bali tigers, and of course, Bali tigers would not let people go, and the threat to people was further increased.
From the middle of the 19th century, Europeans set foot on this land, everything here began to become unrecognizable, but the living environment became more and more severe, and a "human-tiger war" began. The Europeans were armed with muskets, and under the siege of various traps and weapons, the Balinese tiger was in danger.
At the beginning of the 20th century, humans hunted Bali tigers under the guise of threatening human life, but the Dutch found that the fur, meat and even bones of Bali tigers had very high economic value: the fur of Bali tigers could be sold at a good price in the market, and its bones were also very popular in Taiwan and other places, often used as wine and medicinal herbs.
Under the greed of human beings, large-scale hunting operations began. If any hunter finds a wild Balinese tiger, it is like finding a gold mine, so that the number of Bali tigers that are already small has dropped dramatically, and gradually, wild Bali tigers can hardly be found in Bali.
Finally, in September 1937, the last Balinese tiger was shot, marking the disappearance of wild tigers in Bali.
<h1>epilogue</h1>
Hopefully, there will be more big cats that can be freely active in the wild.
Is it reasonable for scientists to classify Balinese, Javanese and Sumatran tigers as Sunda tigers?
Snow Spirit Valley Animal Lab/Production
Image source: wikipedia
References: China Science Daily, Journal of Scientific Progress, Journal of Nature