About 400 wild Sumatran tigers are believed to exist, primarily in the island's five national parks. 210 captive animals live in zoos around the world. The Sumatran tiger has the darkest coat of all tigers. Its broad, black stripes are closely spaced and often doubled. Unlike the Siberian tiger, it has striped forelegs.
Sumatran tigers are the smallest tiger subspecies.
As elevation increases through submontain and montain forests, the number of tigers in any given area decreases because there is less prey available. Indonesia The historical documentation of tigers in Sumatra is sketchy. Since then, Sumatra has undergone much agricultural development, and subsequently tiger habitat has declined. In 1985, a survey of local forestry staff and people living near tiger areas estimated the distribution of tigers and tentatively identified 26 protected areas in Sumatra where tigers might live. If these habitats were completely saturated with tigers, there could be up to 800 Sumatran tigers.