It is estimated that there are no more than 300 left in the wild. There are many more in captivity than there are roaming free. Historically, eight closely related sub-species of tigers lived extensively in Russia, China, Korea, Southeast Asia, India, and Nepal. Presently, only five sub-species remain and are found primarily in tropical environments in Southeast Asia, India, and Nepal. Siberian tigers, the largest of the sub-species and the largest cats in the world, are found only in the Russian Far East and Northeast China.
Siberian tigers differ form other tigers in a number of ways.
Most importantly, they are the only tigers that live in cold weather. To help keep warm, their light yellow hair coat is long and thick, and their feet are heavily furred to help them walk on the snow. Tigers that live in warmer climates have darker, much thinner hair coats. It is believed that the ancestors of all tigers originated in Central Asia, not far from the present distribution of Siberian tigers. From there, they divided into present day sub-species and migrated over time to more tropical settings.