Population and Threats
According to government estimates of national tiger populations, the subspecies population numbers around a total of 350 individuals. More than half of the total population is found in the Western Forest Complex in Thailand, especially in the area of the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary. All existing populations are at extreme risk from poaching, prey depletion due to poaching of deer and wild pigs, habitat fragmentation and inbreeding. In 2009 the last known wild Indochinese tiger in China was killed and eaten by nearby villagers from the village of Mengla.
In Vietnam, almost three-quarters of the tigers killed provide stock for Chinese pharmacies. Tigers are seen by poor natives as a resource through which they can ease poverty.
The tiger's numbers will be difficult to increase unless residents can view a live tiger as more valuable than a dead one. Some are starting to realize this and are hoping to use the tiger as a draw for ecotourism.
Read more about this topic: Indochinese Tiger
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