Extinction seems to be a more fluid concept than it once seemed. Science and Industry are working to “De-extinct” wooly mammoths and Thylacines (Tasmanian Tigers). Meanwhile a number of officially extinct species have been rediscovered. Extinct Java tigers (Panthera tigris sondaica) may be the next to be rediscovered.
According to Phys.org the future of the extinct Java tiger can be said to be hanging by a thread, or in this case a single hair. The hair was found clinging to a fence off of which a tiger was said to have jumped in 2019.
Java, Bali and Sumatra were the homes of the three island tigers. Only Sumatra is known to have a surviving population and it is critically endangered. Bali tigers died out in 1937 and the Java tigers are thought to have been gone since the 1970’s.
According to Phys.org:
“Scientists from Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) along with conservationists discovered genetic traces of the Javan tiger in a single hair found near a West Java village in 2019, according to a study published by Cambridge University Press.
“The Environment and Forestry Ministry appreciates the research… there are several actions that we are doing and will do to respond to the results,” said Satyawan Pudyatmoko, head of conservation at the environment and forestry ministry.
He said those measures included setting up camera traps, inviting genetics experts to help authorities conduct further research and tests, and collecting community data.”
Authorities promised that surviving Java tigers would receive immediate protection.
Tigers in the wild face an uncertain future. Many more tigers exist in zoos and private hands than in the wild. The 13 tiger habitat countries have all pledged to try and double the number of wild tigers, currently thought to number under 5,000. Russia, India, Nepal, and Bhutan are among countries with success in tiger . conservation. China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are among the countries with a bleaker outlook. Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaya have small populations.
India has about two-thirds of the world’s tigers On Sumatra DNA science is being used to help protect the approximately 400 tigers on the island.
Tiger genetic studies have recently changed the way the animals are classified. Instead of 7 to 9 subspecies the field has been narrowed to two. Mainland tigers are Panthera tigris tigris and the island tigers are Panthera tigris Sondaica. The extinct Caspian tiger is now seen to be virtually identical to the Siberian tiger. That animal is now classified with the Bengal tiger and other mainland tigers.
The reclassification may serve to protect any extinct Java tigers found. It could aid conservation. For example, If tigers from India and South China are recognized as genetically identical Indian tigers could be transplanted to China where they are likely extinct.