Javan tiger facts

What lead to the extinction of the Javan tiger

The Javan tiger was once widespread on the island in the 18th and 19th centuries. In fact, they were considered so prolific by Dutch colonisers that bounties were offered to encourage their killing. Though local Javanese held a deep respect for these creatures, guided by ancient beliefs and superstitions, such reverence could not stem the tide of the killings.

The Dutch agricultural revolution in the late 1800s significantly hastened the tiger’s decline and by the late 19th century, the island was undergoing a transformation. By the 1940s, Tigers were pushed to the brink as most of Java’s forests had been converted into monoculture teak plantations, reducing the prey base and driving the remaining tigers to starvation. The depletion of prey also heightened human-tiger conflicts, as the big cats began to encroach on human settlements in search of food. By the early 20th century, the Javan tiger had retreated to the most remote corners of the island—places where humans could not easily follow.

Despite the establishment of reserves in the 1920s and 1930s, the Javan tiger continued to vanish from all but the most remote areas. By the 1940s, only a few remained in the mountainous regions of East Java. And by the 1970s, the last Javan tigers were clinging to survival in Meru Betiri National Park. In 1976, the final confirmed sighting of a Javan tiger was recorded and in 2003, the Javan tiger was officially listed as extinct on the IUCN Red List.

The Javan tiger’s extinction is a sobering reminder of our impact on the natural world and a call to action to protect what remains before more creatures are lost to history.

Female tiger killed at Besuki, Java, 1934. (Public domain)

Could the Javan tiger be rediscovered?

Over the years, hopeful reports of sightings have surfaced in various locations, including Banjarnegara, Kuningan, Mount Prau, Meru Betiri, Baluran National Park and the Sukabumi Cikepuh Wildlife Reserve. Alongside alleged sightings, other potential evidence has arisen such as mysterious footprints larger than those of the Javan leopard and claims of possible tiger predation of livestock.

Taken in 1938, this image captures one of the once abundant Javan tigers. Hunting drove the big cats to extinction. Andries Hoogerwerf

Most recently, in 2019, a local resident and conservationist reported a possible Javan tiger sighting in a community plantation in the forest of South Sukabumi, West Java. Close by, a hair was found on a fence between a road and the plantation, along with paw prints and claw marks that could have belonged to a tiger, potentially supporting the observation. The hair sample was sent for genetic testing, and initial analysis appeared promising. A research paper published in 2024 concluded that the sample belonged to a Javan tiger. Could it be that Javan tigers had survived, hiding in the shadows of Java’s forests?

The paper garnered widespread attention and sparked hope for the tiger’s survival, but the excitement was short-lived. Further examination revealed flaws in the initial analysis of the hair sample, raising doubts about the results. Since then, scientists have urged caution against considering the initial findings as confirmation of the tiger’s existence. So regrettably, for now, the Javan tiger remains officially extinct.

If the Javan tiger could indeed be found, it would be one of the most remarkable rediscoveries in natural history. However, even if a small, elusive population still exists, it is likely so fragmented and reduced that it would no longer be genetically viable to sustain a healthy breeding population.

So instead the legacy of the lost Javan tigers serves as a powerful call to action to protect the wild places and creatures that remain.

 The location where the putative Javan tiger P. tigris sondaica hair was found in the vicinity of Cipendeuy village, Sukabumi, West Java province, Indonesia. Wirdateti et al. (2024)