Panthera tigris ( Linnaeus, 1758 )

Jo, Yeong-Seok, Baccus, John T. & Koprowski, John L., 2018, Mammals of Korea: a review of their taxonomy, distribution and conservation status, Zootaxa 4522 (1), pp. 1-216 : 82

Panthera tigris ( Linnaeus, 1758) —Tiger

Felis tigris Linnaeus, 1758 p.41 ; Type locality- Bengal; Won, 1968 p.315.

F. tigris coreensis Brass, 1904 p.4 ; Type locality- Korea; Kuroda, 1938 p.40; Won, 1958 p.442; Won, 1967 p.148; Won, 1968 p.315.

Tigris mikodoi Satunin, 1915 p.16 ; Type locality- Korea (Nomen nudum).

Panthera tigris coreensis: Kishida & Mori, 1931 p.379 ; Tate, 1947 p.194; Ellerman & Morrison-Scott, 1951 p.318.

P. tigris longipilis: Tate, 1947 p.193 ( Mongolia, Manchuria, Korea and Siberia).

P. tigris altaica: Corbet, 1978 p.184 ; Yoon, 1994 p.118.

P. tigris: Corbet, 1978 p.184 ; Han, 1994 p.46; Won & Smith, 1999 p.21; Oh, 2004a p.160.

Range: The original distribution of the tiger ranged over all the Korean Peninsula. The population declined significantly during the Japanese incursion (1910–1945). Whether tigers remain in South Korea has been the subject of much discussion. Although some mammalogists believe that a few individuals might remain around Mt. Baekdu, no hard evidence has confirmed their presence ( Fig. 52 ). American soldiers reported tigers in the demilitarized zone (DMZ), even white tigers, but these purported sightings lack supporting evidence ( Brady 2008). Although Kim et al. (2015) reported tigers in Mt. Baekdu, the supporting evidence for tigers in North Korea is currently lacking.

Remarks: Recent mtDNA analyses resulted in coreensis being a synonym of P. t. altaica ( Lee et al. 2012) .

Conservation status: The Ministry of Environment of South Korea listed P. tigris as an endangered species in 1997. Also, the North Korean Government selected three tiger habitats (Mt. Baekdu, Mt. Chuae and Wagal-peak) as Natural Monuments in 1981. The tiger became extinct in South Korea, and the status remains uncertain in North Korea ( Jo & Baccus 2016). Since tigers still inhabit areas of Far East Russia just north of the border with North Korea, the possibility of tigers crossing the Duman River into Korea still exists. The North Korean Government listed this species as ‘Endangered’, and the Red Data Book for South Korea registered the tiger as ‘Regionally Extinct’ (MAB National Committee of DPR Korea 2002; NIBR 2012). This species is listed on CITES Appendix I.

Figures

FIGURE 52. Range map of Panthera tigris in Korea.