Javan Tiger - Habitat and Ecology

Habitat and Ecology

At the end of the 18th century, tigers inhabited most of Java. Around 1850, the people living in the rural areas still considered them a plague. Until 1940, tigers had retreated to remote mountainous and forested areas. Around 1970, the only known tigers lived in the region of Mount Betiri, with an altitude of 1,192 metres (3,911 ft) the highest mountain in Java's southeast, which had not been settled due to the rugged and slopy terrain. In 1972, the 500 km2 (190 sq mi) area was gazetted as wildlife reserve. The last tigers were sighted there in 1976.

They preyed on rusa deer, banteng and wild boar, less often on water fowl and reptiles. Nothing is known about their gestation period, or life span in the wild and in captivity. Up to World War II, Javan tigers were kept in some Indonesian zoos, but these were closed down during the war. After the war, they were so rare already that it was easier to obtain Sumatran tigers.