The tiger (panthera tigris), largest of all cats, is one of the biggest and most fearome predators in the world. Powerfully built with fierce, retractible claws (they can be pulled into the paw, like a house cat's), the tiger's distinctive gold coloring with black stripes allows it to melt unseen into its environment. Tiger panthera tigris poachers habitat destruction trade in tiger bones for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) 500 pounds 3 yards from nose to tail Amur or Siberian P.t. altaica Far East Russia 445 Balian P.t. balica Bali 0 Javan P.t. sondaica Java 0 Caspian P.t. virgata Caspian Sea 0 Bengal P.t. tigris India 3159 Sumatran P.t. sumatrae India, Bangladesh 400 Amoy P.t. amoyensis South China 20 Indo-chinese P.t. corbetti Indo-China 1227