Tigers have lost an estimated 95% of their historical range. Their habitat has been destroyed, degraded, and fragmented by human activities. The clearing of forests for agriculture and timber, as well as the building of road networks and other development activities, pose serious threats to tiger habitats.

Tigers are found in amazingly diverse habitats: rain forests, grasslands, savannas and even mangrove swamps. Unfortunately, 93% of historical tiger lands have disappeared primarily because of expanding human activity.

Tigers, as solitary hunters, need very large wild territories to roam. Since 1998, tigers have lost 40% of their habitat and today occupy only about seven percent of their former range.

Big cats depend on big habitats—an especially tough proposition in Asia, a continent that’s home to more than 60% of the world’s people and is experiencing rapid habitat loss and fragmentation. Tigers need undisturbed areas with access to clean water and ample prey; an individual tiger’s home range can extend hundreds of square miles.

To safeguard tigers, we need to protect large swaths of forest across Asia where they live. By protecting these biologically diverse places, we can also preserve many other endangered species that live there. And, forests protected for tigers are known to store more carbon than other habitat types, helping to mitigate climate change.