Planning tiger recovery: understanding intraspecific variation for effective conservation

This study argued that tigers are best treated as just two subspecies, a continental form and a Sunda-island form, rather than the traditional six or nine. Reanalyzing morphological, ecological, molecular, and biogeographic data together, the authors found limited support for finer subdivisions and contended that excessive splitting hampers conservation by isolating already small populations and constraining managed gene flow. The proposed Panthera tigris tigris (mainland) and Panthera tigris sondaica (Sunda) scheme was influential and shaped the Cat Classification Task Force decision to adopt a two-subspecies arrangement. The paper sits at the center of the tiger taxonomy debate, championing a lumping view explicitly motivated by conservation pragmatism, and it sparked ongoing discussion about whether management or distinctiveness should drive subspecies recognition.