Per a discussion on the Discord server and another current thread, I used @TinoPup's Felids of the United States to make a comparison of where subspecific tigers can be found in the US. Here is the breakdown I have come up with so far; asterisks indicate non-AZA:
Amur Tiger, Panthera tigris altaica (42 AZA, 6 non-AZA)
*Alaska Zoo, AK
Blank Park Zoo, IA
Bramble Park Zoo, SD
Bronx Zoo, NY
Brookfield Zoo, IL
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, CO
Cleveland Zoo, OH
Columbus Zoo, OH
Como Park Zoo, MN
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo, CT
Denver Zoo, CO
Detroit Zoo, MI
*DeYoung Family Zoo, MI
Erie Zoo, PA
Great Plains Zoo, SD
Henry Vilas Zoo, WI
Hogle Zoo, UT
Idaho Falls Zoo, ID
Indianapolis Zoo, IN
John Ball Zoo, MI
*Lake Superior Zoo, MN
Lee Simmons Wildlife Safari, NE
Mesker Park Zoo, IN
Milwaukee County Zoo, WI
Minnesota Zoo, MN
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, NE
Oregon Zoo, OR
*Out of Africa, AZ
Peoria Zoo, IL
Philadelphia Zoo, PA
*Pittsburgh Zoo, PA
Potawatomi Zoo, IN
Potter Park Zoo, MI
Racine Zoo, WI
Riverbanks Zoo, SC
Riverside Discovery Center, NE
Rolling Hills Zoo, KS
Roosevelt Park Zoo, ND
Rosamond Gifford Zoo, NY
San Francisco Zoo, CA
Sedgwick County Zoo, KS
Seneca Park Zoo, NY
*Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, CA
*Six Flags Great Adventure, NJ
Smithsonian's National Zoo, DC
St. Louis Zoo, MO
Toledo Zoo, OH
Zoo Boise, ID
*ZooMontana, MT
Malayan Tiger, Panthera tigris jacksoni (24 AZA, 3 non-AZA)
ABQ BioPark, NM
Alexandria Zoo, LA
BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo, LA
Bronx Zoo, NY
Audubon Zoo, LA
Jacksonville Zoo, FL
Fort Worth Zoo, TX
Charles Paddock Zoo, CA
Cincinnati Zoo, OH
*DeYoung Family Zoo, MI
Dickerson Park Zoo, MO
*EFBC's Feline Conservation Center, CA
Ellen Trout Zoo, TX
El Paso Zoo, TX
Fresno Chaffee Zoo, CA
Houston Zoo, TX
Little Rock Zoo, AR
*Mystic Jungle, FL
Naples Zoo, FL
Reid Park Zoo, AZ
San Diego Zoo, CA
Sunset Zoo, KS
Tulsa Zoo, OK
Virginia Zoo, VA
Woodland Park Zoo, WA
ZooTampa, FL
Zoo Knoxville, TN
Sumatran Tiger, Panthera tigris sondaica/sumatrae (25 AZA, 1 non-AZA)
BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo, LA
Cameron Park Zoo, TX
Dallas Zoo, TX
Disney's Animal Kingdom, FL
Fort Wayne Children's Zoo, IN
*Hattiesburg Zoo, MS
Honolulu Zoo, HI
Jacksonville Zoo, FL
Kansas City Zoo, MO
Landry's Downtown Aquarium, CO
Lincoln Children's Zoo, NE
Los Angeles Zoo, CA
Louisville Zoo, KY
Memphis Zoo, TN
Miller Park Zoo, IL
Nashville Zoo, TN
Oklahoma City Zoo, OK
Phoenix Zoo, AZ
Point Defiance Zoo, WA
San Diego Safari Park, CA
San Francisco Zoo, CA
Smithsonian's National Zoo, DC
Topeka Zoo, KS
Zoo Miami, FL
Wildlife Safari, OR
Zoo Atlanta, GA
I additionally took note of AZA facilities that still hold generic tigers; nearly all tigers in non-accredited facilities are generic, but the majority in AZA zoos are now subspecific.
Generic Tiger (13 AZA)
Abilene Zoo, TX
Alexandria Zoo, LA
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, FL
Caldwell Zoo, TX
Chahinkapa Zoo, ND
Dakota Zoo, ND
Fort Worth Zoo, TX
Franklin Park Zoo, MA
Gladys Porter Zoo, TX
Landry's Downtown Aquarium, TX
Memphis Zoo, TN
Oakland Zoo, CA
Palm Beach Zoo, FL
Of note is how Amur tigers make up around ~50% of subspecific holdings, while Malayan and Sumatran appear to be split at around ~25% each (this is out of about ~100 holdings, including zoos that hold more than one). While this *isn't* an actual population count, it's probable that Amur tigers outnumber Sumatran and Malayan by a sizable margin.
Something else of interest is the divide between cold-weather states and warm-weather states: based on my rough definitions of the two, the overwhelming majority (~90%) of Amur Tiger holders are in cold-weather states, while ~80% of Malayan and ~60% of Sumatran are in warm-weather states. Overall, of the ~55 subspecific holders in cold-weather states ~75% hold the Amur subspecies; meanwhile, of the ~40 subspecific holders in warm-weather states ~90% hold the Sumatran and Malayan subspecies. Based on these numbers, it appears that the two tropical subspecies are competing for space in warm-weather zoos, while Amur has much of the northern half of the country to itself. Most of the remaining generic holders for AZA are also in warm-weather states, potentially increasing that competition between the two tropical subspecies.
Amur Tiger, Panthera tigris altaica (42 AZA, 6 non-AZA)
*Alaska Zoo, AK
Blank Park Zoo, IA
Bramble Park Zoo, SD
Bronx Zoo, NY
Brookfield Zoo, IL
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, CO
Cleveland Zoo, OH
Columbus Zoo, OH
Como Park Zoo, MN
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo, CT
Denver Zoo, CO
Detroit Zoo, MI
*DeYoung Family Zoo, MI
Erie Zoo, PA
Great Plains Zoo, SD
Henry Vilas Zoo, WI
Hogle Zoo, UT
Idaho Falls Zoo, ID
Indianapolis Zoo, IN
John Ball Zoo, MI
*Lake Superior Zoo, MN
Lee Simmons Wildlife Safari, NE
Mesker Park Zoo, IN
Milwaukee County Zoo, WI
Minnesota Zoo, MN
Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, NE
Oregon Zoo, OR
*Out of Africa, AZ
Peoria Zoo, IL
Philadelphia Zoo, PA
*Pittsburgh Zoo, PA
Potawatomi Zoo, IN
Potter Park Zoo, MI
Racine Zoo, WI
Riverbanks Zoo, SC
Riverside Discovery Center, NE
Rolling Hills Zoo, KS
Roosevelt Park Zoo, ND
Rosamond Gifford Zoo, NY
San Francisco Zoo, CA
Sedgwick County Zoo, KS
Seneca Park Zoo, NY
*Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, CA
*Six Flags Great Adventure, NJ
Smithsonian's National Zoo, DC
St. Louis Zoo, MO
Toledo Zoo, OH
Zoo Boise, ID
*ZooMontana, MT
Malayan Tiger, Panthera tigris jacksoni (24 AZA, 3 non-AZA)
ABQ BioPark, NM
Alexandria Zoo, LA
BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo, LA
Bronx Zoo, NY
Audubon Zoo, LA
Jacksonville Zoo, FL
Fort Worth Zoo, TX
Charles Paddock Zoo, CA
Cincinnati Zoo, OH
*DeYoung Family Zoo, MI
Dickerson Park Zoo, MO
*EFBC's Feline Conservation Center, CA
Ellen Trout Zoo, TX
El Paso Zoo, TX
Fresno Chaffee Zoo, CA
Houston Zoo, TX
Little Rock Zoo, AR
*Mystic Jungle, FL
Naples Zoo, FL
Reid Park Zoo, AZ
San Diego Zoo, CA
Sunset Zoo, KS
Tulsa Zoo, OK
Virginia Zoo, VA
Woodland Park Zoo, WA
ZooTampa, FL
Zoo Knoxville, TN
Sumatran Tiger, Panthera tigris sondaica/sumatrae (25 AZA, 1 non-AZA)
BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo, LA
Cameron Park Zoo, TX
Dallas Zoo, TX
Disney's Animal Kingdom, FL
Fort Wayne Children's Zoo, IN
*Hattiesburg Zoo, MS
Honolulu Zoo, HI
Jacksonville Zoo, FL
Kansas City Zoo, MO
Landry's Downtown Aquarium, CO
Lincoln Children's Zoo, NE
Los Angeles Zoo, CA
Louisville Zoo, KY
Memphis Zoo, TN
Miller Park Zoo, IL
Nashville Zoo, TN
Oklahoma City Zoo, OK
Phoenix Zoo, AZ
Point Defiance Zoo, WA
San Diego Safari Park, CA
San Francisco Zoo, CA
Smithsonian's National Zoo, DC
Topeka Zoo, KS
Zoo Miami, FL
Wildlife Safari, OR
Zoo Atlanta, GA
I additionally took note of AZA facilities that still hold generic tigers; nearly all tigers in non-accredited facilities are generic, but the majority in AZA zoos are now subspecific.
Generic Tiger (13 AZA)
Abilene Zoo, TX
Alexandria Zoo, LA
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, FL
Caldwell Zoo, TX
Chahinkapa Zoo, ND
Dakota Zoo, ND
Fort Worth Zoo, TX
Franklin Park Zoo, MA
Gladys Porter Zoo, TX
Landry's Downtown Aquarium, TX
Memphis Zoo, TN
Oakland Zoo, CA
Palm Beach Zoo, FL
Of note is how Amur tigers make up around ~50% of subspecific holdings, while Malayan and Sumatran appear to be split at around ~25% each (this is out of about ~100 holdings, including zoos that hold more than one). While this *isn't* an actual population count, it's probable that Amur tigers outnumber Sumatran and Malayan by a sizable margin.
Something else of interest is the divide between cold-weather states and warm-weather states: based on my rough definitions of the two, the overwhelming majority (~90%) of Amur Tiger holders are in cold-weather states, while ~80% of Malayan and ~60% of Sumatran are in warm-weather states. Overall, of the ~55 subspecific holders in cold-weather states ~75% hold the Amur subspecies; meanwhile, of the ~40 subspecific holders in warm-weather states ~90% hold the Sumatran and Malayan subspecies. Based on these numbers, it appears that the two tropical subspecies are competing for space in warm-weather zoos, while Amur has much of the northern half of the country to itself. Most of the remaining generic holders for AZA are also in warm-weather states, potentially increasing that competition between the two tropical subspecies.
Last edited: