The oldest tiger fossils from Java date from 1.2 million years ago. This prehistoric tiger, Panthera tigris trinilensis, was found at the locality of Trinil, which also yielded the oldest human remains of the island, the famous Java-man. These tiger fossils are now stored in the Dubois Collection of the National Museum of Natural History in Leiden, the Netherlands. Although these fossils have been found on Java, they probably do not belong to a direct ancestor of the Javan tiger. During the Ice Ages the larger Indonesian islands were regularly connected to the mainland, which allowed faunal exchanges. The last time such immigration occurred was during the late Pleistocene, some 50.000 years ago. Tigers, which probably migrated from China, reached Java again. As the sea level rose, the tiger population became isolated and finally developed into the Javan subspecies. (Van den Hoek Ostende. 1999)
In the early 19th century Javan tigers were so common all over Java, that in some areas they were considered nothing more than pests. As the human population rapid increased, large parts of the island were cultivated, leading inevitably to a severe reduction of their natural habitat. Wherever man moved in, the Javan tigers were ruthlessly hunted down or poisoned. The Javan tiger experienced growing competition for prey species with wild dogs and leopards. Natives carried much of the hunting out, a surprising thing since they considered the tiger a reincarnation of their dead relatives. By 1940, tigers had become restricted to remote mountain ranges and forests. In the mid-1950s only 20-25 Javan tigers remained on Java. During the 1960s the Javan tiger even disappeared from the famous Ujung Kulon reserve on the western tip of Java, where nowadays the last Javan rhinoceroses live. The last stronghold of the Javan tiger was a rugged area in southeastern Java, known as Meru-Betiri, which had become a game reserve in 1972. It was considered this tiger's last chance for survival. However, even it was declared a reserve, the area was under attack by agricultural development. A track count revealed that in 1979 at most three Javan tigers where still living there. The Javan tiger has not been seen or tracked since. The exact time of extinction remains unknown, but this subspecies must have become extinct in the early 1980s. (Van den Hoek Ostende. 1999)
Occasional reports still surface of few tigers to be found in East Java. Meri-Betiri National Park, the least accessible area of the island, is located here and considered the most likely area for any remaining Javan tigers. Despite the continuing claims of sightings it is far more likely that the Javan tiger has become extinct. The 'tigers' are quite likely to be leopards seen from a distance.Some agencies are carrying out experiments using infrared activated remote cameras in an effort to photograph any tigers. Authorities are even prepared to initiate the move of several thousand natives should tiger protection require this. But until concrete evidence can be produced, the Javan tiger must be considered yet another subspecies of the tiger to be extinct and lost forever.
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