The Indigenous Range of the Tiger (Panthera tigris)

Indigenous range maps are fundamental documents in biogeography, phylogeny and conservation. We define the indigenous range of a species as ecoregions (or parts of ecoregions) where the species was likely found before humans became a major factor shaping the species' distribution, beginning at a time when the geographical alignment of the continents and the prevailing climate are (or at least were) roughly consistent with current conditions. We developed a structured, generally applicable method to map a species' indigenous range and applied this process to the tiger (Panthera tigris).