The Largest and Strongest Tiger Species Of All Time Was A True Monster
By Emilio Brown,
25 days ago
Tigers are the largest big cats in the world, and currently, 6 subspecies remain in the wild. Three subspecies of tigers have gone extinct in the last 70 years, with more to come as their populations continue to decline. Unfortunately, all tiger species are endangered.
Their colors, size, and strength are why tigers are loved, and these majestic creatures have walked the earth for a few million years. Here you will learn about the largest and strongest tiger species ever to live, a monster of its time that lived thousands of years ago.
In any era of time, tigers are true apex predators and key animals in the habitats they live in. Long ago, tigers had to be very big to compete with the other large animals they lived with. Only known by a few fossils, the Ngangdong tiger is the largest and strongest tiger to ever grace the planet and went extinct thousands of years ago.
What is the Ngandong Tiger?
Long ago, tigers had to be very big to compete with the other large animals they lived with.
The Ngangdong tiger ( Panthera tigris soloensis) is an extinct subspecies of tiger that lived around 195,000 years ago during the first half of the Pleistocene epoch. Sundaland, Indonesia, and other areas of Southeast Asia are the range this large cat once lived in. Fossil evidence is how we know about this tiger. Their name is in reference to Ngandong village, where their remains were found.
No complete fossils of the Ngandong tiger have been discovered. We know about this extinct tiger subspecies from only 7 fossil remains. At the time of their excavation, other fossils from the same time period were discovered in the same area. Fossils found where this tiger species was uncovered include that of Rhinoceros sondaicus , Tapirus indicus, Elephas hysudrindicus, and Stegodon trigonoocephalus . Early human fossils of the Homo erectus were also found in the area near the Ngandong tiger, and it is believed they fed on many of these animals.
By the end of the Pleistocene period, the shifting climate from forests to grasslands, then back to rainforests, was one of the causes of the extinction of large megafauna.
Time Period of the Ngandong Tiger
The Fossils of the Ngandong tiger were found primarily near the village of Ngandong (Central Java, Indonesia).
The Pleistocene epoch is the time period in which the Ngandong tiger lived. Genetic research suggests this species became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene era, but it is unknown why. Giant hyenas, large tapir, rhinos, serows, and the gigantic ape Gigantophithecus are just a few megafaunas living in Southeast Asia during the Pleistocene epoch.
Climate change is theorized as the reason the Ngandong tiger went extinct. Southeast Asia’s forests were abundant in the early Pleistocene until grasslands became more dominant. By the end of the Pleistocene period, the shifting climate from forests to grasslands, then back to rainforests, was one of the causes of the extinction of large megafauna. Early humans may also have played a role in the Ngandong tiger’s extinction.
Size and Appearance
The Ngangdong tiger is estimated to have reached a weight of 800+ lbs and stood around 3.9 feet tall. They had a length of 8.5 feet or 13.5 feet, including their tail. With their size, the Ngandong tiger is the largest tiger species to ever exist. It is larger than today’s species, like the Siberian or Bengal tiger .
Ngandong Tiger Compared to Modern Tigers
Tigers come in many sizes, but since the Ngandong tiger lived alongside other giants, it grew much larger. Tigers are sexually dimorphic, and like most other big cats, males grow to be much larger than females.
Most tigers are on the verge of becoming extinct, and if not protected, they may end up like the ancient giant tiger that once lived. Poaching was originally one of the main reasons modern tigers have become extinct. The main problem that tigers face now is habitat loss, with an estimated 95% loss of their historical range.
Humans have destroyed tigers’ habitats by building infrastructure and clearing forests. Some estimates have tigers becoming extinct within only a few decades. Maintaining the natural forests tigers live in are the only way to preserve them in the wild.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Local News
