SACRED TIGERS
Monks inspecting artwork at the Tashi Choling Monastery
in Bhutan © Emmanuel Rondeau/WWF-UK
OVERVIEW
Fewer than 6,500 tigers remain in the wild and in only a fraction of their historical range. In conservation science, the tiger is seen as an apex species that help stabilise ecosystems, with countless benefits for water, species and forest conservation.
The last remaining wild tigers exist in some of the most religious countries in the world. In these countries, the tiger is also viewed through a spiritual lens. Recognising the spiritual values of tigers and other species to the communities who live alongside them can be critical to their conservation. What if we understood better how local communities value nature and support their ways of protecting it?
'Do not cut down the forest with its tigers and do not banish the tigers from the forest. The tiger perishes without the forest, and the forest perishes without its tigers. Therefore, the tiger should stand guard over the forest and the forest should protect all its tigers.'
The Mahabharata, Book 5, the Udyoga Parva (the Book of Effort)
Learn more
MAPPING THE TIGER'S RANGE
There are estimated to be just 5,574 tigers in the wild, according to figures released by the Global Tiger Forum in July 2023, and they remain in less than 8% of their historical range.
But if tigers completely disappeared, we'd be losing so much more than an iconic species, writes Tom Gray for WWF. 'Tiger habitats overlap nine of Asia’s most important watersheds which supply water to more than 800 million people,' he says.
'Protecting these tiger forests is the most cost-effective way to prevent droughts, reduce flooding, and limit the impacts of climate change. Protected Areas are proven to reduce deforestation and across Asia tigers are the driving force behind creating and effectively managing protected areas.'​​
KEY RELIGIONS IN TIGER COUNTRIES
BANGLADESH
89.9% Muslim, 9% Hindu
INDONESIA
87% Muslim, 10% Christian
NEPAL
81% Hindu, 10% Buddhist
BHUTAN
75% Buddhist, 23% Hindu
MYANMAR
80% Buddhist, 8% Christian
RUSSIA
73% Christian, 10% Muslim
INDIA
80% Hindu, 14% Muslim
MALAYSIA
64% Muslim, 18% Buddhist,
THAILAND
93% Buddhist, 5% Muslim
Figures sourced from the Pew-Templeton Global Religious Figures Project.
The spiritual link to sacred ecology
SACRED TIGERS
Traditional beliefs that have been part of Bhutan's heritage for generations play a significant role in stewarding the country's approach to tiger conservation.
Watch this Sacred Tigers video created by WWF Bhutan, with support from the Rufford Foundation, to know more about the sacred traditions and cultures associated with tigers and how local communities live alongside this majestic big cat in the wild.
Deepening our cultural understanding
TIGERS & TRADITIONAL COMMUNITIES
Tigers have held a mythical status and a spiritual significance in many traditional communities for thousands of years – some of the earliest depictions of tigers are found in the rock art of central India dating back nearly 10,000 years. In India, the tiger is often depicted as the vehicle of deities such as Shiva Durga, and represents power and immortality, while in Bhutan the tiger has been considered a sacred species since the 8th century. ​
What if we understood better how local communities value nature and support their ways of protecting it?
Statue of the Hindu deity Lord Shiva meditating on a tiger skin, Rishikesh, India
This is what some conservationists say:
'Deepening our cultural understanding of traditional societies can help in the design and effective delivery of conservation measures that are compatible with local customs and practices'
​​
'Stories that overlap with indigenous beliefs can also promote more efficient conservation-related communication, for people often respond better to emotions, traditions, and cultural beliefs than scientific facts'
SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH TIGERS IN DIFFERENT CULTURES
The tiger and Buddhism
BHUTAN
Tigers are revered in Bhutan not only for their ecological significance but also for their place in the Bhutanese spiritual ethos. ​Bhutan’s special relationship with the tiger can be traced back as early as the 8th century where the majestic cat has been associated with many great divinities.
The most famous legend is the one of Guru Rinpoche (also known as the Second Buddha) flying on a tigress to a cave on a sheer rockface to meditate and subdue the evil spirits residing in the locality.
The cave became the site for the Taktsang (Tigers Nest) Monastery, an iconic landmark and sacred Buddhist site in Bhutan (pictured).
The tiger in Buddhist symbolism
​In Buddhist symbolism, the Tiger is also the only living member of the four protective animals of Buddhism – Sing (mythical snow lion), Chung (mythical Garuda), Druk (mythical dragon) and Tag (tiger) and is ubiquitously depicted in Buddhist art such as scroll paintings that are used for worship as well as wall paintings in monasteries and homes, as shown in this page's main image, above.
A champion of tiger conservation
​Bhutan is the smallest of the 13 tiger range countries but it is quickly becoming one of champions of tiger conservation. Tigers in Bhutan thrive in the dense subtropical forests in the south. However, it has also left its tracks in the snows of the Himalayas at elevations up to 4000 meters above sea level - making them the highest altitude tigers in the world.
​
In 2014, Bhutan launched the country’s first ever nation-wide tiger survey, fully led by a team of Bhutanese researchers. The survey found that Bhutan was a home to a staggering 103 wild tigers. This population estimate is believed to have the highest probability of long-term persistence in the world (IUCN). Most recently, a female tigress that was spotted during the 2014 tiger survey and went undetected for seven years was captured on camera traps again with three healthy cubs.
The tiger in Hinduism
INDIA
In India, home to the greatest number of wild tigers, the tiger is often depicted as the vehicle of deities such as Shiva Durga, and represents power and immortality. The tiger is also connected with the deity revered in the Sabarimala region of South India, Lord Ayyappa. At least 10 million pilgrims visit the Lord Ayyappa Temple in the Periyar tiger reserve in south India during the three-month festival season (November to January). Find out more about Hindu pilgrimage and tiger reserves on our Green Pilgrimage page.
In certain regions of India, such as Bengal and the North-East, Karnataka and Maharashtra, revering the tiger is an important part of cultural practices. The Tiger Dance takes place during the Hindu festival of Dusshera in October – when Lord Rama defeated the demon King Ravana. The Dance is held in honour of the Goddess Durga and features men with their bodies painted in yellow and black.
​
In the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Reserve in the Western Ghats in India, the resident Soligas tribe consider tigers sacred. Researchers found that when the tribes were evicted from the reserve, it led to localised extinction in tiger populations.
They concluded that by supporting the tribe in securing land rights inside the reserve, tigers survived due to the tribe’s reverence of the animals. ​Read more in the 2020 paper by Dr Shadi Atallah: Worshipping the Tiger: Modeling Non-use Existence Values of Wildlife Spiritual Services
Painting dated 1660-1670 showing the goddess Varahi (the boar incarnation of Vishnu) riding a tiger. San Diego Museum of Art.
WORSHIPPING THE TIGER: PODCAST
In this podcast from the Center for the Economics of Sustainability at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, host Katy Mosiman talks to Shadi Atallah, Associate Professor in the University's Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, about his 2020 paper on forest conservation and its links with the spiritual practices of forest tribes in India.
Read the paper here: Worshipping the Tiger Modeling non-use Existence Values of Wildlife Spiritual Services
BR HILLS TIGER RESERVE: TV INTERVIEW
This 2016 NDTV episode looks at the relationship between tigers and indigenous peoples in the Biligiriranga Hills (BR Hills) in India's south-western Karnataka state. The area is highly bio-diverse and has a rich biological wildlife corridor which goes from Karnataka across into the Tamil Nadu.
What also makes the BR Hills unique is that it is the only tiger reserve where the indigenous communities have the right to their land. Reporter Swati Thiyagarajan looks at what this might mean for the future of tigers in this landscape.
The tiger and indigenous belief systems
MYANMAR
In southeastern Myanmar’s mountainous Karen State, the indigenous Karen people believe in the existence of different spirits that live in the forest. So writes WWF Mekong Advisor Bram Steenhuisen in Sacred Forests of Asia: Spiritual Ecology and the Politics of Nature Conservation (Routledge, 2021).
Bram Steenhuisen writes that: 'Spirits are seen as guardians of the forest, and as a result, restrictions exist related to how often, how many, and which species of animals and trees can be taken from the forest. This belief is prevalent amongst both Christian and Buddhist Karen.'
​
He found that spirits are believed to at times take on different physical forms, often a tiger. As two female farmers told him: 'If you see a tiger, it is a spirit that reveals itself in the image of a tiger.'
​
Similar beliefs are held by the Indigenous Tangshang communities in northern Myanmar's Nagaland, many of whom are now Christian or Buddhist but still hold animist beliefs. 'The spirits of our ancestors reside within the tigers,' explained Project Officer Nwan, who works for the local CSO N-Ca. 'When they visit us in dreams, they come in the form of a tiger.'
​
This reverence has been passed down through generations, symbolised by wooden tiger totems found in many Tangshan villages, representing strength and protection. If a Tangshan person becomes lost in the forest, they may ask for help and to be guided home by a tiger. ​​
Depiction of a tiger at a Buddhist monastery in Kawkareik, Karen State, Myanmar. Credit: Bram Steenhuisen, 2020
The last tiger
CAMBODIA
Cambodia no longer has tigers – and this loss has wider implications for the country's forests and wildlife, says WWF's Tom Gray in his article, What does the world gain when we protect tigers?, for WWF.
​​He explains: 'Here in Cambodia, where I photographed the country’s last wild tiger in November 2007, tiger spirits were used by Indigenous communities to help regulate the management of forests and wildlife.
​
​'Harvesting of valuable plants was only permitted in certain times of the year and only after the tiger spirits had been appeased. Failure to adhere would result in wild tigers stalking you in the forest.
'However, with the extinction of the tiger, the spirits have vanished, and the forests become an open free-for-all.'​
Living with Tigers Report, WWF, 2022
WWF's Living with Tigers Report (2022) says that in Cambodia, in the Cardamom Mountains, 'local people believed that spirits associated with tigers bite those who violate taboos on forest use. As tiger populations were extirpated by poaching, these belief systems became ineffective and a new belief arose that violators were punished by crop damage caused by wild pigs and other animals. Nevertheless, the association between tiger, spirits and their role in forest use remains strong and could be important for coexistence if tigers return to Cambodia'.
​
Researchers further explain Indigenous beliefs in the Cardamom Mountains: 'Overall, three types of tigers are found in Somrai and Chong villages. The first is the tiger that punishes violators of taboos on the traditional use of the forest. This type is commonly found in both Somrai and Chong villages.
'The second, the spirit tiger, is summoned during a ceremony and possesses a medium. This belief has only been confirmed among the Somrai and has not been found among the Chong. The final type is a tiger that physically attacks a human and/or whose population in the mountains is countable, which is equivalent to the English term 'tiger' (Panthera tigris)." (Ishibashi et al, 2015)
The tiger in indigenous and Islamic beliefs
INDONESIA
In a 2024 Sacred Tigers assessment from West Sumatra, WWF and UNAS found that local villagers, whose faith is a mixture of traditional and Islamic beliefs, have positive spiritual and cultural relationships with tigers. Villagers view the tiger as ancestors, as spiritual protectors, and manifestations of the divine, and as such afford tigers great respect.
WWF's Living with Tigers Report (2022) also cites a belief from Sumatra that if tigers killed someone who had committed adultery, this was their role as an enforcer of a moral code.
Learning the tiger-inspired martial art, pencak silattiger, is a rite of passage for local youth, and there are even stories of certain tigers that have the ability to recite the Qur'an. At least in part due to these positive beliefs & values, there is very low incidents of tiger-human conflict in West Sumatra.​​​
Extract from WWF's Living with Tigers Report (2022)
'The religious and cultural significance of tigers can impact tolerance and be an important factor in coexistence.
​
'For example, in Sumatra, tolerance to tigers has been attributed to an Islamic prohibition on eating animals that hunt with claws, and the Kerincinese and Minangkabau peoples have a long history of losing kin to tigers.
​
'Tolerance for these losses has developed with a spiritual connection to animals, and the belief that ancestral souls are embodied within tigers. These tigers serve as guardians of customary laws and punish those who transgress moral codes; as a result, victims of HTC (human-tiger conflict) are stigmatised as being punished by the guardians.'​
– Box 3, page 33, Living with Tigers Report
WWF, DiversEarth & local partners
SACRED TIGERS PROJECT
One of the biggest shortcomings of traditional tiger protection strategies is that the voices of people living with tigers are seldom incorporated into tiger conservation policy, strategy and delivery (WWF’s Living With Tigers Report, 2022). This oversight undermines conservation impact.
​
As wild tiger populations expand, co-existence can be challenging for Indigenous peoples and local communities due to predation of tigers on livestock, or the danger they pose to humans. Without support from these communities, however, tiger conservation will inevitably fail. Integrating community rights, knowledge and partnerships into conservation strategies and decision making is a prerequisite for effective tiger conservation and population recovery. This project helps bring the voices, aspirations, and cultures of the people living with tigers firmly to the core of our approach.
As the range of the tiger spans some of the most religious countries of the world, most communities sharing space with tigers have deeply rooted cultural and spiritual beliefs relating to the tiger. This varies greatly in Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Christian and Indigenous communities. The spiritual beliefs and values of these societies impact the way they perceive and value the tiger, which in turn can impact their tolerance for co-existence.
​
In this project, we aim to:​
-
Understand the significance of tigers spiritually and culturally in tiger landscapes where human-tiger conflict is high;
-
Capture these community perspectives/stories on tiger-human relationships from a spiritual and traditional lens and share on local, national and international platforms;
-
Strengthen community partnerships and begin dialogue that will ultimately lead to the co-design of conservation strategies based on local spiritual and cultural beliefs, values and practices related to tigers;
-
Share learnings with other tiger range countries, and with the global community to integrate into programmes for other sacred species.
Find partners
Groups working on tigers & spirituality
Get started
Key guidance documents
Interested in getting a collaboration or a project going with a faith community but not sure where to start? Check out these key guidance documents.
