Balkan Yam vs Tigre

Dioscorea balcanica compared with Panthera tigris

Key Differences

Balkan Yam is Near Threatened while Tigre is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Balkan Yam	Tigre
Kingdom	Plantae (plante)	Animalia (animal)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Mammalia (mammifères)
Order	Dioscoreales (Dioscoreales)	Carnivora (carnivores)
Family	Dioscoreaceae	Felidae (Cats)
Genus	Dioscorea	Panthera (Big Cats)
Species	Dioscorea balcanica	Panthera tigris

Conservation Status

Balkan Yam

NT — Near Threatened

Tigre

EN — Endangered

Population: ~4.5K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Balkan Yam	Tigre
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	20 years
Average Length	—	3.0 m
Average Weight	—	220.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Balkan Yam

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Tigre

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 6 distinct biome types spanning the Neotropic and Oceanian realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Colombia and Ecuador. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Balkan Yam

The Balkan Yam (Dioscorea balcanica) is a species in the genus Dioscorea. It is currently classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Tigre

The largest wild cat on Earth, tigers can exceed 300 kg and inhabit forests from the Russian Far East to Southeast Asia. Solitary ambush predators with distinctive orange and black striped coats that provide camouflage in dappled light. Critically endangered, with fewer than 4,000 remaining in the wild due to poaching and deforestation.