cocobolo vs Lǎohǔ

Dalbergia granadillo compared with Panthera tigris

Key Differences

cocobolo is Critically Endangered while Lǎohǔ is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	cocobolo	Lǎohǔ
Kingdom	Plantae (植物)	Animalia (动物界)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (木兰植物门)	Chordata (脊索动物门)
Class	Magnoliopsida (木兰纲)	Mammalia (哺乳動物)
Order	Fabales (豆目)	Carnivora (食肉目)
Family	Fabaceae	Felidae (Cats)
Genus	Dalbergia	Panthera (Big Cats)
Species	Dalbergia granadillo	Panthera tigris

Conservation Status

cocobolo

CR — Critically Endangered

Lǎohǔ

EN — Endangered

Population: ~4.5K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	cocobolo	Lǎohǔ
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	20 years
Average Length	—	3.0 m
Average Weight	—	220.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

cocobolo

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Lǎohǔ

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.

cocobolo

Cocobolo (Dalbergia granadillo) is a medium to large tropical hardwood tree in the family Fabaceae, native to the dry and moist forests of Pacific Mexico and Central America, from Jalisco and Colima south through Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas into Guatemala and Honduras. The species is one of the most prized commercial rosewoods in the world, producing exceptionally dense, fine-grained heartwood in rich tones of red, orange, and brown with contrasting darker grain lines; this wood is used in high-end guitar fingerboards, knife handles, turning, and decorative woodwork. Unfortunately, this commercial value has driven intense illegal logging across much of its range, leading the IUCN to classify Dalbergia granadillo as Critically Endangered — the highest threat category short of extinction in the wild. The species is listed in CITES Appendix II, requiring documentation of sustainable harvest for international trade. Remaining populations are heavily fragmented in degraded and secondary forest, with mature trees of commercial size increasingly scarce. The slow growth rate of the species means that recovery of logged populations takes decades. Conservation initiatives include reforestation programmes, strengthening of enforcement against illegal logging, community-based forestry schemes, and research into propagation for plantation production as an alternative to wild harvest. Without effective action, Dalbergia granadillo faces continued population decline and potential extirpation from parts of its natural range.