[8] Two fossil bone fragments excavated at the Ille Cave on the island of Palawan in the Philippines were identified as being of a tiger.

[8] Borneo might have been connected to Palawan during the penultimate and previous glacial periods, judging from the molecular phylogeny of murids in the area.

[9][10] It is also possible that the tiger crossed the Balabac Strait in the Middle Pleistocene, about 420,000–620,000 years ago, when the distance between Borneo and Palawan was shorter, and the sea level was lower, than today.

[15] The native people suggest that it is bigger than a Bornean clouded leopard, as big as the Sumatran tiger, and largely brown in colour with faint stripes.

[3][8] Tiger claws were used as protective amulets among the Kenyah, Ngaju and Iban peoples, possibly for important ceremonies or to be worn by individuals of prominent status; vocabulary referring to the animal's presence (but also in avoidance speech) is also attested, such as aso for 'dog' or buang / bohang for 'bear', as a replacement in Kayanic languages.