Caspian Tiger Introduction

The Caspian tiger is an extinct subspecies of tiger that lived in wetlands and river basins throughout areas of the Middle East, Central Asia, and near the Caspian Sea—which gave the Caspian tiger its name. The Caspian tiger was also known as the Turanian tiger, the Hyrcanian tiger, and the Persian tiger. While the Caspian tiger has been extinct for approximately 50 years, it was genetically quite similar to the Siberian tiger that is still alive today. The Caspian tiger was one of the largest varieties of tiger, with the bulkier males measuring as large as 270cm and weighing in at 240kg. The female Caspian tigers were much smaller. Unlike the Siberian tiger’s dull colors, the Caspian tiger had bright yellow fur and narrow brown stripes. Their diet was made of mostly wild pigs and cervids. In winter, when their natural prey was harder to find, Caspian tigers would often prey on livestock. They were also known to catch fish in the wetlands and rivers of their natural habitat. Because of their solitary lifestyle and the large number of prey animals necessary to sustain a single adult tiger, the Caspian tiger population was already vulnerable before humans arrived. The slow process of extinction began when the Russian empire colonized the Caspian tiger’s native habitat during the 19th century. Hunters killed tigers for sport, as well as the wild pigs and deer that the Caspian tiger relied on for food. In an effort to protect villages and livestock, high bounties were awarded for Caspian tiger pelts. The Russian army was even called in to clear predators from forests. The land reforms of the Soviet Union also threatened the Caspian tiger, as the wetlands they inhabited were converted into farmland. In 1947, the Soviet Union made efforts to conserve the Caspian tiger population—legally protecting them from hunters. Still, due to habitat loss, illegal poaching, and scarcity of food, the Caspian tiger eventually died out. Caspian tigers have not been spotted in the wild since the early 1970s, although they were not officially declared extinct until 2003. Recently, scientists have proposed introducing Siberian tigers to the habitat where Caspian tigers once lived.