The Caspian tiger's (Panthera tigris virgata) story is a tragic tale. Once a dominant predator of Asia's diverse landscapes, its disappearance testifies to the darker sides of agricultural development. And though its demographic traits distinguished it as a unique subspecies within the tiger family, those traits didn’t last long, and the cat was lost to extinction in the late 20th century.
So, why don't we see any of these tigers in the world today?
With a wide habitat range and remarkable size, the Caspian tiger was once a majestic feline that roamed through the marshes and meadows of Central Asia.
Concentrated around the Caspian Sea and ranging from Turkey, Iran, and Kazakhstan, all the way to China, the species occupied a huge habitat of more than 350,000 square miles. Inhabiting isolated patches of wetland, the tigers settled along rivers and streams and surrounded themselves with shrubs, rush, and reeds. Typically, ...
