A postulate for tiger recovery: the case of the Caspian Tiger

Abstract

Recent genetic analysis has shown that the extinct Caspian Tiger (P. t. virgata) and the living Amur Tigers (P. t. altaica) of the Russian Far East are actually taxonomically synonymous and that Caspian and Amur groups historically formed a single population, only becoming separated within the last 200 years by human agency. A major conservation implication of this finding is that tigers of Amur stock might be reintroduced, not only back into the Koreas and China as is now proposed, but also through vast areas of Central Asia where the Caspian tiger once lived. However, under the current tiger conservation framework the 12 "Caspian Tiger States" are not fully involved in conservation planning. Equal recognition as "Tiger Range States" should be given to the countries where the Caspian tiger once lived and their involvement in tiger conservation planning encouraged. Today, preliminary ecological surveys show that some sparsely populated areas of Central Asia preserve natural habitat suitable for tigers. In depth assessments should be completed in these and other areas of the Caspian range to evaluate the possibility of tiger reintroductions. Because tigers are a charismatic umbrella species, both ecologically and politically, reintroduction to these landscapes would provide an effective conservation framework for the protection of many species in addition to tigers. And for today's Amur Tigers this added range will provide a buffer against further loss of genetic diversity, one which will maintain that diversity in the face of selective pressures that can only be experienced in the wild.

Planning tiger recovery: Understanding intraspecific variation for effective conservation

“…Our results demonstrate that only Sumatran tigers should be used for interventions in Sumatra, Java, and Bali—even if there is currently a lack of sufficient tiger habitats that are devoid of tiger populations on these islands. For northeastern Asia and the Caspian region, our data support previous results that suggested the use of Amur tigers for reintroduction programs to their former Caspian range and elsewhere ( 40 ). For conservation management interventions in southern continental Asia, we recommend giving highest priority to the transfer of either wild tigers or captive-bred tigers with known origin from reputable conservation breeding institutions to repopulate areas with currently no tigers.…”

No longer locally extinct? Tracing the origins of a lion (Panthera leo) living in Gabon

“…Nonetheless, similar problems related to population extirpation and reintroduction in another apex felid, the tiger ( Panthera tigris ), have centred almost entirely around discussion of mitochondrial haplotype datasets of equivalent size. The recently extinct Caspian tiger ( Panthera tigris virgata ) has been identified by mitochondrial DNA as belonging to a maternal lineage close to the extant Siberian tiger ( P. t. altaica ) and it has been argued that this population should be used for potential reintroduction projects (Driscoll et al 2009 , 2012 ).…”

Range-wide trends in tiger conservation landscapes, 2001 - 2020

“…Central Asia has no tigers currently, but three range states still have effective potential tiger habitat of landscape-scale dimensions: Georgia (Figure 5N), Kazakhstan (Figure 5P), and Pakistan (Figure 5T). The best possibilities seem to exist in Kazakhstan in the river deltas adjacent to Lake Balkhash, an area currently being investigated for the possibility of reintroduction (Driscoll et al, 2012;WWF Russia, 2022). Restoration fragments remain in Iran (Figure 5O), Kyrgyzstan (Figure 5Q), and Turkey (Figure 5V), but are dwindling in number and area rapidly.…”