Caspian Tigers

Perhaps you've never heard of a Caspian tiger. They resided in regions of Central Asia, Iran, and Turkey. With the past century, sightings declined over time, and since the 1960s, they have been extinct. There is an intriguing proposal to bring back tigers in a method that is very different from the genetic magic being used to bring back other species like passenger pigeons and gastric-brooding frogs.

By pointing out that the Siberian tiger, a near relative of the Caspian tiger, is almost precisely the same, a plan to reintroduce the tiger species virtually avoids the problem of generating a Caspian tiger. It can also survive in the same arid environment where the Caspian tiger once lived. Because of this, it has been suggested that we simply introduce Siberian tigers into the Caspian region and call it a Caspian tiger.

The strategy would need creating a sustainable population of extinct hoofed creatures in the area first, which may take years. However, once that has been accomplished, a new tiger population may be sustained. Despite how absurd it seems, it's thought that 40 tigers could grow to 100 in 50 years. And given that there are currently just 500 Siberian tigers left in the world, this is a huge advance for the species. Even if we now have to act as though they are Caspian tigers.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Feliformia
Family: Felidae
Subfamily: Pantherinae
Genus: Panthera
Species: P. tigris
Subspecies: P. t. tigris
Population: †Caspian tiger