The Siberian Tiger Introduction Project involves reestablishing populations of the Siberian tiger, also known as the Amur tiger, in their former range and also expanding their range by introducing them as replacements of their genetically similar relative, the extinct Caspian tiger, which inhabited Central and Western Asia. [1] Currently, the Siberian tiger inhabits the cold mountains of the Russian Far East and northern China.
Genetic studies have revealed that Siberian and Caspian tigers are descended from the tiger population that colonized Central Asia about 10,000 years ago. [1] After the end of the last ice age, the common ancestor of Siberian and Caspian Tiger migrated through the path which later became the silk route path, to colonise the steppes and Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forest.
Siberian tigers used to be common on either side of the Amur River in Russia and China, as well as in northeastern Mongolia and South Korea. Caspian tigers lived around the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan, and also further away in Armenia, Georgia and Turkey and Kazakhstan all the way to the Altai Mountains in the East. Caspian tigers reportedly became extinct in the 1970s after many years of hunting, poaching and habitat loss. Siberian tigers lost most of their ranges in Siberia and China and became extinct in the wild of Korea and Mongolia. [2]
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) began working in the Russian Far East in 1992 to help conserve rare umbrella species like Siberian tigers, Amur leopards and Blakiston's fish owls, whose survival ultimately requires the conservation of the forest ecosystem as a whole. The WCS founded the Siberian Tiger Project in cooperation with the Sikhote-Alin Nature Reserve at the same time.
The goal of the Siberian Tiger Project is to collect the best possible scientific information on tiger behavior and ecology for use in conservation plans. The project has studied Siberian tigers by radio-tracking more than 60 individuals since 1992.
The Siberian Tiger Project combines traditional Russian and international approaches to conduct field research and is the world's longest running radio-telemetry based tiger research and conservation effort. [3]
Introduction projects for Siberian tigers have been proposed for the Middle East, Central Asia and North Asia. [4]
Siberian tigers are set to be introduced to areas in Kazakhstan where Caspian tigers once lived. [5] [6] A national park tentatively known as Caspian Tiger National Park for introduced tigers might be opened in the near future. [7]
The Amu Darya river delta was suggested as a potential site. A feasibility study was initiated to investigate if the area was suitable and if such an initiative would receive support from relevant decision makers. A viable tiger population of about 100 animals would require at least 5,000 km2 (1,930 sq mi) of large tracts of contiguous habitat with rich prey populations. Such a habitat is not available at this stage and also cannot be provided in the short term. The proposed region is therefore unsuitable for introduction at this stage. [8]
The southeastern shore of Lake Balkhash where the Ili River discharges and forms a large delta was also chosen as a suitable habitat. [6] [9] Igor Chestin, director of the Russian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), hopes to reintroduce tigers into the region within the next few years, though there is a need to enlarge the potential prey base by increasing the existing populations of the already established Russian saiga antelope, the Siberian roe deer subspecies capreolus pygargus tianchanicus, the middle Asian wild boar, and the Turkmen Goitered gazelle already living in that area. [10] [11]
On 8 September 2017, the government of Kazakhstan announced the outline of its tiger reintroduction program and signed a memorandum with the WWF for assistance. Tigers will be introduced in the extensive riparian forest along the southeastern shore of Lake Balkhash. On 1 January 2018, the government will designate a new nature reserve in the area to restore the degraded habitat and protect it thereafter. The restoration will include the reintroduction of the locally extinct Bactrian deer into the Ile Balkhash nature reserve, the Przewalski's Horse into the nearby Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative, and the Transcaspian wild ass into both Ile Balkhash and altyn dala. Hopefully also in the future, we'll also be able to reintroduce Wild Bactrian camels, and Mongolian gazelles to Kazakhstan as potential tiger food and for ecosystem restoration. Which will then, hopefully because of the tigers, will increase the number of scavengers such as the Cinereous vulture, Himalayan vulture, Brown-necked raven, Eastern Transcaucasian Red fox, and the Corsac fox subspecies Vulpes corsac turkmenicus. It will also help protect Lake Balkhash, and create habitats and spaces for smaller animals to live such as the foxes and the Asian houbara. Conservationist hope to engage local communities in the program to help tackle poaching and other illegal activities. Then the big day in September 2024 when two Siberian tigers "one male and one female" were brought over from a big cat shelter in Netherlands and placed into a semi wild enclosure. So that when they hopefully breed there offspring will be released into the wild once they mature. Their goal is to get a healthy population of 50 tigers in the wilds of the Ile Balkhash nature reserve by 2035. [12] [13]
Siberian tigers might be introduced to areas in northern Iran where Caspian tigers once lived. In 2010, a pair of Siberian tigers sent by Russia to Iran's Tehran Zoological Garden (Eram Zoo) in exchange for a pair of Persian leopards were set to be introduced to the Miankaleh peninsula along the southeasternmost shore of the Caspian Sea within the next five years. [14] [15]
In December 2010, one of the Siberian tigers at the Eram Zoo died due to a feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection. [16] In 2011, Iran requested four more Siberian tigers and invited conservation experts from Russia to support the introduction project for the Caspian Sea coast. [17] Iran received two pairs of Siberian tigers in 2012. [18] [19]
The future introduction of Siberian tigers is planned as part of the ambitious rewilding project at Pleistocene Park in the Kolyma river basin in northern Yakutia, Russia, provided the population of herbivores such as muskox, Yakutian horse, and Reindeer, reach a size capable of supporting large predators. [20] [21]
A Siberian tiger cub orphaned by poachers was rescued at Primorsky Krai in February 2012. The cub which turned out to be a female was rehabilitated and eventually released back into the wild in May 2013. In 2015, she gave birth to two cubs at Bastak Nature Reserve, becoming the first rehabilitated Siberian tiger to give birth in the wild. [22]
North Korea was urged to join Russia and China in saving the Siberian tiger after the latest census revealed that only 562 individuals live in the wild. According to the director of the Amur branch of the WWF, analysis of satellite imagery of North Korea has shown that the northern part of the country has suitable conditions for releasing Siberian tigers. This is supported by the fact that a tigress with two cubs had once crossed the border between Russia and North Korea. [23]
The tiger is a large cat and a member of the genus Panthera native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is traditionally classified into nine recent subspecies, though some recognise only two subspecies, mainland Asian tigers and the island tigers of the Sunda Islands.
Species reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild, from captivity or other areas where the organism is capable of survival. The goal of species reintroduction is to establish a healthy, genetically diverse, self-sustaining population to an area where it has been extirpated, or to augment an existing population. Species that may be eligible for reintroduction are typically threatened or endangered in the wild. However, reintroduction of a species can also be for pest control; for example, wolves being reintroduced to a wild area to curb an overpopulation of deer. Because reintroduction may involve returning native species to localities where they had been extirpated, some prefer the term "reestablishment".
Lake Balkhash, also spelt Lake Balqash, is a lake in southeastern Kazakhstan, one of the largest lakes in Asia and the 15th largest in the world. It is located in the eastern part of Central Asia and sits in the Balkhash-Alakol Basin, an endorheic (closed) basin. The basin drains seven rivers, the primary of which is the Ili, bringing most of the riparian inflow; others, such as the Karatal, bring surface and subsurface flow. The Ili is fed by precipitation, largely vernal snowmelt, from the mountains of China's Xinjiang region.
The Siberian tiger or Amur tiger is a population of the tiger subspecies Panthera tigris tigris native to the Russian Far East, Northeast China and possibly North Korea. It once ranged throughout the Korean Peninsula, but currently inhabits mainly the Sikhote-Alin mountain region in southwest Primorye Province in the Russian Far East. In 2005, there were 331–393 adult and subadult Siberian tigers in this region, with a breeding adult population of about 250 individuals. The population had been stable for more than a decade because of intensive conservation efforts, but partial surveys conducted after 2005 indicate that the Russian tiger population was declining. An initial census held in 2015 indicated that the Siberian tiger population had increased to 480–540 individuals in the Russian Far East, including 100 cubs. This was followed up by a more detailed census which revealed there was a total population of 562 wild Siberian tigers in Russia. As of 2014, about 35 individuals were estimated to range in the international border area between Russia and China.
The Ili River is a river in Northwest China and Southeastern Kazakhstan. It flows from the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region to the Almaty Region in Kazakhstan.
The Caspian tiger was a Panthera tigris tigris population native to eastern Turkey, northern Iran, Mesopotamia, the Caucasus around the Caspian Sea, Central Asia to northern Afghanistan and the Xinjiang region in western China. Until the Middle Ages, it was also present in southern Russia. It inhabited sparse forests and riverine corridors in this region until the 1970s. This population was regarded as a distinct subspecies and assessed as extinct in 2003.
The South China tiger is a population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies that is native to southern China. The population mainly inhabited the Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the China's Red List of Vertebrates and is possibly extinct in the wild since no wild individual has been recorded since the late 1980s. In the late 1990s, continued survival was considered unlikely because of low prey density, widespread habitat degradation and fragmentation, and other environmental issues in China. In the fur trade, it used to be called Amoy tiger.
The Javan tiger was a Panthera tigris sondaica population native to the Indonesian island of Java. It was one of the three tiger populations that colonized the Sunda Islands during the last glacial period 110,000–12,000 years ago. It used to inhabit most of Java, but its natural habitat decreased continuously due to conversion for agricultural land use and infrastructure. By 1940, it had retreated to remote montane and forested areas. Since no evidence of a Javan tiger was found during several studies in the 1980s and 1990s, it was assessed as being extinct in 2008.
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a global 501(c)(3) non-governmental organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, that states its mission as saving "wildlife and wild places across the globe". Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society (NYZS), the global conservation organization is, as of April 2, 2024, led by Interim President and CEO Robb Menzi. WCS manages four New York City wildlife parks in addition to the Bronx Zoo: the Central Park Zoo, New York Aquarium, Prospect Park Zoo and Queens Zoo. Together these parks receive 4 million visitors per year. All of the New York City facilities are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). WCS has a global program doing conservation work on the ground in more than 50 countries.
The Bactrian deer, also called the Bukhara deer, Bokhara deer, or Bactrian wapiti, is a lowland subspecies of Central Asian red deer native to Central Asia. It is similar in ecology to the related Yarkand deer in that it occupies riparian corridors surrounded by deserts. The subspecies are separated from one another by the Tian Shan Mountains and probably form a primordial subgroup of the red deer.
The Saryesik Atyrau Desert is a desert in the Balkhash-Alakol Basin, eastern Kazakhstan. It stretches for about 400 km south of Lake Balkhash. It is a sand desert, relatively ecologically healthy with little erosion. There are a great number of small lakes and ponds in the desert, as well as occasional grasslands, that support a varied animal and bird population. In September 2017, English explorer Jamie Maddison completed a 70-mile, 30 hour ultra-marathon to make the first recorded on-foot crossing of the desert.
The wildlife of Iran include the fauna and flora of Iran.
Tiger hunting is the capture and killing of tigers. Humans are the tigers' most significant predator, and illegal poaching is a major threat to the tigers. The Bengal tiger is the most common subspecies of tiger, constituting approximately 80% of the entire tiger population in Indian Sub-Continent, and is endemic to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, and India. Tigers have mythological, cultural and religious significance in these countries. Foreign big game hunters saw hunting of tigers as a symbol of masculinity and an adventurous sporting event. It has been hunted in these countries for centuries. In 1924, the tiger population in Asia was estimated to be more than 100,000. However, within less than a hundred years, it had declined to fewer than 3,200. Tigers have historically been a popular big game animal and has been hunted for prestige as well as for taking trophies. Extensive poaching has continued even after such hunting became illegal and legal protection was provided to the tiger. Now a conservation-reliant endangered species, the majority of the world's tigers live in captivity. Tigers were once considered to be harder to hunt than lions, due to their habit of living alone in dense cover and not noisily asserting their presence with roars as often.
Pleistocene rewilding is the advocacy of the reintroduction of extant Pleistocene megafauna, or the close ecological equivalents of extinct megafauna. It is an extension of the conservation practice of rewilding, which aims to restore functioning, self-sustaining ecosystems through practices that may include species reintroductions.
Tiger conservation attempts to prevent tigers from becoming extinct and preserving its natural habitat. This is one of the main objectives of the international animal conservation community. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has played a crucial role in improving international efforts for tiger conservation.
The wildlife of Russia inhabits terrain that extends across 12 time zones and from the tundra region in the far north to the Caucasus Mountains and prairies in the south, including temperate forests which cover 70% of the country. Russia's forests comprise 22% of the forest in the world as well as 33% of all temperate forest.
The Amur leopard is a leopard subspecies native to the Primorye region of southeastern Russia and northern China. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as in 2007, only 19–26 wild leopards were estimated to survive in southeastern Russia and northeastern China.
The Turkmenian kulan, also called Transcaspian wild ass, Turkmenistani onager or simply the kulan, is a subspecies of onager native to Central Asia. It was declared Endangered in 2016.
The temperate rainforests of the Russian Far East are within the Russian federal subjects Primorsky Krai and Khabarovsk Krai and contains the Sikhote-Alin mountain range. Found within the Russian Federation, this area is one of the most productive and diverse forests in the world and also contains one of the highest endangered species densities on Earth. While most temperate rainforests around the world have retained only a fraction of their historical range, these forests maintain the majority of their former range and almost all of their historical biodiversity. The region is also notable for having what has become the last remaining large tract of viable habitat for the critically endangered Amur tiger and Amur leopard.
Orenburg Nature Reserve is a Russian 'zapovednik' dedicated to the preservation and restoration of four separate types of steppe landscape: Transvolga, Ural Mountains, Southern Urals and Trans-Urals. The reserve does this by spreading out across four sections across 400 km of steppes in Orenburg Oblast below the southern terminus of the Ural Mountains. The city of Orenburg sits in the middle of the four sectors, approximately 1,200 km southeast of Moscow. The reserve also protects historical and archaeological sites of the Sarmation people from the seventh to third century BCE. The reserve was formally established in 1988, and covers a total area of 21,653 ha (83.60 sq mi).