In the mid-20th century, the Caspian tiger population in Central Asia was wiped out due to excessive hunting and habitat destruction. Wild tigers completely disappeared from the region.

This month, the government of Kazakhstan approved a nearly decade-long plan to introduce populations of the genetically similar Amur tiger to a region in the country.

Though more research must be done — and it will be decades before the tigers can be introduced there — the plan’s implementation means wild tigers will someday roam Central Asia again after being extinct for nearly 70 years.

James Gibbs, a research team member and a professor of vertebrate conservation biology at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, spoke with The Daily Orange about the project and what it could mean for future conservation efforts.

The Daily Orange: How closely related to the Caspian tiger is the Amur tiger?

James Gibbs: Based on the genes that we typically use to show how closely related different (groups of one or more populations of an organism or organisms) are, these two are completely indistinguishable.

The D.O.: How did the Amur tiger avoid extinction?

J.G.: The Amur tiger stayed extant by living in a very difficult environment for humans to conquer and convert: far east Russia. There are still very low numbers of them, but their habitat is still very much present, as is their prey base. Their main threat is poaching.

In contrast, the Caspian tiger always occupied areas that are very desirable for agriculture. These narrow strips of riparian vegetation that they occupied are very dependent on the flow of water, and when they were dammed and irrigated, the tigers disappeared.

The D.O.: How will the tigers be reintroduced?

J.G.: Rehabilitated adults, abandoned cubs or captive-bred cubs are three potential options. Amur tigers that are maimed through poaching and can breed in captivity — but cannot survive in the wild — can produce cubs that can be released.

The D.O.: How would this affect the area that the tigers will be reintroduced to?

J.G.: With the introduction of a large carnivore, there will need to be restorations of the Bukhara deer, as well as protections of existing wildlife and prey species such as smaller deer and wild boar.

There would need to be livestock compensation schemes for the herders living there that would bear the cost, and that is something that would definitely need to be examined. Also, having tigers in this very remote area could benefit this area tremendously in terms of eco-tourism.

The D.O.: How was the location for the reintroduction of the tiger decided?

J.G.: The range of the Caspian tiger sub-species was greater than the aggregate range of all other sub-species combined, but there’s very little suitable habitat left except this remote river delta near Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan.

It’s not completely unoccupied, but there’s enough habitat and prey and low enough human density and no big infrastructure development that would make it difficult.

The D.O.: What does this mean for the future of conservation?

J.G.: In conservation we focus a lot on preventing extinctions, but there are some opportunities for restoration. The collapse of the Soviet Union saw a lot of withdrawal of money for infrastructure projects, so a lot of areas were suddenly abandoned. Habitats recovered and wildlife did, too.

The Caspian tiger used to have such a large aggregate range and it always bothered people that something could disappear across such a huge part of the globe. This reintroduction is a chance to fix that.

It’s somewhat symbolic, bringing tigers that used to span 15 countries back, and is a step forward for this type of movement.

Published on September 27, 2017 at 11:27 pm