Which extinct tiger subspecies was native to the Caspian Sea region?

The Caspian tiger was the extinct tiger subspecies native to the Caspian Sea region. Its historical range stretched across eastern Turkey, northern Iran, the Caucasus, Central Asia, northern Afghanistan, and parts of western China.

Rather than living only on the sea coast, Caspian tigers usually followed river corridors, reed beds, wetlands, and forested valleys through otherwise dry landscapes. They preyed on wild boar, deer, and other large mammals. Habitat conversion, prey loss, hunting, and the destruction of riverine ecosystems contributed to their decline during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The last confirmed records came from different parts of Central Asia during the 1970s, although reports continued afterward. Modern genetic research found the Caspian tiger extremely close to the Siberian, or Amur, tiger. Because of that relationship, many current taxonomies classify the Caspian form as part of the mainland tiger subspecies rather than as a separate subspecies. “Caspian tiger” remains the standard historical name for this extinct regional population.