The Caspian tiger is also known as the Persian tiger and was known to be a beautiful animal, thought it is thought to have become extinct by the late 1950s. There have been several supposed sightings of the tiger since then, but nothing has been proved, which means that the species is truly extinct or just not available in large enough numbers to be spotted.

The third largest tiger in the world, the Caspian tiger was quite long and stocky and also had unusually large paws compared to other species of tigers. The species had very short ears, furry cheeks, and long hair all over the body surface. The coloring of the Caspian tiger was very much like the Bengal tiger. There is a specimen available for view at the British Museum that shows that the cats were yellowish gold on the back and the flanks with the sides of the body lighter with stripes that varied in color. Male Caspian tigers were very large weighing in at 169-240 kgs while the females weighed in at a more modest 85-135 kgs.

The Caspian tiger was known to inhabit Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Caucasus, Turkey, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Extinction

One of the most important factors in the Caspian tiger's decline and extinction was that it was already vulnerable due to the restricted nature of its distribution: riverine habitats were also intensively used by humans. Hunting, and loss of habitat and large wild prey are the primary causes of the loss of the subspecies.The Caspian Tiger became extinct because it was used by the Romans in the arenas and was made to fight against gladiators as well as other animals. The species was also heavily hunted by the Russians who had a plan to clear land and they didn’t feel that there was room for the tiger in their new plans for the land. In other areas the species was hunted because it was known to kill livestock that people were dependent upon. It didn’t take long for the species to disappear altogether being hunted by so many.