The Turanian tiger, whose photo is in this article, is considered an almost extinct species. On the whole planet, very few predators of this species have recently remained. Thirty years ago, there were no more than two thousand tigers. Over the past decades, their number has increased slightly - up to 3, 500. Scientists all over the world have set themselves the task of doubling their number by 2022.
Where did the tiger name come from
The name of the Turanian tiger comes from the ancient designation of some areas of Central Asia. Many scientists call this predator Caspian, as it is found on the borders of Afghanistan, Iran and Transcaucasia.
Ally of the Turanian Tiger
During the struggle for survival, the Turanian tiger had a tiny ally - a malaria mosquito. The bite of this insect caused entire epidemics in humans. And until humanity learned to cope with malaria, the habitats of the Turanian predator were not touched, and they were not hunted there. After the foci of the disease were eliminated, tigers again began to be killed in very large numbers.
Habitat
The Turanian tiger has long been listed in the Red Book. Its habitat was previously wide. The predator was found in the foothills of the Tien Shan, in the western valleys of the Central Asian rivers - the Syr Darya, Amu Darya, Chuya, Vakhshu, Atrek, Murghaba, Panj and Tenzhen, as well as in Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and to the Caucasus itself.
The Turanian tiger in Iran lived in the Caspian provinces of Astrabad, Mazendean and Gilan. They are located on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. To the south, the tiger only reached Mount Elbrus. And on the Iranian Highlands this predator no longer occurs.
Habitat
The favorite habitats near the rivers of the Turanian tiger were reed beds. Predators also felt fine in the forests, and often arranged their homes in impassable thickets, where it is difficult for a person to get.
But in any case, several conditions were necessary for the tiger habitat. The first is water, as these predators often drink a lot. The second is the abundance of food (wild boars, roe deer, etc.). Where does the Turan tiger live in winter? Now we find out. This time of year was difficult for predators. Especially if there was a lot of snow and snowdrifts. Therefore, the tigers tried to arrange their den in places protected from snow.
Jolbars
Jolbars is also a Turanian tiger. So it was called in Central Asia. In Kazakh, "jol" means the path. And the leopard is a tramp. Translated, it turns out “wandering leopard”. And the name is consistent with the Turanian tiger. Sometimes he was very fond of wandering around. Moreover, he often scared people with his unexpected appearance, where he had never been seen before. Turanian tigers could leave thousands of kilometers from their native places. For a day they could safely run ninety kilometers.
Description of the Turanian Tiger
Turanian tigers were more than two meters in length. Females are slightly smaller. The weight of the tiger could reach two hundred forty kilograms. The color is bright red, with narrow and frequent stripes and longer than that of his counterparts. Stripes could be not only black, but also brown. In winter, the fur of the Turanian tiger became more dense, silky. Especially on the belly and scruff of the neck. The predator wore lush whiskers.
Tiger movements were very smooth, despite a powerful physique. Jumps reached six meters in length. Turanian tigers were very graceful. Due to their protective coloring, they were perfectly masked, especially in the reed thickets. And in the forest, a predator could get close to the prey almost imperceptibly.
His jumps were swift. Almost none of the animals could not resist after the attack of an animal weighing two centners. And during the jump, his stripes merged so that he seemed gray. The life cycle of tigers is fifty years.
Food
The Turanian tiger fed on wild boars, roe deer, kulans, saigas and gazelles, attacking them near a watering hole. He loved to hunt Bukhara deer. If the tiger was very hungry, then he could eat a reed cat or a jackal. But carrion was fed only in the most extreme case. He preferred fresh meat.
If you couldn’t catch big game, he did not disdain rodents, frogs, turtles, birds and even insects. Periodically feasted on the fruits of sea buckthorn and sucker. Sometimes I fished in shallow water.
The reasons for the disappearance of the Turanian tigers
The main reason for the reduction and almost complete disappearance of the Turanian tiger is the human pursuit of this beast. He was killed for hundreds of years not for the danger that he allegedly posed to humans. The Turanian tiger attracted hunters with a beautiful skin, which was very expensive. Predators were sometimes killed even just for fun.
Before the immigrants arrived in Central Asia, local residents quite peacefully coexisted with the tigers living nearby. Predators tried to avoid people, not to catch the eye and never attacked for no reason.
The second reason for the decrease in the number of Turanian tigers is the depletion of the source of food. The number of wild herbivores gradually decreased. And this is the main food for large and powerful predators.
The third reason is the destruction of human flora and fauna in the habitat of tigers. People cut down forests for cultivating fields. For the same purpose, thickets near rivers were destroyed. And the elimination of foci of malaria also played an important role.
Where can I find the Turanian tiger now?
The Turanian tiger is listed in the Red Book as an endangered species. People are to blame for this, although for them he was not a big danger. The last tigers were seen in the last century, in the late 1950s. It was necessary to put this predator in the Red Book much earlier in order to restore the natural natural number of the predator.
There is evidence that the last time he was seen in 1968 in the Amu Darya region. Therefore, there is a possibility that the Turanian tiger is still alive. It’s just that its number has already decreased so much that it has become a rare opportunity to see it.
S. U. Stroganov studied these animals for a long time and watched them. He completed the characterization of the Turanian tigers with the words that you can live for many years in the habitat of these predators, but you can never see them, since they are very secretive, sensitive and brave.
The Turanian tiger in Pakistan can be found only in the western mountainous region. The area is covered with forests and borders with Afghanistan. This territory is one of the less accessible for humans. And, accordingly, it is safer for Turan tigers.
Gladiator Tigers
Currently, the Turanian tiger is an endangered species. But before, its number was much larger. These animals were even used in gladiatorial battles. Tigers were caught in Armenia and Persia. Then, bringing to Rome, predators were trained for bloody fights. Turan tigers fought not only with their relatives, but also with lions.
In Rome, they tried to arrange battles of predators with gladiator slaves. The first Turanian tiger was killed in a cage. Gladiator slaves flatly refused to fight this predator, such a fear he caused them.
Attempts to save Turanian tigers
Many countries have tried to save the Turanian tiger as a species. The tiger Teresa lived at the Moscow zoo for eighteen years. It was a gift from the Iranians to the Soviet ambassador in 1926. But the tigress did not live longer than eighteen years.
A special wildlife sanctuary has been created in Iran to protect the Turanian tigers. Its area is 100 thousand hectares. But for a free and full life of a predator, a natural territory of 1000 square meters is necessary. km And the breeding and conservation of Turanian tigers is also complicated by the fact that these animals are lovers of wandering.
Turan Tiger Lair
One of the zoologists managed to find and explore the lair of the Turanian tiger. To reach him, the scientist had to crawl along the path of a predator for almost two hundred meters. This road was a natural tunnel of dense thickets of vegetation. The tiger's lair, strewn with crushed grass, was always in the shade of the trees. A site with an area of up to forty square meters has always adjoined the habitat. She was littered with animal bones. The smell in this place was very sharp and stinking.
