The Three Extinct Subspecies

Hunters with a Bali tiger. This is the only known photo of this tiger subspecies

The Bali Tiger: These tigers only lived on the island Bali.  They were the smallest of all the tiger subspecies, with the males weighing 198-220 pounds and females weighing 143-176 pounds.  No Bali tigers were ever held in captivity.  They were hunted to extinction, the last Balinese tiger is thought to have been killed at Sumbar Kima, West Bali on September 27, 1937.  These tigers are still an integral part of Balinese Hinduism.

The Javan Tiger: These tigers lived on the island Java in Indonesia.  It seems likely now that the species became extinct in the 1980’s, but as of the 1950’s there were fewer than 25 remaining in the wild.  The last confirmed sighting was in 1979.  They were driven to extinction by hunting and habitat destruction.

The Caspian Tiger: Also known as the Persian or Turanian tiger, was the westernmost population of Siberian tigers.  They were found in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.  This subspecies became extinct in the late 1950’s, but now, after genetic research, are considered largely identical to the Siberian tiger.

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