Xinjiang tiger is another name for the Caspian sea tiger in China, in fact, there are many other names for the Caspian sea tiger, most of which are named because of their distribution range, such as Persian tiger, Central Asian tiger, West Asian tiger, etc. Xinjiang tiger was once the third largest tiger in the world, and it is also the only tiger species in the desert area of the world, with an average length of about 2.3 meters (including tail length), very drought-tolerant. It is covered with horizontal stripes and has a pronounced "king" glyph pattern on the top of its head, but because it lives in arid desert areas, its coat is lighter than other tigers, and it is pale yellowish brown. In 1876, a foreign explorer first discovered the Caspian tiger in the Xinjiang region, so he became the first person to write about the Xinjiang tiger.
Xinjiang tigers were once widely distributed. Tigers were found in the eastern and northern regions of Tianshan, in Barikun, Gaochang (near present-day Turpan), Manas, Bosten Lake, and the entire Tarim Basin.
The elevation of the Lob Depression is between 780m and 800m, which used to be the surface water collection center of the Tarim Basin, and in the lower alluvial plains of the Tarim River and the Peacock River Delta, the river network is staggered, the lake swamp reed pond is dense, and there are dense poplar forests growing along the river, and there are reeds and Rob hemp meadows on the river beach and low-level land, and there are various aquatic plants near the lake swamp. In these vegetation groups, water-formed poplar forest soils, meadow soils and swamp soils are developed. The entire ecosystem is intact and full of species.
Xinjiang tigers roam huyang forests and reeds, feeding on Tarim red deer, goose-throated antelope, Tarim rabbit and so on.
The disappearance of the Xinjiang tiger was rapid. The main reasons for disappearing are twofold:
First, due to the expansion of the scope of human production activities in modern times, the reclamation of farmland and the construction of water conservancy in the upstream have changed the natural environment in which Tigers live in Xinjiang; as well as the endless hunting of various wild animals in Xinjiang with modern weapons, has also led to a sharp decrease in their numbers.
The second is the natural change of the environment. In 1921, the Tarim River, which flows south, was diverted north due to seasonal floods. The lower reaches of the Tarim River below The Iron Dry Creek have dried up, the reeds and huyanglin dried oranges have died, and the number of wild animals has decreased. The living environment of xinjiang tigers has deteriorated extremely.
In 1962, when the Xinjiang Geological Brigade was prospecting in the Arjin Mountains, it encountered a Xinjiang tiger eating a Tibetan wild donkey in the HongliuGou Valley, and when it saw the person, it got up and ran, which is the last record of the Xinjiang tiger.