Re-introduction of Tigers

The Caspian Tiger once roamed from the shores of Turkey and the Caspian Sea to the mountains of western China.  The last of the tigers were killed over 20 years ago, but efforts are now being taken to re-introduce them to their homes in the forests of Kazakhstan.  Though Caspian Tigers have their own name genetic tests have shown them to be identical to the Amur Tigers of Eastern Russia. they are not a separate subspecies as previously thought. It will be these Amur Tigers that will be re-homed into the forests of Kazakhstan.

This project was first proposed in 2011 and will continue to take a few years to come to fruition.  A National Reserve is being created in order to properly protect the Tigers, while the region must still be prepare with adequate amounts and types of prey for the Tigers.  Their diet mainly consists of wild hogs and deer.  The government is also working to educate and reassure the general public close to the reserve.

You can read the article here.
http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/tigers-to-be-reintroduced-into-kazakhstan-after-70-years-of-absence/

Discussion Questions
1. What are the effects of re-introducing a top predator to an eco-system that has been without for 20+ years?

2. What is the difference between re-introducing a species and introducing a species to an environment.  What effects can it have on the introduced species, the predator or prey of that species and the rest of the ecosystem it is being introduced to.