Eli5: why are there tigers in Siberia but not in Scandinavia?
In: 3
The Siberian tiger lives almost exactly half way around the world from Scandinavia. It lives on the eastern coast of Siberia while Scandinavia is to the west of Russia. There were other tigers living closer, the Caspian tiger. But this have recently gone extinct due to the vast amount of forests that was converted to farmland in the 19th and 20th century.
Tigers generally prefer large sparse forests and have adopted to these conditions. Scandinavia have a lot of dense forests and mountains which is not the type of area the tiger prefers. So if tigers did at some point push more into Scandinavia, for example from Ukraine, then they would have been out performed by wolves and bears who are much better in those kinds of conditions.
Latest Answers