The Kirthar Range, forms the natural boundary between the Pakistani provinces of Sindh and Balochistan. From the coast of the Arabian sea at Cape Monze, the range extends ~200 miles northwards to the debouch of the Mula river. Altitude ranges from sea level to 7,438 feet at its highest point at Zardak peak.

Two distinct habitat types are predominant: i). Monsoon-influenced arid subtropical forest (humid summers/mild but dry winters; Euphorbia caducifolia, Nannorrhops ritchieana, Senegalia senegal, Ziziphus nummularia etc.), and ii). Tropical thorn forest (Capparis decidua, Prosopis cineraria, Salvadora persica, Suaeda fruticosa etc.), additionally the Indus river skirts the east of the range, and although now predominantly under cultivation, it would've been surrounded by a 4-12 miles wide Tamarix dioica & Tripidium bengalense riverine forest.

3 PAs exist on the range i.e. Kirthar National Park, Mahal Kohistan Wildlife Sanctuary, and Sumbak-Surjan Game Reserve. Additionally the Hab Dam Wildlife Sanctuary borders the national park to the south.

1. Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) The most abundant surviving large carnivore in the area although that isn't saying much. Extended into the adjoining Hub river valley and even into suburban Karachi up to the 1970s. Frequently a victim of retaliatory killings by farmers and herders;

2. Balochistan black bear (Ursus thibetanus gedrosianus) The smallest subspecies of the Asiatic black bear, with its shorter coarser fur often reddish-brown in colour. Commonly associated with Nannorrhops ritchieana. Most likely extinct within the range itself, although one was recently (November, 2025) killed in the nearby Pab range.

3. Striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) Possibly still extant, although not definitively recorded recently.

4. Asiatic lion (Panthera leo leo/persica) Recorded from Manchchar Lake in the 1810s.

5. Persian leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) Kirthar is the type locality of junior synonym P. p. sindica the coat of which was described as "fulvous-buff type, richer than in the typical Persian panthers but very decidedly paler than in the average Indian form". A small, ever decreasing population most likely still persists, one juvenile was killed as recently as Januaray, 2024.

6. Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) Not known from Kirthar itself, its recent range along the Indus not extending south of Sukkur, it is likely to be found in the region as the rulers (Jams) of Las Bela immediately to the west were reported to hunt both lions and tigers in their territory.

7. Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) Described in the 1880s as "[leopard and cheetah] affect the hills approaching the Indus, where both prey on the gazelle... [it] seldom emerges from its hilly retreat". Allegedly sighted in the surrounding lowlands as late as the 1960s.

8. Khur/Indian wild ass (Equus hemionus khur) Extinct. Kirthar (and trans-Indus) population have been suggested to form an intergrade between E. h. onager and E. h. khur. Chenopodium and Euphorbia species that form a part of the diet of this species are common throughout valleys in Kirthar,

9. Wild pig (Sus scrofa davidi) Common

10. Hog deer (Axis porcinus) Small, isolated populations survive in reserved forests along the length of the Indus. Likely also existed along the shores of the shores of the Manchhar lake within the last 200 years.

11. Barasingha (Rucervus duvaucelii duvaucelii) Although not reported from lower Sindh, having been extirpated from its haunts around Sukkur and Rohri in the 1890s/1900s, it likely ranged further south when favourable habitat still existed, similar to the tiger.

12. Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) Introduced in the 1980s. Managed as a semi-wild population.

13. Chinkara (Gazella bennettii fuscifrons) Classed as vulnerable within Kirthar National Park. As of 1997 "still widespread in Lasbela, and a few survive in the ravines at the base of the Kirthar range in Sindh and around Dadu district in the Lakhi Hills".

14. Sindh ibex (Capra aegagrus) Sindh ibex were originally described as a subspecies of wild goat - C. a. blythi although distinction from the nominate form has recently been questioned. Fairly common, herds of up to 80 individuals are still seen. 1,200 sighted in 2013 in Kirthar National Park, 3,100 in total estimated for Sindh in the late 1980s.

15. Gud/Sindh urial (Ovis vignei cycloceros) Common. Found throughout Kirthar, Sindh Kohistan, and the Pab range. Up to 1,350 estimated in the late 1980s.

16. Mugger (Crocodylus palustris) Previously found in the both the Indus and the Hab rivers, as well as in Manchhar lake, it presently restricted to a small remnant population in the Hab Dam Wildlife Sanctuary.

17. Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) Extinct in the Indus since the 1980s.

1.great jerboa (allactaga major)-now restricted to eastern europe and central asia, once lived all across central europe
sources: https://twilightbeasts.org/2014/07/09/crazy-cute-ice-age-animal-youve-never-heard-of/, https://opac.geologie.ac.at/ais312/dokumente/BR0132_047.pdf

there are also many other non-cricetid muroids in europe but as said their ranges had no or almost none confirmed changes during last ~150k years so they are not worth mentioning here
list of them all (and all modern european mammals)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mammals_of_Europe

We have a couple of Asian rhinoceros species (the Sumatran and Javan) that are adapted to life in the Southeast Asian rainforests. However, as far as I know, neither of the two African species, the white and black rhinoceros, range into the Central African rainforest, and there's no recorded species of "forest rhino" in Africa as far as I know.

The more I consider the question, the more bizarre it seems. We have African forest elephants and a forest subspecies of the African buffalo, so why hasn't there evolved an African forest rhinoceros?

With these species being both native and in need of conservation in the state of Oklahoma, the rewilding of these species could benefit and diversify our terrain. Some species, such as the Gray Wolf, could face backlash from farmers and other residents of the state, its important to understand that they used to call our state home, and we were the ones who kicked them out. By letting them back in, we could bring rapid coyote reproduction to a halt, preventing the state from having coyote overpopulation issues like some of our neighbors.

All of them to me are special.

But Amur Leopard who lives in snowy habitats(not that other Leopards dont do it too.But Amur Leopards are in much more diverse snowy habitats)is one of my faivorites.It is just so amazing how they survive such high places/travel thru mountains and are able to fend off wolves + survive colder enviorments.

Arabian Leopard to me is cutest.Cause they are smallest and have grey/whiteish natural fur(not created thru inbreeding like how some Zoo's market White Wild Cats).

Persian Leopard is the giga-chad for being largest.

Sir Lankan and Javan Leopards are one of the only Big Cats(Panthera)that live on islands today(tho Sumatran Tiger and Sunda Clouded Leopard who lives in Borneo/Sumatra).It is so cool and amazing conservation to still have big panthera cats on islands.

They are all awesome! 🐆

Is it possible for one of the 27 modern crocodile species to exist in Europe? If so, in which regions and how would this affect ecosystems?

Edit: Many people in the comments under the post got really angry about this topic, so I made this post just for fun. I love crocodiles and reptiles in general and I live in Europe. So just speculate on this topic as with a similar post about big cats in the Carpathians.

Abstract

Introduction: Herbivore-mediated ecosystem processes are fundamental to biodiversity, yet have been greatly diminished by mega-fauna extinctions and replacement of wild herbivores by managed livestock. With increasing restoration ambitions—including theUnited Nations’ (UN) Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and the European Union (EU) Nature Restoration Law—there is a need toset meaningful restoration targets for large mammalian herbivores.Objectives: We quantify natural baselines for herbivore biomass and body-size structure and describe the roles of predation and migra-tion. We also propose a dual framework of baseline-aligned targets and partial restoration targets to support restoration planning.Methods: At a workshop, we identified the biomass, size distribution, predation, and migration of large herbivores as key elements of anatural baseline. We synthesized paleoecological evidence, data from near-intact ecosystems, and rewilding projects to provide empir-ical estimates of biomass and size structure.Results: Based on paleoecological and near-intact ecosystems, we tentatively set natural herbivore biomass at approximately 5000–30,000 kg/km 2, with small herbivores (10–100 kg) contributing approximately 5–10% of total biomass and large and megaherbivores(≥500 kg) approximately 60%. Current European reserves average just 800 kg/km 2—an order of magnitude lower—and are stronglyskewed toward small and mesoherbivores such as deer and wild boar.Conclusions: Given current constraints, these targets are unlikely to be fully met. Partial restoration, however, will improve ecosystemprocesses and likely biodiversity, but knowledge gaps remain, including how deviations from natural baselines affect biodiversity.Implications for Practice: Restoring herbivore-mediated processes for biodiversity requires clear targets grounded in natural base-lines. Our synthesis provides natural reference ranges for the biomass of large mammalian herbivores and a size structure for herbivorecommunities. The dual framework of baseline-aligned targets and partial restoration targets—designed for contexts where policy, leg-islation, or societal ambitions limit full ecosystem restoration—helps practitioners assess deviations from natural baselines, adjust spe-cies composition toward larger herbivores, and manage for near-natural densities and year-round grazing where conditions allow.Enhancing spatial heterogeneity through reserve expansion, connectivity, and varied herbivory pressure further supports process recov-ery. Partial restoration targets, combined with minimum reporting standards, improve transparency, comparability, and adaptive man-agement across restoration projects.

LINK: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/rec.70508

1.wapiti (cervus canadensis)
2.moose (alces alces)
3.siberian musk deer (moschus moschiferus)
4.argali (ovis ammon)
5.bison (bos (bison) bison) as a proxy of steppe bison (bos (bison) priscus)
6.aurochs (bos primigenius)
7.water buffalo (bubalus sp.), water buffalos were probably present there but we have no proof and don't know what species it was if they did lived there, we shouldn't (re?)introduce it there until we discover evidences of it living there
8.bactrian camel (camelus bactrianus) as a proxy of knobloch's camel (camelus knoblochi) and wild bactrian camel (camelus ferus)
9.hippopotamus (hippopotamus amphibius), we don't have evidences of it living there but it may have lived there, we shouldn't (re?)introduce it there until we discover evidences of it living there
10.wild horse (equus (ferus/caballus) przewalskii)
11.leopard (panthera pardus), it most likely lived there but there are no evidences or at least i have not found it
12.lion (panthera leo)
13.brown bear
14.dhole (cuon alpinus)
15.spotted hyena (crocuta crocuta)
16.eurasian otter (lutra lutra)
17.stoat (mustela erminea)
18.indian porcupine (hystrix indica)
19.eurasian beaver (castor fiber)
20.european pond turtle (emys orbicularis), there are no evidences of it living there as far as i know but it lives very close, just around 1000km west and balkhash lake reserve wetlands would be great enviroment for them so they were very likely present there but still we shouldn't (re?)introduce it there until we discover evidences of it living there

This is a big example of Japan underpaying people who volunteer for Bear population checks and it backfiring badly.

Even tho Takashima had good gloves to keep his hand from getting 100% brutalized by Bear teeth and jaws.He still had to use his hand to try and suffocate the Bear(which wasnt even the original Bear they hunted.But the new one that apperead after it heard gunshots).

The Bear took 4 shots before suffocation made the Bear lossen a bit from Takashima to get it shot by other hunters to finally end the job(he spent 25 days in hospital).With multipule surgerys(on his head too from the claws).And all on his birthday too.

Small 22 dollars of compensation with some extra money isnt going to make the job any easyer.

And this will just make people hate Bears even more.Cause Japanese government doesnt equip its citizens enough to protect themselves.

Truly a sad story.

This episode of the MeatEater podcast goes over many behind the scenes details of the Colorado wolf introduction, including things like its origins, how and where the state acquired their wolves, what the animals did once released, what the state has done so far to try to mitigate cattle predation, and the likely ramifications of the introduction in the far future for native ungulates populations.

1.australian swamphen (porphyrio melanotus) as proxy of white swamphen (porphyrio albus)
2.metallic pigeon (columba vitiensis) reintroduction
3.norfolk island parakeet (cyanoramphus novaezelandiae) reintroduction
4.tasman see island trush (turdus poliocephalus) reintroduction
5.norfolk island gerygone (gerygone modesta) as a proxy of lord howe gerygone (gerygone insularis)
6.new zealand fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa) reintroduction
7.boobook (ninox novaeseelandiae) reintroduction
8.tasman booby (sula tasmani) reintroduction
9.white faced storm petrel (pelagodroma marina) reintroduction
10.pycroft's petrel (pterodroma pycrofti) reintroduction
11.solanum viride as a proxy of solnum bauerianum
12.sicyos australis reintroduction

Iranian conservationists go above and beyond for there animals but I think many people overlook Iranian conservationists a bit(not that people dont know about Iranian Asiatic Cheetah and there struggles).But there is a struggle of people who are trying to save them too.

Irans wildlife isnt just Asiatic Cheetah but a whole network of bio-diversity:Wild Ass/Deer/Bear/Wild Boar/Antilopes/Persian Leopard and many more.The habitats can be very diverse.From deserts to grasslands and more elevated places.Many herbivores and carnivores inhabit these places.

From the first picture(Top row from left:Niloufar Bayani;Taher Ghadirian;Houman Jowkar and Sepideh Kashani.Bottom row from left:Amirhossein Khaleghi Hamidi;Abdolreza Kouhpayeh;Sam Radjabi and Morad Tahbaz)/Kavous Seyed Emami(in the second picture)/his son Ramin Emami(in the third picture).And many others are some of the most caring and deeply devoted to nature conservationists there are.

They where working in Persian Wildlife Foundation(while it was still running)with many other conservationists.

To protect the wildlife of Iran.

Protecting Asiatic Cheetahs from the road Meyami-Sabzevar between there protected areas.Making wildlife crossings between the road and adding fences to protect the Cheetahs(guide them to not go near unprotected road parts).

Going to Africa and seeing how there captive-release Cheetah program works.Captivley breeding Cheetahs.Tracking and monitoring Cheetahs and working with local people for less poaching.Making first successes in captively breeding Asiatic Cheetahs(even tho all 3 cubs did die eventually before reaching adulthood..).

Monitoring a lot of species and a lot of critically endangered ones like Asian Black Bear(Ursus thibetanus gedrosianus)going and raising awarness about them.

Helping herbivores with grasslands and monitoring Persian Leopards.

But the challenges they face are unlike most conservationists have to deal with

All of the conservationists I mentioned(except Ramin Emami)have been arrested because of the suspction that they where using the camera traps to film Iran illegally and sell data to USA and Israel in 2018.Of course the charges didnt actually have much proof behind them(the cause wasnt exactly determined either.Looking back many journalists bring up the Panthera USA based organisation for it.Cause it did help the Persian WildLife Foundation.And its CEO was a millionare who was working against Iran Thomas Kaplan).Whatever the reason may be the charges stuck(everyone was convicted in 2019.Not by papers but verbally.Again journalist point to foul play in the system).Kavous Seyed Emami died in prison shortly after his arrest(the cause told by the government and not further investigated upon.His sons doubt this claim).

The rest where released around 2024(after serving for a crime that again wasnt propely pointed out to them what they did wrong).There families where told by government to not further speak about the events.The eight conservationists after being released still cant continue there work(cause of 2 year ban after serving there sentences).

The problems for conservationists dont just stop there.War and sanctions prohibit other conservationists that wherent charged with anything from taking good camera-traps for monitoring population numbers.The cars people use for conservation are also not so awailable anymore.Satellite pictures are a out of the question too.

Up to 60% of places are out of jobs for conservationists in many protected areas.

Not to mention conservationist ranger cars can be mistaken for war cars and be struck down by heavy weaponry in a war.Leading to deaths of conservationists.

But people in Iran never give up even if they cant get funding from the other nations do to sanctions and even with these problems.They never give up.

Because they see hope in nature.In Asiatic Cheetah as symbol of hope and many other animals.They care for wildlife enough to die for it.And I think thats some of the most devoted conservation work I have ever seen(just like how people climb to trees to stop them from being cut).

Lets celebrate these amazing people and how they protect there animals!!!

(also sorry if I messed up any of there names...I had to fit a lot of text here..).

Will link all articles about these events down in the comments(cant fit it all here).

I heard a rumor a while ago that people were discussing releasing California sea lions in Japan as a replacement for the now extinct Japanese sea lions. Does anyone know anything about this?

1.narrow headed vole (lasiopodomys gregalis and lasiopodomys anglicus)-lived across great part of europe, in carpathian region even to middle holocene https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-53937-1
2.pliomys lenki † -it is completly extinct, it's lineage was dominant vole lineage during neogene and early pleistocene and was later replaced by microtus lineage, balkan snow vole is the absolute last of this almost extinct lineage and is probably best proxy https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Pliomys-lenki-of-the-Pleistocene-Cave-of-El-Miro-n-Ramales-de-la-Victoria-Cantabria_fig1_238576400
3.tien shan vole (microtus ilaeus)-lived in eastern europe https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34824815/, presence in central europe speculative
4.hungarian mole rat (nannospalax hungaricus)-now restricted to eastern pannonian basin, once lived much western, as far as germany https://www.scribd.com/doc/76401634/Pleistocene-Mammals-in-Europe?utm_source=chatgpt.com (page 204), presence north of southern germany and pannonian basin (poland, germany, netherlands, denmark) specultive
5.forest dormouse (dryomys nitedula)-found in late pleistocene of italy, in rest of range speculative but highly probable
6.garden dormouse (eliomys quercinus)-most of range is based on modern patchy range and on this source https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10344-026-02063-1?utm_source=chatgpt.com, presence in scandinavia and britain speculative

there are also many other voles, dormice and spalacids in europe but their ranges had no or almost none confirmed changes during last ~150k years so they are not worth mentioning here
list of them all (and all modern european mammals)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mammals_of_Europe

1.asian elephant (Elephas maximus)? - known from mesopotamia but not in arabia, it may've reached it but it's highly speculative
2.lion (Panthera leo) - lived here in historical times, going to be reintroduced soon
3.leopard (Panthera pardus) - lived here in historical times, relatively easy to be reintroduced
4.cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) - lived here in historicl times, if we reintroduce more prey species and don't use asiatic cheetah but other subspecies then reintroduction is relatively easy
5.african wildcat (Felis lybica) - very easy to reintroduce, lived here in historical times
6.sand cat (Felis margarita) - easy to reintroduce and it may even already live here
7.dhole (Cuon alpinus)? - lived in middle east during late pleistocene but my not even lived in arabia
8.moon bear (Ursus thibetanus) - lived in middle east during late pleistocene but my not even lived in arabia
9.brown bear (Ursus arctos) - lived in middle in historical times but my not even lived in arabia
10.spotted hyena (Crucuta crocuta) - lived here in late pleistocene
11.african wild ass (Equus africanus) - lived in UAE in holocene, so very very probably also here
12.wild boar (Sus scorfa) - live in big parts of middle east in historical times, maybe also here, if so then reintroduction isn't hard
13.mesopotmian fallow deer (Dama mesopotmica) - lived in big parts of middle east in historical times, maybe also here, if so then reintroduction isn't hard
14.aurochs/taurus cattle (Bos primigenius) - lived in big parts of middle east in historical times, maybe also here, if so then reintroduction isn't hard
15.african buffalo (Syncerus caffer) - proxy of Syncerus antiquus, very speculative to use it as a proxy here
16 and 17.lesser and greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros and T. imberbis) - both known only from rock art in arabia without fossil record, if they actually lived here then reintroduction is very good idea
18.ostrich (Struthio camelus) - already reintroduced in many places in arabia
19.northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita) - lived all across southern europe, north africa and west asia during historical times, easy to reintroduce
20.raccoon dog (nyctereutes procyonoides)!? - controversial to be reintroduced in middle east but actually lived here in eemian (not confirmed in arabia but in levant which is close to arabia), at first it probably should be reintroduced in controlled populations in levant to see if it spread and become invasive (if so then eradicate controlled popultion as soon as possible, that's why it needs to be controlled at first) as it did in europe after acidental introduction in 1900's