Help ID a vintage tiger photo!

Hello all!
I'm hoping this is the right section to post this, as it is a historical zoo photo...

I'm looking for a little help on finding the context/background information (e.g. where it was taken) for the following photo of a Caspian tigress:


Also! If anyone is able, I'd be eternal grateful for a translation of the accompanying text (Google Translate is only so helpful haha). Thank you!

 

There are a couple of good colour photos of her too. I know her name but can't currently remember it.

 

Here’s one: Image - Panthera tigris virgata (Caspian Tiger) | BioLib.cz

Her name was Soraya and she died in 1960, where she was believed to be the last Caspian tiger in captivity.

 

That's it. Well done. Knew it started with an 's'. Fascinating photos- few people realised there was one in a zoo back then, I visited Hamburg just a few years later but had no idea they had kept this tiger there.

 

My sincerest gratitude for your help everyone !! (And especially for that translation,
@TeaLovingDave !)

According to the site @Zoofan15 shared, Soraya arrived at the zoo in 1955...? Do we have any idea where she originated from, though? I imagine the wild, of course, but the Caspian tiger had quite the range.

 

She was a gift from the Persian Shah and arrived with a male tiger that she outlived. She was named Soraya after the Queen consort of the same name.

 

@Zoofan15 Very interesting! I imagine the other tiger was from the Caspian population as well? Shame the pair didn't reproduce in captivity.

@TeaLovingDave Do let me know if/when you dig them out, as I'd be incredibly interested to hear more on the situation!

 

Yes, I imagine he would have been as Caspian tiger also. She was at the zoo for five years and there's little mention of him at all, so I would summise he died not long after their arrival. It wpuld have been great to have seen Caspian tiger cubs from this pair. They're a fascinating subspecies.

 

Ahh I see, what a shame :c I wonder what got to him, perhaps the stress of the journey? Same with Soraya, as I can't imagine her death was simply age related...

 

It's hard to say without knowing their ages on arrival. If they were older, it may explain why they never bred as Soraya would have stopped cycling.

Kidney disease is common in older tigers as well as cancer etc. but this is just guessing as I have no further info.

 

There is another colour photo of this tigress,where she is smelling the ground. Perhaps taken at the same time as the other one? Very few good photos of Caspian tigers exist.

 

Here’s the photo: https://www.pinterest.nz/pin/451626668865507174/

It was likely taken around the same time (even the same day) as the previous photo as the photographer (Klaus Rudloff) is the same.

It’s been interesting to see a female of this subspecies as I’d previously only see a male (with a distinctive ruff).

 

They had distinctive tail markings apparently, those wedge-shaped blocks of coloured striping. Also supposed to have a distinctive shortened 'pug-face' which the Berlin photos appear to show, but not noticeable in these photos of Soraya.

 

Any infomation on the Caspian tigers in this edition of the guidebook(or any other)?

 

Oh my thanks !! Those images are wonderful (and the cover art is gorgeous!), a very special glimpse into the past. My thanks once again for sharing!

 

Some information about Soraya already mentioned, however wanted to add that she was one of last Caspian tigers in captivity and her video (below) is the only footage of Caspian tigers I came across.