ON THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION - A - THE TIGER (Panthera tigris)

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Here is an interesting article I found regarding korean tigers,

Subspecific Status of the Korean Tiger Inferred by Ancient DNA Analysis 

ABSTRACT The tiger population that once inhabited the Korean peninsula was initially considered a unique subspecies (Panthera tigris coreensis), distinct from the Amur tiger of the Russian Far East (P. t. altaica). However, in the following decades, the population of P. t. coreensis was classified as P. t. altaica and hence forth the two populations have been considered the same subspecies. From an ecological point of view, the classification of the Korean tiger population as P. t. altaica is a plausible conclusion. Historically, there were no major dispersal barriers between the Korean peninsula and the habitat of Amur tigers in Far Eastern Russia and northeastern China that might prevent gene flow, especially for a large carnivore with long-distance dispersal abilities. However, there has yet to be a genetic study to confirm the subspecific status of the Korean tiger. Bone samples from four tigers originally caught in the Korean peninsula were collected from two museums in Japan and the United States. Eight mitochondrial gene fragments were sequenced and compared to previously published tiger subspecies’ mtDNA sequences to assess the phylogenetic relationship of the Korean tiger. Three individuals shared an identical haplotype with the Amur tigers. One specimen grouped with Malayan tigers, perhaps due to misidentification or mislabeling of the sample. Our results support the conclusion that the Korean tiger should be classified as P. t. altaica, which has important implications for the conservation and reintroduction of Korean tigers.
RESULTS 
DNA was successfully recovered from bone powders of tigers that were collected in Korea around 100 year ago. Five segments (ND2, COI, ND5, ND6, and Cyt b) of mitochondrial DNA were amplified and sequenced from all samples using eight primer sets to yield a total of 1,174 base pairs including 22 subspecies diagnostic variable sites (Table 2) (Luo et al., 2004). Analysis of the sequences revealed two haplotypes from the four individuals in this study. When compared to previously published sequences, one haplotype shared by three individuals (KOR1 from NMNS; KOR2 and KOR3 from NMNH) was identical to the Amur subspecies, P. t. altaica (Table 2, Fig. 1). In contrast, the other haplotype (KOR4) matched a haplotype found in the Malayan tiger, P. t. jacksoni (Table 2, Fig. 1), which corresponded to COR6, COR7, and COR8 in Luo et al. (2004). The two haplotypes had five nucleotide differences. 
https://www.luo-lab.org/publications/Luo...ersity.pdf Reply