From Taiga to Steppe: Red Book Amur Tigers to Be Resettled in Kazakhstan

Russia will transfer four Amur tigers to Kazakhstan to restore the population. Experts are now selecting animals that will be able to survive in new conditions, Orda.kz reports.

It is important that the tigers are healthy, know how to hunt and respond normally to humans. said Sergey Aramilev, head of the Amur Tiger Center. 

The project does not involve random individuals. It focuses on orphaned or young tigers that have already been removed from the wild to avoid conflicts with people.

After relocation, the predators will be sent to a rehabilitation center in the Ile‑Balkhash reserve, where the first Amur tigers that arrived from the Netherlands already live. There, they will be observed to see if they can hunt local prey.

If everything goes well, the tigers will be released into the wild.Aramilev explained.

The project was launched back in 2022 at the Eastern Economic Forum. At that time, Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the reintroduction of the tiger to the republic. Later, the parties approved a specific plan with the participation of Vladimir Putin and Kassym‑Jomart Tokayev.

Russian specialists will accompany the process — from release to monitoring the tigers in the wild.

The Amur tiger is one of the rarest predators in the world. According to expert estimates, there are about 750 individuals left in the wild in Russia.

The project to return the tiger to the Kazakh steppes has both scientific and historical significance. In 2009, an international group of biologists proved that the DNA of the extinct Turanian tiger, which once lived on the territory of the republic, and the modern Amur tiger are almost identical. This discovery was a key argument for restoring the lost population.

Original author: Natalya Ovchinnikova

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