Kazakhstan releases first tiger in 70 years in historic conservation milestone

Kazakhstan has released a female Amur tiger into the wild for the first time in more than 70 years, marking a major step toward restoring the tiger to its historical range in the country.

The tiger, named “Hope” in Kazakh, was released into the Ile-Balkhash Nature Reserve during a ceremony attended by government officials. The reserve was established in 2018 specifically for tiger reintroduction.“Today, we witnessed a truly historic event,” said Yerlan Nyssanbayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources. “For the first time since the tiger disappeared from Kazakhstan more than 70 years ago, the first tiger has been released into its historical range. This is the result of many years of work by the state, our Russian colleagues, scientists, and international partners.”

The extinct Caspian tiger, also known as the Turanian tiger, was most closely related to the Amur tiger. Because of that, Russian collaboration was key to the project. Hope and three other tigers — a male named Amur and two cubs from Russia’s Khabarovsk Reserve — were first placed in large enclosures to adapt to the local environment.

Hope was examined by veterinarians, fitted with a GPS tracking collar, and then released into the reserve. The male, Amur, remains in captivity while experts monitor his hunting behavior. The two cubs will be raised semi-wild and are expected to be released around 18 months of age, pending assessments of their hunting and survival skills.

The reintroduction was preceded by a decade of habitat restoration. In 2020, Bukhara deer were re-established in the reserve, followed by saiga antelope and the Asiatic wild ass, or kulan, to rebuild prey populations for the tigers.

The Ile-Balkhash reserve is not fenced, allowing tigers to expand into their ancestral range as numbers grow. Officials said community safety is a priority.

“The safety of people living near the reserve is our top priority,” the Ministry of Ecology said. “We’ve put measures in place to prevent conflicts between people and tigers, including a dedicated team that will respond if an animal approaches a populated area.”If successful, Kazakhstan will become the world’s first country to re-establish tigers into an ecosystem where they had disappeared.