Russia to Transfer Four Amur Tigers to Kazakhstan for Population Restoration

Russia will transfer four Amur tigers, a species listed in the Red Book, to Kazakhstan as part of a project to restore the predator's population in the republic. The high-level intentions have been formalized in a document.

The transfer procedure involves selecting suitable animals that meet specific criteria, according to Sergei Aramilev, Director General of the Amur Tiger Center. "The animals must be of different sexes. Another crucial point is their physical health—the absence of any injuries or their consequences—as well as the ability to hunt ungulates and have a normal reaction to humans," Aramilev explained.

Once selected, the tigers will be moved to Kazakhstan and placed in a rehabilitation center. There, specialists will test how the predators hunt animals native to Kazakhstan and assess their reaction to humans. If all goes well, the tigers will be released into the wild.

The candidates for transfer will be orphaned tiger cubs left without their mother in the wild or young tigers captured preemptively to prevent conflict situations. "Candidates exist, and selection is underway to send all four at once," Aramilev noted.

The project will be implemented jointly. Russian specialists will be present during the release and further monitoring. "They will be involved in the process, so I am confident the tigers will be safe," Aramilev added. He mentioned that Kazakh specialists have already visited Russia's Far East to learn from local hunting oversight authorities, and Russian experts will conduct training seminars for their foreign colleagues after the transfer.

Preparations for restoring the tiger population in Kazakhstan have been actively underway since 2010, including establishing a special federal reserve and a rehabilitation center for this project.

In 2022, Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on tiger reintroduction in the republic. In November 2025, Kazakhstan's Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Yerlan Nysanbayev and his Russian counterpart Alexander Kozlov signed a joint action plan for preparing the import of Amur tigers from Russia and their initial adaptation. The document was signed in the presence of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Amur tiger is one of the planet's rarest predators, listed in the International Red Book. In Russia, these big cats inhabit four regions: Primorsky and Khabarovsk Krais, Amur Oblast, and the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. Expert estimates put Russia's wild population at approximately 750 individuals.