Russia to transfer four Amur tigers to Kazakhstan

Tengrinews.kz – Russia will transfer four endangered Amur tigers to Kazakhstan as part of a project to restore the population of this species in the country, Tengrinews.kz reports citing RIA.

"The intentions have been formalized at a high level in an official document. The transfer procedure includes selecting the necessary animals — they must be of different sexes. The second important point is physical health, absence of injuries and their consequences, as well as the ability to hunt hoofed animals and a normal reaction to humans. As soon as these individuals are selected, they will be moved to Kazakhstan and placed in a rehabilitation center," said Sergey Aramilev, Director General of the Amur Tiger Center.

According to him, the rehabilitation center will test how the tigers hunt animals that live in Kazakhstan. Tests will also be conducted to evaluate the predators’ reaction to humans. If everything goes well, the tigers will be released into the wild.

"Candidates will be orphaned tiger cubs that were left in the wild without their mother, or young tigers that were captured for preventive purposes to avoid conflict situations. There are candidates, and selection is underway so that all four can be sent at once," the specialist noted.

Aramilev said that specialists from Kazakhstan had visited the Russian Far East to learn from local wildlife authorities. The Russian side will conduct training seminars for Kazakh specialists after the transfer.

"The project will be implemented jointly. Russian specialists will be present during the release and further monitoring, and will be involved in the process, so I am confident that the tigers will be safe," he added.

He also clarified that conditions for restoring the tiger population in Kazakhstan have been actively developed since 2010. A special federal reserve was created for this project, and a rehabilitation center was established.
In 2022, Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the reintroduction of tigers into Kazakhstan. In November 2025, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Yerlan Nysanbayev and his Russian counterpart Alexander Kozlov signed a joint action plan to prepare for the transfer of Amur tigers to Kazakhstan and their initial adaptation.
The Amur tiger is one of the rarest predators on the planet and is listed in the International Red Book. In the wild, these animals in Russia live in Primorsky and Khabarovsk regions, as well as in Amur and the Jewish Autonomous regions. According to experts, the tiger population in Russia is about 750 individuals.