Reintroduction project

Tigers to be reintroduced to Kazakhstan

The Amur tigers are to be reintroduced to Kazakhstan.(Bild: belizar)

Decades after the extinction of the last tigers in Kazakhstan, the big cats are to be reintroduced there. A pair of Amur tigers are currently moving into the Ile-Balchash reserve in the east of the Central Asian state, according to the environmental protection organization WWF.

The two big cats "Bodhana" and "Kuma" come from a Dutch zoo. The WWF and the UN Development Program (UNEP) are supporting the Kazakh government in the reintroduction project.

Caspian tiger extinct in the 1970s
According to the WWF, Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers, are genetically only slightly different from the Caspian tiger, which was once native to the region. According to the WWF, this subspecies has been considered extinct since the 1970s after centuries of hunting and the increasing conversion of its habitat into farmland and pasture.

Protected area covers 12,000 square kilometers
The Ile-Balchash reserve and adjacent protected areas cover an area of 12,000 square kilometers. However, according to the WWF, the ecological condition in many places is not ideal, so reforestation efforts are underway.

However, prey has been provided for: Bukhara deer and goitered gazelles have been released into the wild, according to the report. In addition, a ban on hunting wild boar has ensured that their population has increased almost fourfold. According to Markus Radday from WWF Germany, an adult tiger has to kill around 50 deer a year to get its fill.

Reviving an entire ecosystem
The tiger expert described the project as complex. Ultimately, it is about reviving an entire ecosystem. The population in the area must also accept the return of the big cats. Poaching is another critical issue and the biggest threat to tigers worldwide, according to Radday.

Last but not least, success also depends on "Bodhana" and "Kuma": "The offspring must be healthy and get used to their new environment. Only if they learn to prey on their own can they survive in the wild in the long term," explained Radday. To ensure the genetic diversity of the population, more tigers are to be added in the coming years.

Stable population of 50 animals as a goal
The long-term goal is a stable population of around 50 tigers. It will only be possible to tell in a few years' time whether the settlement has been successful.