Russia is preparing to transport Amur tigers to Kazakhstan 02:36

The project to reintroduce Amur tigers to Kazakhstan, where the animals are planned to be imported from Russia, is in the negotiation stage. He said in an interview that Russia has already developed a technique and is ready to deliver the tigers. RIA Novosti Sergei Aramilev, Director General of the Amur Tiger Center.

At the Eastern Economic Forum in 2022, Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the reintroduction of tigers to Kazakhstani territory, and some of the tigers could be delivered from Primorye. Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that with the help of Russia’s experience, Kazakhstan could bring tigers back to Central Asia by 2025.

Aramilev also noted that at the first stage it is planned to release four individuals, probably adult tiger cubs, from a rehabilitation center in Kazakhstan.

“Right now, the project is a bit frozen. The Russian Federation has also done what it promised. We have developed the methodology, we have a fund of tigers with pure genetics in captivity. If necessary, we are ready to quickly prepare the animals for transport to Kazakhstan… As far as I know, negotiations are going on as usual,” Aramilev said.

He also noted that there was information in the media about the possibility of using tigers from Dutch zoos. “This will of course complicate the implementation of the project in terms of genotype and common sense. We hope that this initiative will not be taken seriously… So now there are political problems as well as environmental ones, we will wait for the decision of the authorities here,” he added.

Aramilev stressed that the main challenge of the project is the restoration of tiger habitats in Kazakhstan, which is associated with large-scale grazing of livestock. The main thing is to prevent tigers from attacking livestock and to minimize conflicts with people.

A tiger in early Primorye hit under the train.