Kazakhstan frees a second Amur tiger in its Ili-Balkhash reserve
· BehindLines newsroom
Kazakhstan has released a second tiger into the wild, a male named Amur, as part of a programme to bring back a species that vanished from the country more than seventy years ago. Al Jazeera reported the news on 4 November.
According to The Times of Central Asia, the animal was freed on 31 October 2026 in the Ili-Balkhash State Nature Reserve in the south-east. A female, Umit, had been released on 31 July; the Kazakh ministry, quoted by the same outlet, says she is already hunting alone and exploring her new territory. Both cats wear satellite collars.
The programme rests on an agreement with Russia reached in November 2025. In May 2026, four Amur tigers caught in the Khabarovsk region, two adults and two cubs, arrived in Kazakhstan. The two cubs remain under observation, and their release will depend on their age and on assessments. The Times of Central Asia says the Amur tiger was chosen because it is genetically close to the Caspian tiger, which died out in the mid-twentieth century.
The ministry has set up three safety zones around Umit’s habitat and a response team able to warn residents or drive the animal back. The outlet also notes worries on social media about Lake Balkhash. Habitat restoration continues, with 30 kulans moved in during September. Long-term success will partly depend on the flow of the Ili River, which rises in China.
It is not known whether or when the two cubs will be released, or whether the tigers will breed in the wild, which the outlet presents as the more important milestone.