For more than 70 years, no one had seen tigers in Kazakhstan. Now the country has begun restoring the extinct population with the help of Amur tigers from Russia. The first animal released into the Ile-Balkhash nature reserve on the shore of Lake Balkhash was a female named Umit — “Hope.”
The Caspian tiger once lived across a vast area of Central Asia, but disappeared because of hunting and habitat destruction. It was officially declared extinct in 2003. The story seemed to be over. However, a genetic study in 2009 showed that the Caspian and Amur tigers are practically identical. That discovery made it possible to begin returning the tiger to its historical range. Kazakhstan became the first country to attempt this.
Umit was captured in the wild in Russia’s Far East. In the coming years, other tigers are expected to join her to form a population of about 50 animals. Ile-Balkhash was identified as one of the best places for their return back in 2017, and a year later a nature reserve was created there. It remains to be seen whether, after seven decades, the tiger can once again become part of the local nature.
