On 31 July, a female tiger named “Umit” – meaning “hope” in Kazakh – was released into a nature reserve on the edge of Lake Balkhash, marking the first step in a decade-long plan to return the Caspian tiger to Kazakhstan. The country becomes the first to restore its tiger range after the species was thought extinct, with the last reliable sighting over 70 years ago.
Historic Release After Decades of Planning
Umit, a wild-caught female transported from the Russian far east, is the first of several tigers to be introduced. A wild-caught male from Russia is being monitored and will be released when deemed fit to survive alone. Two wild tiger cubs are being reared in special enclosures with minimal human contact, likely to be released next year into the marshlands to prey on boar, deer, and kulans (wild donkeys).
“Today, we became witnesses of a truly historic event,” said Yerlan Nysanbayev, Kazakhstan’s environment minister. “There is a lot of work ahead on monitoring tigers and forming a stable population, but today the first and very important step has been taken.”
From Extinction to Genetic Breakthrough
The Caspian tiger was declared extinct in the 1970s after fur hunting, habitat destruction, and eradication campaigns. Its range once stretched from eastern Turkey to north-west China, including parts of Central Asia, particularly in Tugai forests destroyed for agriculture. Officially declared extinct in 2003, a 2009 DNA analysis revealed that the Caspian tiger and the Amur tiger of eastern Siberia were nearly identical, differing by a single letter of genetic code, suggesting they intermingled until the early 1900s.
“For all intents and purposes, this is the return of the Caspian tiger, only this time they flew instead of walking,” said Dale Miquelle, head of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Russia programme. “The idea of bringing back a subspecies of tigers that has disappeared is very exciting. This is as close as we’re going to get to that process.”
Feasibility and Future Plans
A 2017 feasibility study identified two suitable habitats in Kazakhstan, with Ile-Balkhash, where Umit was released, deemed most promising; the Kazakh government made it a nature reserve in 2018. The release is the first cross-border tiger translocation, though similar efforts in the Russian far east have succeeded, including rescuing orphaned cubs and releasing them into former ranges.
Miquelle noted, “The success rate was pretty close to 100% after the release. These animals adapt amazingly quickly. One young female killed a Himalayan black bear within 24 hours of being released.”
Challenges and Outlook
Despite progress, wild tiger numbers have plummeted from about 100,000 in the early 20th century to about 5,500 today, with ongoing declines in Asia due to habitat loss, climate change, and disease. In Russia, African swine fever has reduced wild boar populations, a key prey, leading tigers to target human settlements. Ensuring sufficient prey is critical for the returning tigers.
“I am very hopeful this can work. In Russia, a number of translocations resulted in the recolonisation of tiger habitat. So there’s a blueprint that suggests that this can work as long as there is suitable habitat and sufficient prey,” Miquelle said. The plan aims to establish a self-sustaining population of about 50 tigers in Kazakhstan.
