Tigers will soon roam Kazakhstan for the first time in more than 70 years, as conservationists embark on a major effort to restore some of their lost habitat.
Kazakhstan’s last Caspian tiger disappeared in the late 1940s after years of hunting, habitat loss, and declining prey numbers. Now, the Central Asian country has ambitious plans to reintroduce the world’s largest cat to its historic land.
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Last year, the Kazakh Tiger Reintroduction Program, led by the Kazakh government with support from the World Wide Fund for Nature and the United Nations Development Programme, planted 37,000 saplings and cuttings near a giant lake in the southern Balkhash region of southeastern Kazakhstan, where tigers once ranged, according to WWF-Central Asia. This will increase the number of seedlings to be planted between 2021 and 2024 to 50,000.
Tree planting is an important part of a large-scale greening program currently underway in Kazakhstan. The country has planted about 1.4 billion trees since 2021, and officials say they plan to plant 2 billion trees by 2027.
In South Balkhash, newly planted trees serve as the basis for restoring the ecosystem adjacent to already forested land. These trees provide food as well as shelter and access to water for the tiger’s prey, wild boars and ungulates such as the Bactrian deer (Cervus elaphus bactrianus, also known as the Bactrian deer).
“Wild ungulates have already been seen foraging in the restored areas, indicating that the ecosystem is beginning to function,” a WWF Central Asia spokesperson told LiveScience in an email. “Each sapling planted will therefore directly contribute to the future of Kazakhstan’s tigers.”
The plantation encompasses approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) of shoreline along Lake Balkhash. With an area of approximately 6,500 square miles (17,000 square kilometers), Lake Balkhash is the largest lake in Central Asia and the 15th largest lake in the world. The new vegetation includes 30,000 fine-leafed weasel seedlings, 5,000 willow cuttings and 2,000 turanga poplar seedlings, creating “islands” of growing forest that regulate water flow and stabilize flooding and inundation.
WWF Central Asia attributes the increase in plantings in 2025 to factors such as improved planting techniques and expanded partnerships, in addition to increased staff experience. However, the pace of ecosystem recovery and its suitability for tigers depends on a variety of factors, including climate, stability of water resources, and vegetation growth.
bring back the tiger
The tigers that once lived in Kazakhstan were part of a now extinct Central Asian population known as the Caspian tiger. But live Amur tigers found in the Russian Far East and China (and potentially North Korea) could serve as a suitable replacement. A 2009 study published in the journal PLOS One found that Caspian and Amur tigers were essentially the same animal, likely having been part of the same population until human activity separated them in the 19th century.
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The reintroduction program welcomed two captive Amur tigers in 2024, who appear to have adapted well to life in Kazakhstan. The tigers, a female Bodana and a male Kuma, arrived from a Dutch game reserve in 2024 and currently live in an enclosure in the Il-Balkhash nature reserve. Bodana and Kuma are accustomed to life in captivity and will never be released, but it is hoped that their descendants will form part of a new ancestral population of Kazakhstani tigers.
However, there is no guarantee that Bodana and the bears will breed or produce suitable offspring, so the new population will largely consist of wild tigers imported from Russia.
Kazakh authorities expect to receive the first tigers from Russia in the coming months. WWF-Central Asia told LiveScience that while it has not been confirmed where the Russian tigers came from, “based on publicly available information and recent media reports, the Amur tigers expected in the first half of 2026 are understood to be from the wild.”
Reintroducing large predators is a delicate and dangerous process, especially when those predators have the potential to harm humans or livestock. But it’s possible. A 2024 study published in the Journal of Wildlife Management found that attempts to reintroduce tigers in Russia were largely successful. Researchers cared for six orphaned wild babies and prepared them for release into their natural habitat. The tiger survived by catching its own prey.
However, the study noted that one rehabilitated tiger killed multiple livestock at a time, including more than 13 goats, and did not show sufficient fear of humans. The tiger was later recaptured and kept at a zoo.
WWF Central Asia said Kazakhstan’s program is ready to resolve any incidents involving conflicts between released tigers and humans. Measures include creating a special team to continuously track released individuals and respond to potential human-wildlife conflicts.
A spokesperson for WWF Central Asia said: “The group’s main tasks include regular patrols, monitoring tiger movements using satellite collars, early detection of possible approaches to settlements, and rapid response measures.”
WWF Central Asia said the program also works with local communities to raise awareness about tigers and how to behave in their presence, while promoting sustainable development in those communities by providing subsidies for agriculture and ecotourism.
“All this forms part of a long-term strategy towards peaceful coexistence between humans and predators,” the spokesperson said. “A compensation scheme is also planned for local people in case the tiger causes livestock loss.”
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