A young orphan tigress named Zolushka (Cinderella), who is living at a special rehabilitation centre in the Primorye Territory, has started hunting wild animals in her enclosure, said the Director of the Tiger Specialised Inspectorate.

On February 24, hunters found this emaciated Amur tiger, aged five to six months, in a forest near the village of Borisovka in the Ussuriisk District. The little tigress was taken to a special rehabilitation centre and named Zolushka.

The special rehabilitation centre was built in 2011 in the Primorye Territory by the Tiger Special Inspectorate and the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences under the Programme to Research the Amur Tiger in the Russian Far East. The programme is implemented by a Permanent Expedition of the Russian Academy of Sciences with the support of the Russian Geographical Society.

The Feniks (Phoenix) Charitable Foundation raised funds to buy meat for the tigress, as well as live rabbits and deer to improve her hunting skills.

"Zolushka the tigress now lives inside a large enclosure with an area of 0.5 hectares. She has hunted rabbits, raccoons, beavers, boars and several deer," said officials of the Special Inspectorate. The animals are placed inside the enclosure at different hours, so that the tigress does not become accustomed to regular feeding hours. Just like any wild animal, Zolushka hides whenever humans are nearby.

"This is a real wild beast who has not been tamed in the slightest, even while living in close proximity humans. She hides and peeks out when someone approaches the enclosure. She does not like when humans are nearby, and after she comes into contact with people, she goes to a water spring inside her enclosure and relaxes there in order to cope with the stress," the Inspectorate Director said. He also noted that specialists planned to release Zolushka into the wilderness in May 2013 when hoofed animals, including boars, give birth to their offspring. The young tigress will have no trouble finding food.