Two Amur tigers were released into the wild at the Zhuravliny wildlife sanctuary in the Jewish Autonomous Region on 5 June by the staff of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (IEE) responsible for implementing the programme for the study and conservation of the Amur tiger in the Russian Far East. This was done in cooperation with the Tiger Special Inspection, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the Phoenix Fund.  

In particular, these funds are working to restore the population of Amur tigers in the northwest of their natural habitat. Found in the wild, orphan cubs undergo a rehabilitation course under a specialised IEE programme at the Rehabilitation and Reintroduction Centre for tigers and other rare animals built near the village of Alekseyevka in the Primorye Territory with financial assistance from the Russian Geographical Society (RGS). The young animals are taught basic skills that will help them to readapt to their natural environment.

On 3 June, a motorcade led by an air-conditioned animal transportation vehicle left the Rehabilitation Centre for a location in the north of the Jewish Autonomous Region. After a 1,200-kilometre non-stop drive, the motorcade arrived at the village of Bidzhan, where a crane was used to reload the 400-kilogramme cages to caterpillar cross-country vehicles that headed across marshy terrain for the Zhuravliny wildlife sanctuary.

The last 60-kilometre leg through the marshes was the most trying experience for all expedition members, who were tormented by heat and gadflies. People had to stop several times to spray the tigers and the cages with cool water from the river.

On 5 June, when ecologists, biologists and environmentalists celebrate the World Environment Day, the two tigers, Yustin and Svetlaya, were released into the wild. Thus, yet another step was made towards restoring the Amur tiger population in an area where it had been destroyed by humans in the mid-20^th century.

The tigers survived the journey fairly well. In the dusk, the cages were lowered by hand to the ground at a maximum distance from populated localities in an area where concentrations of wild boar, roe deer, red deer and other potential prey had been spotted.

Joined by President Vladimir Putin on 22 May, the same team released three Centre-trained tigers at the Zhelundinsky wildlife sanctuary in the Amur Region. A year ago, the tigress Zolushka (Cinderella) was released at the Bastak nature reserve in the Jewish Autonomous Region. She was the first to come to the habitat’s northwestern area and now seems to have a beau, Zavetny, who migrated from the Khabarovsk Territory and, judging by all appearances, will never leave his newfound bride.

All the released tigers are being covered by a comprehensive monitoring project. Satellite collars help scientists to track their movements and identify hunting grounds. The satellite data indicate that the cubs are adapting successfully.

An RGS project, the programme for the study and conservation of the Amur tiger in the Russian Far East has been implemented since 2008 by the Russian Academy of Sciences’ permanent expedition for the study of animals listed in the Russian Red Data Book of endangered species and other important animals.