An Amur tiger named Ustin, who was released into the wild in the Jewish Autonomous Area, briefly entered the territory of Khabarovsk.

Experts from the Moscow Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Primorye branch of the Tiger Special Inspectorate and WCS Russia have been monitoring the tiger’s movements using a tracking collar.

According to Sergei Spiridonov, head of the Zapovednoye Priamurye branch, the tiger entered the coastal area in Khabarovsk’s southern district from Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island, where he spent two days. Employees of the Tiger Special Inspectorate, Bolshekhekhtsirsky Nature Reserve, the WCS and the Khabarovsk Territory Ministry of Natural Resources were not able to find the tiger and assumed that he swam across a branch of the Amur River and returned to the island.

Experts at the Department of Wildlife Preservation of the Khabarovsk Territory’s Ministry of Natural Resources believe that Ustin is keeping to himself and is not threatening humans, and so there is no need to capture him.

On 5 June 2014, two Amur tigers – Ustin and Svetlaya – were released at the Zhuravliny Nature Reserve in the Jewish Autonomous Area. The orphaned cubs were found in the wild and underwent rehabilitation at the Centre of Rehabilitation and Reintroduction of Tigers and Other Rare Animals before being released.