Kuzya, a tiger released into the wilderness in May 2014, has crossed the Chinese-Russian border over the ice-covered Amur River and returned to Russia’s Jewish Autonomous Region.

Viktor Serdyuk, a spokesman for the Tiger Special Inspectorate, said Kuzya had crossed the border in the early hours of 6 December and stayed on the bank of the Amur River until 9 December. He later went north and is now roaming the Dichuk game reserve in the Jewish Autonomous Region.

Environmentalists will now be able to track the animal using a satellite transmitter and his footprints. They will soon enter the tiger’s habitat, study the footprints and assess his condition.

After being released in the Amur Region this past May, Kuzya roamed through the region and the Khabarovsk Territory and later swam across the Amur River into China.