Experts from the Zhuravliny Nature Sanctuary in the Jewish Autonomous Region captured some extraordinary photos of Amur tigers Boris and Svetlaya. The photos show the couple resting and walking together around a common habitat. Based on the collected data, the scientists concluded that the tigers not only mate during the rut but also maintain contact throughout the year, which speaks to a more sophisticated social behaviour for the species than was previously considered.

Amur tiger Boris and two other orphaned cubs, Kuzya and Ilona, were released into the wild in May 2014 by Vladimir Putin in the Amur Region. Later in June, female tiger Svetlaya and male tiger Ustin were also released in the Jewish Autonomous Region.

Svetlaya remained alone in the Zhuravliny Nature Sanctuary and the surrounding areas. Boris stayed close to the release point in the Zhelundinsky Wildlife Sanctuary for over a year. Last October, he began moving around the Amur Region covering longer distances and by November ended up in the Zhuravliny Sanctuary. From then on, Boris and Svetlaya would run into each other with some frequency. They started leaving scent marks in the same places and visiting each other’s successful hunting locations.