A trail camera at the Zhuravliny Nature Sanctuary in the Jewish Autonomous Region has captured Svetlaya the tigress with cubs. The cubs were hiding behind their mum, so it was impossible to count them. The father of the cubs is Borya, with whom Svetlaya has lived in Zhuravliny for almost two years.

The new addition to Borya and Svetlaya’s family is a unique case because the tigers were released into the wild after completing a rehabilitation programme. Borya and two other orphaned cubs, Kuzya and Ilona, were released in May 2014. Svetlaya was set free in June 2014. It is also worth mentioning that the predators formed a pair by themselves despite the 500 kilometres that divided them. Svetlaya and Borya met each other for the first time in October 2015.