The two tigers that arrived in the Ile-Balkash Reserve last September have begun to mate, as can be seen in the film clip above. Nine-year-old Kuma and 12-year-old Bohdana appear none the worse after surviving their first winter in Kazakhstan. As can be seen in the video, there is still snow on the ground in their compound.

These two tigers arrived from a zoo in Holland and neither of them have ever spent time in the wild. It is unlikely that they will ever be released, as they lack the hunting skills needed to survive. However, any cubs they produce will be kept away from humans and released into the Reserve to fend for themselves when they are about two years old. Tigers give birth after about 20 weeks, so any cubs should be born in July.

During the cubs’ first two years, whilst they are still in captivity prey species such as deer and wild boar will be introduced into their compounds so that they can learn to hunt. This will equip them for life in the Reserve once they are released.

Up to five further tigers from Russia should be arriving in the 415,000-hectare Ile-Balkash Reserve this year. After a short period in compounds they will be released directly into the Reserve and it is hoped they will become the nucleus of a breeding population that could eventually reach more than 100 animals.

Tigers were once common in Central Asia, where they were known as Turanian tigers or Caspian tigers. They are genetically indistinguishable from the Siberian or Amur tigers that inhabit the far east of Siberia. All the tigers being taken to Kazakhstan are from this subspecies, which is adapted to withstand the harsh winters that can see temperatures fall as low as -40 degrees C. Numbers declined due to hunting and poaching and the the last ones were killed in the mid-1950s.