Massive Habitat Restoration Paves the Way for Tigers’ Return

Kazakhstan is restoring tiger habitat by planting tens of thousands of trees as part of an effort to reintroduce wild tigers to landscapes where they disappeared more than 70 years ago.

“Each planted seedling is therefore a direct contribution to the future of the tiger in Kazakhstan,” said a spokesperson for WWF Central Asia.

Around 37,000 seedlings and cuttings were planted in the South Balkhash region in 2025, bringing the total to 50,000 planted since 2021 to rebuild forests and wetlands that support prey such as wild boar and Bukhara deer. The habitat recovery forms part of a national greening effort that has already planted about 1.4 billion trees. At the same time, Amur tigers from Russia are expected to arrive in 2026 to help re-establish a wild population in the Ile-Balkhash Nature Reserve.