Tigers from the Netherlands Arrive in Kazakhstan

To implement the directive of the Head of State on the restoration of the Turan tiger population and the fauna of the "Ile-Balkhash" reserve, a visit to the Netherlands was organized by Embassy of Kazakhstan in the Netherlands for the Chairman of the Forestry and Wildlife Committee of the Ministry of Ecology, Geology, and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Daniyar Turgambayev, on June 27, 2024.

As part of the visit, meetings were held with representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security, and Nature of the Netherlands, where cooperation on the restoration of wildlife populations, forestry, and the production of carbon credits was discussed.

During the visit, a Memorandum was signed between the Forestry and Wildlife Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Dutch wildlife center Dierenpark Hoenderdaell on the free transfer of two tigers to the "Ile-Balkhash" reserve for further breeding and release of their offspring.

On September 23, 2024, two tigers, Bogdan and Kuma, arrived at the Ile-Balkhash State Nature Reserve from the Dutch specialized predator center Stichting Leeuw. These animals will be used to restore the Turan tiger population, which disappeared in the middle of the last century.

The work is being carried out as part of a World Wildlife Fund project involving Kazakhstan, Russia, and Switzerland, with support from the UN Development Program.