Abstract:
To restore the Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) population in the northwestern part of its range in Russia, where the species had not been recorded since the 1970s (Jewish Autonomous Oblast and Amur Oblast), we released six tigers (three females, three males) in 2013 and 2014. These individuals became the founders of the restored population and also contributed to the reconstruction of the biological signal field of this species in a region where tigers had been absent for over 50 years. The released animals originated from the wild and were removed from it at the age of 4–6 months to prevent their death due to the loss of their mother. The orphaned cubs were rehabilitated, raised using a specialized reintroduction preparation technology, and returned to the wild. This article summarizes information on the key principles of raising tiger cubs and preparing them for release into the wild at a specially constructed experimental center. In captivity-raised cubs, the most critical behavioral patterns necessary for survival in the wild—avoidance of humans, the ability to hunt natural prey species, and appropriate interactions with conspecifics—were successfully developed. The conceptual approach to developing a methodology for preparing animals for life in the wild, as well as the methodology itself, is based on the concepts of sensitive periods that naturally occur during ontogenesis, species-specific behavior, and an integrated ontogenesis scale developed by us for tiger cubs. This framework is essential for planning a system of timely introduction of releaser stimuli relevant to each age period into the animal’s environment.
Yachmennikova, A.A., Blidchenko, E.Y., Naidenko, S.V. et al. Training Large Predator Cubs for Reintroduction into the Wild (The Example of Orphaned Amur Tiger Cubs, Panthera tigris altaica). Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 53, 153 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359026603095
