The PROO Tiger Center of Russia has released a photograph captured by a camera trap in the Pri-Amur region of Russia. It is the image of a rehabilitated Amur tigress which was released into the wild in 2014. What is special about the photograph is the image and shadow behind the tigress. It is the legs and shadow of a tiger cub!

The adult tigress named Svetlaya who was orphaned in the wild was raised in captivity before she was put back into the wild. The mission was to restore and recolonize the Amur tiger population in the nearby Sikhote-Alin Mountains. The tiger population was lost some decades before owing to human persecution and the loss of prey.

After her release, Svetlaya was found in 2015 by another rehabilitated tiger called Borya, after travelling a distance of 300 km. They both stayed in close proximity and often shared their prey. Svetlaya reached her reproductive age (3.5 to 4 years) only in the fall of 2016. And, so it is guessed that she would have given birth in April 2017. Thus, Svetlays has become a founding mother of the Pri-Amur tiger population.

By: Angel

Content: www.sciencedaily.com