Named Umit – the Kazakh word for "hope" – the female Amur tiger has become the face of one of Kazakhstan's most ambitious wildlife conservation projects. Scientists hope Amur tigers will restore a wild tiger population to Central Asia, where the species disappeared more than 70 years ago.
One of four Amur tigers brought to Kazakhstan from Russia in May, Umit is the first to be released into the wild in the Ile-Balkhash Nature Reserve.