Rescued after sustaining serious injuries to his nose and face from would-be poachers, Saikhan the “miracle tiger” has been released back into the forests of the Russian Far East. The severely wounded Amur tiger cub was found in January 2017 after the Primorsky Province Hunting Department received an urgent alert about the animal and quickly dispatched a team of experts to locate him.

The cub, between just five and seven months old, was immediately transported to the Alekseevka Rehabilitation Center—one of two tiger rehabilitation centers in Russia—where he received emergency surgery and around-the-clock medical care.

Thankfully, this rapid response saved the tiger’s life. After a successful operation by skilled veterinarians and months of rehabilitation, Saikhan made a full recovery. He was then introduced to Lazovka, a female tiger cub rescued just one month earlier, who helped him to socialize and prepare for life in the wild.