The Dutch office of the World Wildlife Fund and Kazakh government are planning to release 25 to 30 Siberian tigers into the wilds where tigers once roamed.

They will be transferred from the far east of Russia to an area the size of Gelderland, the body said in a press release. Its plan to repopulate an area where the extinct Caspian tiger once lived was announced at the Holland Pavilion at the World Expo in Kazakhstan on Friday.

Marco Lambertini, Director General of the WWF, said reintroducing the animal was an “important step in securing the future of tigers in the wild” as well as protecting the natural environment in the Ili-Balkhash region.

But before tigers are introduced to an area which has not seen the animals since 1948, bird and potential prey populations need to be restored, and rangers need to be trained to protect the wild animals.