Kazakh Ministry of Environment / Anadolu / GettyAt the Ile-Balkhash Nature Reserve, a female Amur tiger named Umit is released into its natural habitat in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on August 3, 2026. Umit (a Kazakh word for “hope”) was the first to be released out of four Amur (Siberian) tigers that were transferred from Russia to Kazakhstan.Hauke-Christian Dittrich / DPA / GettyShortly before being released into the wild at the eastern end of the German island of Juist, a seal named Ernie peeks out of a transport crate on August 13, 2026.Hauke-Christian Dittrich / DPA / GettyThree seals, (from left) Ernie, Lucy, and Tiffy, scoot into the water during their release on the German island of Juist on August 13, 2026, after being successfully raised at the Norddeich Seal Sanctuary.Maria Derhachova / Global Images Ukraine / GettyAn employee of the Ukrainian Bat Center holds a bat in her hand while preparing it for flight on April 5, 2026, in Lviv, Ukraine. All bat species found in Ukraine have the status of “vulnerable” or “rare” and are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine. During the winter, volunteers care for bats that could not find a place for hibernation or are injured. They are fed, treated, and sent into hibernation. In spring, they are released into the natural environment so that they can continue their life in usual conditions.Henning Kaiser / DPA / GettyAfter being released, wild horses discover their new habitat on the Sophienhöhe at the Hambach open-cast mine near Niederzier, Germany, as part of a larger recultivation project, on June 13, 2024.Henning Kaiser / DPA / GettyDuring a release program organized by the State Office for Nature, Environment, and Climate of North Rhine-Westphalia, a field hamster is released into the wild above a pre-drilled burrow near Pulheim, Germany, on June 25, 2026.Sean Gallup / GettyLutz Krenkel, a fisherman with the Regional Fishery Office of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, prepares to release a three-year-old Baltic sturgeon into the Oder River as his colleague Stefanie Felsing assists, on May 24, 2023, in Lebus, Germany. The sturgeon, along with 700 others that had been bred in captivity, was released into the Oder in an ongoing repopulation effort. The Baltic sturgeon was once common to the entire Baltic Sea region, though overfishing and waterway development led to its practical extinction by the 1950s.Ariel Schalit / APNetz, a sea turtle with a transmission device attached to her shell, makes her way to the Mediterranean Sea after being released by the Sea Turtle Rescue Center, in Michmoret, Israel, on August 19, 2022. Five turtles were released back into the wild after months of rehabilitation at the rescue center after suffering physical trauma from fishing nets, pollution, and underwater explosives.Mindy Schauer / MediaNewsGroup / Orange County Register / GettyLulu Vallejo of Fullerton releases a Cooper’s hawk, one of four rehabilitated raptors that donors set free from OC Bird of Prey Center, in Mission Viejo, California, on October 19, 2024. The bird had suffered head trauma after striking a window, and spent months in rehab.Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times / GettyOne of two sea-lion pups released from medical care rushes to the water near the Hermosa Beach Pier in Hermosa, California, on June 24, 2025. The two were medically treated by the Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles for various health issues and released about a month later.Viacheslav Madiievskyi / Ukrinform / Future Publishing / GettyPeople watch small songbirds fly out of a cage during a traditional release of rescued birds at Feldman Ecopark, in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, on April 12, 2026. This year, more than 300 rescued birds (songbirds, pheasants, owls, swans, and partridges) were released into the wild. All of them underwent rehabilitation at the Dobryi Dim (Good Home) Feldman Ecopark Animal Rescue Center after injuries from Russian attacks, entanglement in anti-drone nets, or poachers.Viacheslav Madiievskyi / Ukrinform / Future Publishing / GettyPheasants fly out of a wooden cage during a release of rescued birds at Feldman Ecopark in Ukraine on April 12, 2026.Sina Schuldt / DPA / GettyMaria Oetjen releases young lesser-spotted catsharks into the North Sea near Borkum, Germany, on July 13, 2022.Dolores Ochoa / APJuvenile giant tortoises are released on Floreana Island as part of a project to reintroduce the species to its native habitat in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, on February 20, 2026.Felix Hörhager / DPA / GettyAn ibex jumps out of a trailer during a release of Swiss ibex below the Benediktenwand, while members of the press document the scene in Bad Tölz, Germany, on April 14, 2023.Frederic J. Brown / AFP via GettyStaff and volunteers from International Bird Rescue in Southern California assist in the release of 15 California brown pelicans from cages at a beach in San Pedro, California, on May 28, 2025, following weeks of care for starvation and injuries.Frank Molter / DPA / GettyDaniel Günther, minister president of Schleswig-Holstein, releases a protected and endangered species of crayfish into a gravel pond at the Seewerk Warder gravel pit on August 10, 2026. The goal is to help ensure the long-term survival of the species.Jorge Guerrero / AFP / GettyAn Iberian lynx runs after being released in the Sierra de Arana mountain range, 40 kilometers from Granada, in Iznalloz, Spain, on February 20, 2024. Five Iberian lynx were released in a mountainous area of the Andalusian province of Granada as part of the LIFE LynxConnect project to repopulate this native species.Özkan Bilgin / Anadolu / GettyA griffon vulture flies into the sky after being released on October 27, 2023. The vulture had been found injured and exhausted, and was cared for at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University’s Wild Animal Protection Rehabilitation Center in Van, Turkey, before being released into its natural habitat.
