This past summer, the Land of the Leopard National Park’s staff members received the first few entries from those willing to give names to rare wild cats. Most of the contestants had taken part in previous contests and eagerly responded to the new opportunity.

“Our primary criterion for selecting contestants is their interest in the Far Eastern leopard,” Valentina Vysotskaya, head of the Land of the Leopard federal state budgetary institution’s Environmental Education Department, said. “If it is there, they will have no difficulty proving that they have something to contribute to our common cause. Even through collecting photos of leopards, telling their friends and acquaintances about these animals, or taking part in various events, a person indirectly helps to protect this rare cat,” she said.

As the contest organisers noted, the largest number of entries is expected in autumn as school students and teachers show a particular interest in such events. The entries will be accepted at leo_name@leopard-land.ru until 25 December 2014. The contest’s 30 finalists will be chosen by the end of January 2015, with seven picked up by a special jury consisting of members of third-party environmental organisations. The Leopard Keeper contest winners will be announced during the third stage in early February 2015.