A holiday dedicated to the rarest large feline in the world took place in the village of Slavyanka on 20 and 21 September.  This year, the organiser of the holiday was the district education directorate with the support of the Far Eastern Leopards non-commercial organisation and Leopard Land National Park. The traditional holiday is being celebrated here for the 11^th time.

The event’s extensive programme opened with a procession to Slavyanka’s main square, which was attended by 16 teams from school environmental clubs in the Khasansky and Nadezhdinsky districts. Each team has prepared leopard-themed souvenirs and pastries.

Children from School No 2 in Slavyanka won the competition for the best souvenir table and won the Leopard Land quiz. The winning team gained the right to name the leopard cub under number Leo 9. The name will be announced on Sunday, 28 September, during the celebration of Tiger Day in Vladivostok.

“Leopard Land in July launched the Leopard Keeper contest, during which anyone can vie for an opportunity to name one of the spotted predators,” said Viktoria Vysotskaya, head of the environmental education department at Leopard Land. “Only those who have made an effort to protect the Far Eastern leopard have this right. Children from the clubs – friends of Leopard Land -- have taken care of the rare cat for many years. For them, a special category was established -- Cubs to Children -- so each club will have its own cub.”

At the same time, anyone can win the right to name a leopard. To take part in the Leopard Keeper contest, those interested should fill in a form and email it to the contest organisers.