The 4^th annual Conference on Conservation Science took place in Bangalore on 25-28 September. Among the 300 participants, researchers and practitioners from all over the world was Anna Vitalkova from Leopard Land National Park, Russia’s first specialist participating in the conference. She gave a presentation on rare big cat species.

Anna’s poster presentation dealt with the use of trail cameras in efforts to study the Far Eastern leopard population, with special attention given to the use of research results in environmental awareness campaigns to save the Amur tiger.

“Many conference participants who aren’t involved with big cats were surprised to learn that leopards inhabit Russia,” Anna says. “At the same time, I was lucky to speak with other experts working on the preservation of big cats, and with experts in geo-information technology about next steps in research and how to analyse the data obtained so far.”

The Conference on Conservation Science devoted to the preservation of biodiversity is an offshoot of the main conference which has been held in Cambridge for the past 15 years. Sponsored by the Centre for Ecological Sciences, the Indian Institute of Science, and the National Centre for Biological Sciences, the conference focused on all areas of conservation activity, including social, political and legal aspects. It also served as a platform for sharing experiences, featuring meetings between young scientists and experienced researchers, trainings, exhibitions and presentations.