A roundtable on the protection of rare wild cat species of Russia took place on 15 November on the sidelines of the 6^th World Parks Congress in Sydney, which is taking place from 12 to 19 November. The roundtable was attended by Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoy, and President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Zhang Xinsheng (China).

Experts presented data on the state of the wild cat populations of Russia: the Amur tiger, the Far Eastern leopard, the manul and the irbis (snow leopard). “Some members of our audience were surprised by the fact itself that wild cats that are traditionally thought to inhabit the tropics live in the harsh Russian climate,” Yelena Salmanova, Deputy Director for Science and Ecological Education of Leopard Land National Park said. “At the same time, the more expert members of the audience highly appreciated our efforts to preserve wild cat species.”

The wild cat topic featured prominently during a dialogue between Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sergei Donskoy, and IUCN President Zhang Xinsheng, who were both present at the roundtable. Since a number of wild cat species inhabit trans-border areas, the issue calls for trans-border cooperation.  

The Wild Cats of Russia roundtable evoked a great deal of interest: around 100 foreign participants attended, and the auditorium was unable to accommodate everyone who wished to take part. Upon numerous requests, some of the presentations will be repeated at the Russian pavilion of the Wild Parks Congress’s exposition in the days to follow.

“In the unanimous opinion of the roundtable’s participants, Russia has succeeded in creating an effective system for the conservation of rare animal species,” Dmitry Gorshkov, Director of the Sikhote-Alin natural park, told reporters.

In the Russian pavilion, located at the central showground of Sydney’s Olympic Park, visitors can meet leading Russian experts in national parks, watch video materials, make video tours and photograph themselves near life-size stuffed animals.