Russian singer Dima Bilan has visited Land of the Leopard National Park in the Primorye Territory for the first time. During his visit, Bilan installed the Keeper symbol, took part in photo monitoring of rare cats and paid a visit to the sika deer. The singer visited the national park on Saturday, 2 October. He toured the central compound and the exhibition hall. Then he installed a signed model of a leopard paw print on the Keeper wall, which confirms his status as a leopard keeper.

“I’m honoured to be a leopard keeper. We live in a wonderful country with amazing nature. While in a place like Land of the Leopard National Park, I feel calm and balanced, at peace with myself. Great people work here who do a very important job. They amaze me and make me care more about our wildlife. I’m extremely thankful for the invitation to this magical place,” the singer said.

Dima Bilan also took part in the national park’s research work by visiting the laboratory and learning about the principles of monitoring data processing. He also installed a professional camera trap to watch Far Eastern leopards.

“The conservation of the Far Eastern leopard is a complicated task that requires vast resources, including information ones. We are happy that Dima Bilan supports Land of the Leopard and that he has found time to visit us. His lively interest in the fate of rare animals and work on their protection helps us to preserve the rarest big cat in the world,” said national park director Viktor Bardyuk.

Dima Bilan joined the programme to preserve the rarest cat on the planet in June 2021. Being a leopard keeper, he has given the name Viktor to one of the leopards, Leo 168M. Now the singer monitors the life of his spotted protégé using camera traps and raises awareness about the preservation of rare cats of Primorye.