On 21 October, 2016, in the run-up to International Snow Leopard Day celebrated around the world on 23 October, a snow leopard photo exhibition will open at the new building of the Katanov Khakassia State University, organised by the university, the Khakassia branch of the Russian Geographical Society and representatives of a local Sberbank branch.

The exhibition will display trail camera photos of snow leopards in their natural habitat. “The objective of the exhibition is not only to show the beauty of the snow leopard and the wildlife of Khakassia and South Siberia but to involve students and young scientists in the study of snow leopards and other rare species, and to motivate young people to participate in conservation efforts,” the university rector Tatyana Krasnova commented.

Snow leopard is the only large cat populating the mountains of Central Asia, South Siberia and Khakassia. It is estimated that there are only 150 to 200 animals in Russia. The Russian Red Data book classifies the snow leopard as type I, a species on the verge of extinction. The predator is listed in the Red Data List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

International Snow Leopard Day was established in 2013 at the Global Snow Leopard Conservation Forum in Bishkek by representatives of the 12 countries that are home to the snow leopard, including Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.