The rare feline research centre in the Republic of Tatarstan will be part of an ecotourism development project. To date the region has been addressing issues related to the land plots where the Ak Bars rare feline research centre will be built. This project will be part of the Conservation of Biodiversity and Development of Ecotourism federal programme, Tatarstan Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources Alexander Shadrikov said at a meeting of the republic’s natural resource ministry.

“The work to establish the Ak Bars rare feline research centre in the republic is underway, with the help of Vyacheslav Rozhnov, director of the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It will not only serve as an attraction for locals and tourists but also as an international-level research centre,” the minister noted. “We expect that the snow leopard, which is a symbol of Tatarstan, will be studied there as will many local enterprises. The snow leopard is protected by the Red Data Book. Its population in Russia is about 70.”

The establishment of such a centre will help with the gathering of scientific data and the creation of a bank of genetic material of different felines.