On Nature Reserve and National Park Day, two new photo exhibitions – The Snow Leopard of the Sayano-Shushensky Reserve and The Animal World of the Western Sayan – opened in the excursion complex of the Joint Administration of the Sayano-Shushensky Biosphere Reserve.

Children from the Shushensky orphanage and students taking part in the Ecotourism programme at the Shushensky District’s extracurricular centre were the first to see the display. 

The Animal World of the Western Sayan features photos of the inhabitants of Shushensky Bor National Park and the Sayano-Shushensky Biosphere Reserve: Siberian ibex, red deer, Siberian musk deer, alpine pika, Pallas's cats, lynx and other animals. The second exhibition is devoted to the snow leopard. As part of the federal programme The Snow Leopard: A Symbol of the Western Sayan, work is underway to restore the population of this rare cat in the Sayano-Shushensky Reserve.

Russia marks Nature Reserve and National Park Day annually on 11 January. Our country has the largest protected area system, with more than 12,000 specially protected natural areas of federal, regional and local significance.