On September 27-28, 2014 people of the Far East celebrated the environmental festival - Day of the tiger for the 15th time.
The aim of the festival - to remind residents of the Far East and people around the world about the necessity of preservation a rare representative of the cat family, listed in the Red Book - the Amur tiger.
The Amur tiger is the northernmost subspecies of tiger. Besides Russia it lives in 14 countries, but the total number of individuals is catastrophically low. Russia is probably the only country in this list which managed to slightly increase the number of tigers: today about 450-500 of these animals inhabit the forests of Primorye and southern part of Khabarovsk Krai. And since recently 2-3 tigers can be met in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast and in Amur regions every year. In our country preservation of the Amur tiger population is being carried out in accordance with the new edition of the "Strategy of Amur Tiger Conservation in the Russian Federation" adopted in 2010. The Russian Geographical Society has been supporting the program of study the Amur tiger and the development of scientific bases for the conservation of this animal since 2010.
On September 27 at the high bank of the Zolotoy Rog Bay at near the beautiful suspension bridge in the park next to Primorsky Opera and Ballet Theater, a monument to the Amur tiger was set. It is a gift to the city from a non-profit organization "Foundation for the Amur tiger," which was established by the Russian Geographical Society in 2010.
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Heads of four regions of Russia - areas of the Amur tiger habitat - attended the opening ceremony: Governor of Primorsky Krai - Vladimir Miklushevsky, Governor of Khabarovsk Krai Vyacheslav Shport, Governor of Amur Oblast Oleg Kozhemyako, Governor of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Alexander Vinnikov, and Mayor of Vladivostok Igor Pushkarev, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Siberian Tiger Centre Konstantin Chuichenko, special guests and residents of the city.
«First of all it is a monument to the wild nature, a reminder to us all that we need to preserve it for posterity," - said Head of the Control Department of the Russian President and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Siberian Tiger Centre Konstantin Chuichenko.
«To the Master of the taiga - the Amur tiger and its keepers - people who care» - says the inscription at the base of the bronze figure of a tiger.
Governor of Primorsky Krai Vladimir Miklushevsky congratulated everybody on this momentous occasion, and stressed that the Amur tiger - is not just a wild cat living in Primorye, but also a symbol of the region. He also thanked the Siberian Tiger Centre for such a gift to the city and the region, and head of the state Vladimir Putin - for the initiative to preserve the rare predator.
"The authorities have done great job to provide comfortable life for the Amur tiger in its natural habitat. And we - people of Primorye - must join the work of the authorities of all levels. After all the Tiger - is the property of Primorye, Russia and the whole of humanity "- said the head of the region.
Procession through the main street of the city in honor of the tiger
On September 28 more than 10 thousand residents of Vladivostok became participants of the procession. They walked along the main street of the city celebrating Day of the tiger. This is the only day of the year when traffic on the main streets of the city is blocked, and the city transforms into a huge festival platform.
Text and photo: Michael Kotlyakov