Rosa Khutor supports a program to restore the population of these rare predators in the Caucasus.A holiday dedicated to International Leopard Day will take place at Rosa Khutor on July 15.
The date was not chosen randomly - it was on this day in 2016 that the first wild release of animals born in the Center for the Restoration of the Leopard at the Sochi National Park took place.
Caucasian leopards are traditional inhabitants of the mountainous region of the Black Sea. However, by the 1960s, the predators had been completely exterminated in the region by poachers. Specialists have wanted to correct this mistake for many years, but the first program for the restoration of the leopard population was not launched until the preparation period for the Winter Olympic Games in 2014 in Sochi. The program was launched in 2007, and responsibility was entrusted to the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia. The ecological initiative was then supported by the company Interros and the Rosa Khutor mountain resort.
A special center for the restoration of leopards was built in the Sochi national park, on the western slope of the Kepshinsky ridge, for the animals. The first inhabitants were males from Turkmenistan and two females from Iran.
Since 2013, 28 cubs have been born in the center, 15 of which have been released into the wild, and 12 have successfully adapted to life in natural conditions. Today, there are 13 leopards at the center. Scientists plan to create a group of 30-50 individuals living in the wild, which will allow for the restoration of the population of noble predators in the Caucasus. International Leopard Day, which symbolizes the protection of rare animals, was initiated by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of Russia and the Roszapovedcenter in 2022.
Celebratory events at the Rosa Khutor resort will begin on July 15 at 10:00. A special exhibition of paintings with rare predators will be organized on Romano's Bridge. Everyone will be able to participate in a quest called "Following the Leopard's Path". Young guests will have a real expedition with a guide from the Children's Mountain Academy, master classes, a dance flash mob.
They will have the opportunity to transform into a leopard cub with the help of bright aquagrime. All day, animators with mascots from the Sochi Hockey Club, whose symbol is the leopard, will work at the resort. The festive day will end with a family movie night under the open sky. The screening will begin at 20:00 in Rosa Dolina in the beach area.
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