This year, the Amur Tiger Center took part in the organization of Tiger Day in Vladivostok for the first time. The large-scale event lasted for two days: on September 27 those who had made a special contribution to the conservation of the rare predator were honored, and on September 28, everyone was able to take part in the festival.
On the first day of the eco festival, the employees of the Department of Game and Wildlife, the Department of Internal Affairs and the Far Eastern operational customs were awarded for the achievements in the wildlife conservation. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his greetings to the participants of the celebration. He addressed professional defenders of the Amur tiger with special words.
“Special greetings to those for whom protecting tigers is a daily job. Park rangers, zoologists, staff of nature preserves and parks – you all made a conscientious choice to work here; you all sincerely care about the common cause. The gradual growth of the tiger population in Russia is your achievement.” - said the President.
Aide to the President and Chief of the Presidential Control Directorate, Chairman of the Amur Tiger Center’s Supervisory Council Konstantin Chuichenko presented the Russian Federation Certificates of Honour and Gratitudes at the solemn reception at the Primorsky Theater of Opera and Ballet.
"Today, professionals and not indifferent people gathered in this hall. The fate of rare red-listed animals, including the Amur tiger, the pride of not only the Far East, but of all Russia, directly depends on their work. Not only the fulfillment of Russia's international obligations adopted at the St. Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010 depends on our work, but also the future of our children and grandchildren who must live in an ecologically clean world and see rare animals not only on pictures," noted Konstantin Chuichenko. “The Presidential Certificates of Honour and Gratitudes, which will be presented today, show the high level of your work."
Anatoly Andreev, Boris Victorovsky, Andrei Orel, Alexander Korneev, Alexander Samoilenko, Vladimir Dyachkovsky, Yuri Kolpak, Mikhail Ivanov, Anatoly Stepnykh, Mikhail Mos and Sergey Sharamov were awarded with Presidential Certificates of Honour and Gratitudes.
Near the Primorsky Opera and Ballet Theater, where the solemn meeting was held, a monument to the Amur tiger created by Vladimir Petrovichev was opened. The sculpture was donated to the city by the Amur Tiger Center. As Vladivostok Mayer Igor Pushkarev noted at the ceremony, the bronze beast turned out to be serious and a bit stately. "To the owner of the taiga, the Amur tiger, and its defenders – people who care", these words were dedicated to everyone who help preserve the rare predator.
The second day of the festival started with a big "tiger parade", and ended with a concert of the "B-2", the popular rock band. There were performances of local artists in the central square. The favorite characters of several generations of Russian children were entertaining the crowd: Piglet, Stepashka, and Mur, the tiger cub who recently had joined the Good Night, Kids! TV show.
One of the significant events was the presentation of a children's book called "Amurchik, or Adventures of a Tiger Cub" by Sergei Georgiev, a modern children's author. Signed copies of the book and souvenirs were received by all those who wished in the Amur Tiger Center tent. Copies of the colorful book, published by the Rosmen publishing house, were sent to all schools, kindergartens and libraries of the city.
"This is a book about the adventures of a family of Amur tigers who successfully overcome all the trials on their way," said Sergey Georgiev. "With its help, we want to raise children's awareness about the problem of preserving rare species of animals."
In addition, a special stamp had been issued for the memorable day and a first day ceremony was held in the Amur Tiger Center tent. Konstantin Chuichenko, Igor Pushkarev and Governor of Primorsky Krai Vladimir Miklushevsky personally signed commemorative envelopes and stamped the Tiger Day postmark. One of the envelopes will be transferred to the Primorsky State United Museum named after V.K. Arseniev.
The main event of the evening was the performance of the B-2. Before the start of the performance, the astronauts of the 41st expedition of the ISS addressed the audience from the screens on both sides of the stage. Elena Serova who was born in Nakhodka said that two "space tourists" had been taken on a flight: a tiger and a leopard, and congratulated everyone on the holiday.