International Tiger and Leopard Day is coming up. This year it is on September 27th.
On September 23, 2000 a few dozen school children and parents dressed up as tigers and endangered wildlife to parade in the streets in Vladivostok. Their aim was to educate people about the dangers facing tigers and other wild animals in the Russian Far East. What they did not know is that their efforts would strike such a chord with the people of Vladivostok and others around the world that just 5 years later, their festival would be an annual city holiday with over 3,000 participants in Vladivostok alone and that every year their efforts would inspire many similar public displays of affection for tigers around the world.
Tiger Day was started by The Phoenix Fund, a Russian non-governmental organization sponsored by Save The Tiger Fund and other international donors. Since then it has been a rallying point for other tiger conservation efforts around the world. In 2003, 21st Century Tiger and AMUR encouraged European and Russian zoos to adopt and promote the concept as an awareness creation and fundraising tool for tiger conservation. In 2005 the Campaign Against Tiger Trafficking was launched on international tiger day, while ceremonies around the world drew diverse public support, including a group of local Shamans on the Indonesian Island of Sumatra. In the Russian Far East, Tiger Day is as popular as ever, just last year, during the month of September, tiger day celebrations occurred in 6 different cities in the province of Primorye.
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