Postcards from Primorye to tell the world about a rare tiger

Primorsky Krai

On 28 September, postcrossers from Primorye signed postcards featuring the Amur tiger, which then will be sent around the world, at the National Centre RUSSIA branch in the Primorye region. The event is dedicated to Tiger Day and popularizes the symbol of the region through the international postcards exchange.

Postcrossing is the exchange of postcards with people from different parts of the world. The community members send postcards that may depict landmarks, landscapes, or even their own artwork, and receive postcards from other people.

The meeting brought together members of the Primorye postcrosser community, which has been in existence for seven years. Special guests at the event were Yuri Smityuk, TASS photojournalist, winner of wildlife photography contests, and Sergey Lyagushin, owner of the famous cat called Simba, together with his pet. Photos of Simba on his trips with his master were everywhere on the Internet a few years ago, and the red-furry traveler gained many followers on social networks.

Simba the cat became the real star of the event. He performed the role of a symbol of the holiday with dignity, and patiently endured the strong attention to his person, as the guests made attempts to stroke him all the time.

The participants signed postcards featuring a photo of a tiger, whom Yuri Smityuk managed to capture using a camera trap, in his natural habitat. Postcards featuring the striped inhabitant of the Primorye taiga will be sent to other countries.

The Primorye postcrossers consider it their mission to introduce people from all over the world to the unique nature, history and culture of the region.

The international postcrossing project, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, brings together enthusiasts from more than 200 countries. Russia is consistently among the top three in terms of the number of participants and postcards sent.