South African Street Art Brings Endangered Wildlife To Russia

From a bear in Canada to an elephant in Jozi, South African street artist Sonnyis on a mission to raise awareness of animal conservation by painting large-scale street murals in as many places around the world as possible.

His latest work appears on a wall in Vladivostok,Russia, where residents are admiring his newest subject – a giant Amur leopard, one of the planet’s most endangered cats.

The extraordinary mural measures 250 square-metres, and reportedly contains more than 200 shades of colour.

Only 80 of these leopards are left in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

The WWF explains that the Amur leopard is poached largely for its fur, which can sell for hundreds of thousands of rands. Agriculture and villages also surround the forests where the leopards live. As a result the forests are relatively accessible, making poaching a problem. Read more