Rossiya's Leopard livery is one of the most amazing ever!

All pictures courtesy of Rossyia Airlines

Few wild animals are as magnificent as the Amur Leopard, that populates the forested regions in the confines of Russia's Far East region, in the Ussuri river basin bordering with China (a territory whose natural wonders are the setting of the Russian-Japanese cinema classic Dersu Uzala)

Unfortunately the Amur Leopard is a seriously endangered species, with population estimates ranging between 30 and 80. This is why the Amur Leopard is the object of a conservation campaign led by the organization "Far Eastern Leopards".

By painting an Amur Leopard on the nose of one of its Boeing 777 aircraft, Rossiya Airlines, a fully owned subsidiary of Russian flag carrier Aeroflot, joins, thus, the campaign to draw attention to the plight of this species. The initiative is also one of the initiatives of "Russia's Year of the Environment"

The leopard-decorated Boeing 777 has been named Ussuryisk, after the town closest to the wild leopard's habitat, in Russia's Primorye region, but it has also received the nickname "Leolyot" (combining the words "leopard" and "flight" in Russian). Children traveling on this aircraft will be given some Leopard-themed souvenirs and games.

This is not the first feline species from Russia's Far East to feature on a Rossiya aircraft.

The Amur Tiger (also known as Siberian tiger) also got its own Rossyia livery last year. In that case, the aircraft was nicknamed "Tigrolyot".

The Amur tiger is another endangered species that inhabits the region bordering the Ussuri river on the Chinese-Russian border. The aircraft chosen that time was a Boeing 747.

Here is a photo gallery of this amazing aircraft paint-job. In my opinion, the snowy background, reminiscent of the natural environment of the Amur Tiger, makes this livery look even more beautiful.