Champions for Snow Leopards
Kateryna Bielikova
Zoologist and artist Kateryna Bielikova is an ardent supporter of conservation and the Snow Leopard Conservancy. She has participated many times in the Conservancy’s Art & Poetry Contests, graciously donating her artwork to be reproduced as notecards, prints, and most recently, on our 2023 apparel.
She tells us her passion for wildlife and art began very early in her life. “Since childhood, I ‘disappeared’ at the state stable outside the city and the stable of the city zoo, and sometimes I managed to draw from nature. I independently got my artistic education through a detailed study of animals, their anatomy and exterior (appearance), as well as painting techniques and the work of various painters.”
“I have always been inspired by horses and other animals. Particularly out of my love for animals and in my zeal to have their images, I began to paint. To paint with the soul, I have to do it with my own heart and put into them all of my own… This is not just my job or even just a favorite hobby. This is a part of my life, a very important one. Thus, I find my desire to create and my inspiration in nature, emotions, music, and communication, in all that makes a person feel.”
“I have always been inspired by horses and other animals. Particularly out of my love for animals and in my zeal to have their images, I began to paint. To paint with the soul, I have to do it with my own heart and put into them all of my own… This is not just my job or even just a favorite hobby. This is a part of my life, a very important one. Thus, I find my desire to create and my inspiration in nature, emotions, music, and communication, in all that makes a person feel.”
Debbie K. Morris
A little girl of about 7 years old once sat in the living room of her home with her elderly Grandfather who was babysitting. In an effort to occupy and keep her quiet, he handed her a scrap of paper and a pencil and said “show me what you can draw.” The little girl stared adoringly at her “Grampie” and began drawing a picture of a bald old man wearing glasses and a thin moustache, sitting in a huge armchair. That is where her love for drawing and capturing likenesses of people and animals began.
Fast forward to 2018 and a moment of reflection on the busy life of that little girl, who is now a grown woman. In an effort to address her work-life balance, she unpacked her drawing materials and easel, stored away some 25 years ago, to see if she could “still do it,” beginning with drawings of her beloved dogs.
Since then, she has gradually expanded her catalog of pets and people to develop a real love for painting wildlife. In her own words, “I also quickly realized that I could combine my love for wildlife with conservation, using my art to make my contribution to help protect some of these amazing creatures.”
Debbie says that she not only looks for stunning creatures to paint but also for different compositions that really look deep into the soul of the creature or tell their story in some way.
In the summer of 2021, Debbie entered the Conservancy’s Art & Poetry Contest with her pastel, “Mountain Ghost,” which won First Place in the Traditional Artwork category. Debbie went on to donate a portion of the proceeds from that painting to the Conservancy to support snow leopard conservation.
Ekaterina Drozhdina
Good day!
My name is Ekaterina.
I am happy to be part of a large family of snow leopards conservationists on our planet. For me, snow leopards are not just beautiful fluffy animals although they certainly are! Snow leopards are also an indicator of the well-being of our planet. The earth will become impoverished if this beautiful species of animals disappears.
My youth was spent in Kyrgyzstan. For snow leopards, this is their homeland. I have never seen a snow leopard in the wild, but I always knew that he lived somewhere nearby.
Safe and Sound
Several years ago I found out about a poetry and art contest held by the Snow Leopard Conservancy. Since then, I have been participating in it every year. I think this is necessary to attract people’s attention.
I am not a professional artist. But I really love animals, and I love to draw animals. And I like to draw especially a lot of snow leopards. Improving my skill as an artist, I think that it will help preserve rare species on our planet.
In addition, I like to write short stories about animals, describing funny or interesting episodes of their life. I even wrote a book once. This is a series of stories of the growth and maturation of the little snow leopard Fuku from the Tama Zoo in Japan. Fuku was born sick and weak. But his inexhaustible will to live and cheerful disposition helped him overcome all difficulties. He has now grown to be a lovely adult cat!
I hope that the joint work of so many people will bear fruit. And that we can all together save snow leopards on Earth!
Elena Kolotusha
Through her artwork, Elena is making a difference for wildlife, creating awareness by demonstrating their beauty and mystery. After participating in the Snow Leopard Conservancy’s 2020 Art & Poetry Contest and being awarded Grand Prize Artwork, she graciously allowed us to use this beautiful pastel and pencil drawing for our apparel.
Casey Morgan
Casey Morgan is the artist who created this beautiful pastel of a snow leopard. With the money she received from its sale, she symbolically adopted a snow leopard through the Conservancy. Through her artwork, Casey is helping to make a difference for snow leopards in the wild.
Dylan
Dylan from Sydney, Australia, is a young snow leopard champion and wildlife warrior, who dreams one day of trekking into a remote wilderness area to see a snow leopard. He is spreading the word about the “Searching For The Snow Leopard” book and gave a special presentation on snow leopards for his classmates. Dylan is part of the next generation who will work hard to passionately protect these beautiful big cats in snowy lands.
Somewhere faraway in a beautiful part of the Himalays or another prime snow leopard habitat, there is a magnificent snow leopard which cosmically feels gratitude and happiness to hear this terrific heart-warming news from Dylan in Australia!
Hanna Dribinski
For her 8th birthday, Hanna Dribinski held a Virtual Birthday Fundraiser on behalf of the Snow Leopard Conservancy. She and her parents designed a “Save the Snow Leopards t-shirt and donated the proceeds from the sales of the shirts to the Conservancy in supports of its programs.
Her mom tells us that Hanna’s favorite wild cat is the snow leopard and that she has wanted to help wildlife since she was very young, staying true to that mission with each passing year.
Olivia
Eight-year-old Olivia tells the Conservancy that she first learned about snow leopards in her class at school in Cambridgeshire, England. She says that they have been her favorite animal since she learned about them. Oliva says, “I think that snow leopards are very pretty creatures and also very interesting. I made a fact file on snow leopards, and then I had an idea to do a fundraiser to try and help them. I like running so I decided to try and run a marathon in a month; altogether, I raised $863. Snow leopards are being killed by farmers because they are eating the farmers’ livestock.” Olivia explained that she hoped with the money she raised that livestock would be protected and snow leopards would instead have plenty of wild prey to hunt.
Sonny, Flynn, & Fabian
Several years ago, three boys from the UK raised money for snow leopards. At the time, nine-year-old Sonny Jenkin did a sponsored sea swim while his 5-year-old brother Fynn and their friend, Fabian, sold homemade pizza on their local beach in Budleigh Salterton, Devon.
To read more about the boys’ fundraiser, you can find their story in this Conservancy News Post.
