Pooja Sharma (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 2, 2019)

On World Snow Leopard Day (October 23), champion of wildlife and nature, UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador and UN Sustainable Development Goals advocate, Dia Mirza did her part to help create awareness about the endangered species in a unique way. She featured in a podcast as the voice of a snow leopard named Layla who lives in the mountains of Krygzstan in Central Asia — one of the few places where a number of endangered species still thrive. The podcast is part of Run Wild, which is a collaboration between Runtastic, the UN Environmental Programme and Internet of Elephants.

A source says, “In the podcast, Dia as Layla talks about her life in the mountains, how she hunts for food (for her cubs) and why the encroaching human population is a real threat to her ilk. The idea of the podcast is to keep people active while understanding the plight of endangered species across the world.”

Dia says, “One snow leopard is killed every day. Today, only 4,000 to 7,500 leopards remain in the wild. I became Layla to help more people learn about our endangered species. I feel knowledge is at the heart of conservation. The more people know about species that are becoming extinct, the higher the chances of them helping and becoming a part of the conservation process.”