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The press service of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (RAS) has reported that the first network of camera traps has been installed in the forest belt of the mountainous part of the Chechen Republic. This territory is quite inaccessible, and therefore, until now, scientists have known little about the specifics of the functioning of local ecosystems. The cameras will allow specialists to assess the state of mammal populations in the mountains of Chechnya and draw conclusions about the potential suitability of this territory for the resettlement of the rare Persian leopard.
Fieldwork was carried out from September 27 to October 7 as part of the Persian leopard restoration program in the Russian Caucasus. Scientists set up cameras at 20 points opposite the main animal trails. Zoologists and botanists from the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Moscow State University, Moscow Zoo, Russian State Agrarian University - Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, Central Forest Reserve, as well as the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania and local hunting guides worked on the installation of camera traps.
The Persian leopard inhabited the mountains of Chechnya until it was completely exterminated by humans in the middle of the last century. Now scientists hope to restore the population of this rare species within the preserved areas of its historical range.
Currently, eight leopards have been released on the territory of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. Four males and four females were specially prepared for life in the wild. One of the females, released in 2022 in Ossetia, was equipped with a special transmitter, with the help of which specialists established that she had mastered the territory of Chechnya.
"That is why, since 2023, the Chechen Republic has been chosen by a scientific group working under the leadership of the IEE RAS for a more detailed study in terms of restoring the Persian leopard population," the message says.
Scientists will conduct a thorough assessment of the territory's potential suitability for the successful existence of the leopard. In particular, they will study the carrying capacity of habitats, that is, the abundance of the main prey species, as well as competitor species. This information will help scientists understand how successfully the leopard can exist here in the future. Camera traps are an excellent tool for conducting such work.
