The exact number of one of the key snow leopard groups to be determined in April

In late February-early March, an expedition was held to study the traces of the life activity of a snow leopard on the Chikhachev Ridge in the Altai Republic. There is a grouping of the snow leopard, which has been known for a long time and is considered one of the key and important for the conservation of the species in the country. This was announced on its website by the Association of Nature Reserves and National Parks of the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion.

"Scientists will determine the exact number of snow leopards on the Chikhachev Ridge only in April, when they analyze all the collected data and footage from automatic cameras," the report says.

The expedition was carried out as part of the All-Russian snow leopard population surveys with the support of the Interregional Association "Irbis". The participants of the field work were employees of the Sailugem National Park and volunteers of the volunteer expedition "In the footsteps of the snow leopard".

They examined the territory of three tracts on the Chikhachev ridge, but found neither old nor new traces of leopards, but snow leopards recorded camera traps located on mountain manes near the border of Russia and Mongolia.

"Due to the high snow, it was not possible

to check all the camera traps, we literally dug out a couple of cameras from under the snow two meters high. Visually, we observed only wolves. The main conclusion is that the number of ibex – the main food of snow leopards in Russia - on the Chikhachev ridge is noticeably lower than within the boundaries of specially protected natural territories. Siberian mountain goats are kept locally and only where there is less snow," Denis Gulyaev, coordinator of accounting and deputy director of the Sailugem National Park, is quoted in the message.

The expedition participants also noted a lot of traces of wolverine, which is known for spoiling camera traps. But this time there was no damaged equipment.

The snow leopards that live on the Chikhachev Ridge constantly migrate to Mongolia and back, maintaining the genetic diversity of the group. Specialists from the two countries exchange data to eliminate double counting of the same individuals.

"Of the snow leopards of the Chikhachev ridge, which scientists have been observing for many years, the Horgai snow leopard is known, which has received the status of the oldest snow leopard in the world, reliably recorded by camera traps. The last time Horgai was recorded on cameras was in 2022, when Irbis was about 13 years old. Also known is the female snow leopard Guta, whose kittens were most likely fathered by Horgai. Their pair became one of the oldest pairs of snow leopards recorded in the world," the association said.