The Evalar project for the preservation of ounces in Altai made it possible to discover a new snow leopard

In the framework of a Russian-Mongolian research project launched by Evalar and aimed at studying the transborder snow leopard population, it was possible to discover a new individual that had not previously been caught by camera traps. Presumably the cameras recorded a sexually mature male.

In the spring of 2023, the Evalar company launched a research project together with Russian and Mongolian scientists, its main goal was to study the transborder snow leopard population: habitat, age-sex composition and food supply. The main site for the research was Saylyugemsky National Park, located on the border with Mongolia.

In the period from July to November 2023, employees of the national park, together with the Directorate of the Specially Protected Natural Area Mongolian Altai, studied territories potentially suitable for snow leopards’ habitat, installed and checked camera traps at monitoring points of the Saylyugem Range: “To date, data has been collected from 27 cameras located on the Russian side of the mountain ridge, the volume of research has amounted to 2132 trap-days, 3411 video recordings have been received and analyzed. Based on the data obtained, using the method of identification by spots on the fur, the presence of both previously known snow leopards and 1 new one has been documented on the Russian side of the Saylyugem Range!” said Denis Gulyaev, Deputy Head of the Department of Science, Tourism and Recreational Activities of Saylyugemsky National Park.

Based on the results of the research, scientists have been convinced that the food supply of ounces is satisfactory and consists of ungulates (Altai argali and Siberian ibex), as well as marmots and snowcocks. Further steps in the development of the project, according to Denis Gulyaev, will be the expansion of the surveillance system through the introduction of new camera traps.

This week Evalar’s project Let's Preserve the Unique Nature of Altai Together. In the Footsteps of the Snow Leopard has won the Regional Development award in the category Best Environmental Initiative.