The winter route accounting of large mammals of the reserve conducted this year is based on the latest methods – visual accounts on open mountain slopes, during which observation of animals was conducted from stationary platforms. “Panoramic observations help form a reliable picture of the sites where the hoofed animals stay, and of their numbers in separate areas during different seasons, including during the period when the winter accounting is carried out,” head of the nature reserve’s scientific department Alexander Zolotykh said. “These methods help us reveal animals' most frequently visited sites for mineral feeding (solonetz). This is needed for a more detailed account for analytical research.”

According to this year’s results, the population of all animals remains stable despite hard weather conditions in the 2012-2013 winter period. Abundant precipitation and persistent freezing temperatures contributed to the formation of frozen and granular snow cover. The height of snow this year in the southern part of the reserve was 25-50 cm, and 50-130 cm in the northern part as compared to the average annual mark of 15-20 cm in previous years. These natural factors caused a reduction in the animals' tracks and altered their distribution.

The number of some species of large mammals at the Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve in 2013, according to the results of the latest accounts, totaled 1,050 musk deer, 430 red deer, 25 elks, 65 wolves, 350 brown bears, 20 wolverines, 1,600 sables, 180 roes and 500 squirrels. In addition, around nine snow leopards live at the reserve.