The Snow Leopard of the Western Sayan, a popular science book about the conservation of snow leopards in Russia, was written by Sergei Istomov, a senior researcher at the Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve and a leading Russian expert who spent years studying this rare cat. It was also thanks to him that modern equipment and monitoring methods are now being used to track and study the snow leopard. In January 2008, Istomov installed a trail camera in the reserve and made Russia’s first photograph of a snow leopard several days later.

The Snow Leopard of the Western Sayan is a result of years of research conducted in the Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve. It describes the history of snow leopard studies, provides data about the life and habitat of snow leopards in Siberia, gives the exact figure of snow leopards in Russia and describes the methods of registering and studying them.

The book was published by decision of the Research and Technology Council of the Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve with financial assistance from the Russian Geographical Society (RGS). An RGS project, The Wild Cats of Southern Siberia, launched to study and preserve rare cat species, including the snow leopard, Pallas’ cat and the lynx, has been underway for several years in the Sayano-Shushensky, Khakassia and Pozarym reserves.