Researchers from the Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve have put together a passport for a four- or five-year-old male snow leopard who lives in the protected area. This new passport was registered under number SL_14. The letters SL in the passport code stand for “snow leopard,” while the number 14 means that this animal is the 14^th snow leopard with a passport, and as such can be protected by the reserve and studied within the framework of the research project implemented by the Russian Geographical Society.

This particular animal has been regularly spotted by trail cameras since 2012, although the images were too blurry to identify it. However, new images from video recorders helped scientists put together all the materials received so far and register them in a single passport. The document contains the history of observations and individual characteristics of the snow leopard’s external features, such as his fur pattern.

The Sayano-Shushensky State Wildlife Biosphere Reserve boasts the most stable and thoroughly studied snow leopard population. In recent years, research on snow leopards has been conducted by the Sayano-Shushensky reserve as part of joint projects with the Khakassky nature reserve.