Camera traps spot young snow leopard in Altai

Scientists at the Ak-Cholushpa Nature Park in the Altai Republic have received new photos of a snow leopard, which indicate that the wild cat is in good health.

Alina Maikova, director of the nature park, said that this event marks the beginning of Ak-Cholushpa scientists’ active efforts to monitor the snow leopard population. Previously, the experts only saw the animal’s traces and heard stories from local people.

The snow leopard’s presence in the nature park was first recorded in spring 2014 when inspectors discovered traces of the predator in the Kalbakaya cluster of the Kalbakaya natural boundary.

The Ak-Cholushpa specially protected area is located in the Chulyshman valley, a unique nature area of the Altai Republic.

Since 2011, Ak-Cholushpa experts have been studying the flora and fauna and the terrain of the area occupying 170,000 sq km. Local residents, including small indigenous peoples of the North, have been actively helping to set up the nature park.

The expedition to study the snow leopard population in the park is sponsored by the WWF.