One of Sailyugem National Park’s big events in 2017 was an expedition to the Ukok Plateau. In November, camera traps captured images of a female snow leopard with two cubs. According to Denis Malikov, the national park’s deputy director for science, research and monitoring, this indicates that snow leopards, despite their small number, are reproducing, and that means that the plateau has normal living conditions for snow leopards.

In October, Sailyugem National Park employees and their colleagues from Mongolia discussed prospects for developing a cross-border network of protected areas. The parties plan to sign agreements on creating the Silhem-Sailyugem cross-border biosphere reserve (currently Sailyugem National Park in Russia and Silhem in Mongolia).

At the end of 2017, during the President of Tatarstan’s visit to the Republic of Altai, the heads of the regions discussed a project on breeding snow leopards in captivity and then releasing them in traditional habitats. The relevant agreement between the regions was signed in early 2018. Snow leopard cubs will be released in Sailyugem National Park.

One of traditional events of the year was the republic’s Land of the Snow Leopard festival, which is now also held in Tyva, Buryatia and Mongolia.

In partnership with Irbis Studio, the national park produced the children’s film In the Land of the Snow Leopard. And in early 2018, the documentary Altai: Land of the Snow Leopard dedicated to the predator and its researchers came out.