RusHydro, the largest hydropower-generating company in Russia, and the Sayano-Shushensky Biosphere Reserve have launched a project to restore the snow leopard population in the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

Under the programme, there are plans to breed mature snow leopards in captivity; to release their offspring, adapted to living in the wild, into their historic range; to rehabilitate injured wild animals; and to establish a research laboratory at the Sayano-Shushensky Biosphere Reserve. The laboratory will make it possible to quickly compile maps and diagrams of each snow leopard’s territory and to collect materials about the cats’ biology and ecology using this data. This information will help to adjust the system for protecting the animals’ habitats at the reserve, and will also serve as the foundation of a programme to preserve the snow leopard population in the Western Sayan mountain range.

The snow leopard, which is listed as a rare species in the Russian Red Data Book, also inhabits Central Asian mountain systems, including the Himalaya, Tibet, Pamir and Tian Shan mountains. Drastic reductions in prey (hoofed animals) and poaching are the main factors affecting the snow leopard population in Russia.