Winter-time counts have been completed at Sayano-Shushensky Biosphere Reserve. It took researchers, state inspectors and representatives from the Khakassia republican branch of the Russian Geographical Society three weeks to study 14 routes with a total length of over 150 kilometres.

Winter-time counts were conducted as usual. On the first day, all animal tracks were removed from the snow, and the animal paths were  covered over with snow. On the second day, experts recorded all the new animal tracks and listed the type and number of animals crossing the route, as well as the direction of their movement.

“This year, decent ambient air temperatures were recorded during the work, and it did not drop below minus 18 degrees Celsius. Sometimes, it got even warmer. It snowed almost every day,” those conducting the job noted. Snowfalls made things easier for the counters who did not have to erase old tracks on routes all the time; these tracks were often covered with snow.

Research associates will now have to process the fieldwork data indoors. They have to deal with documents on every route and compare them with data from a period of the past five years. This will make it possible to assess the size of certain animal populations and to speak about the changes in the state of certain reserve-animal populations.