A joint expedition involving specialists from Sayano-Shushensky Biosphere Reserve and the Khakassia subsidiary of the Russian Geographical Society completed their work in the reserve. Expedition members conducted routine maintenance of local automatic camera traps. They also obtained numerous photos and videos on the life of a snow leopard family.

In 2020, a female snow leopard gave birth to two cubs in the reserve, and they are now as big as their mother.

“The new videos and photos show that, just like his mother, the maturing male snow leopard has started actively marking various areas and sniffing them, but his young sister is not yet following suit,” Roman Afanasyev, a senior research associate of the reserve, noted.

The reserve’s specialists have been using automatic camera traps for almost 15 years to study the local animal world. This equipment allows them to obtain unique materials about the mysterious snow leopards.