Чем мы гордимся
We save
About us
Our pride
The Interregional Association Center for the Study and Conservation of the Snow Leopard "Irbis" was founded in 2021 with the aim of preserving rare animal species.
Interregional Association "Center for the Study and Conservation of the Snow Leopard "Irbis"
About us
The Irbis Association supports scientific research, anti-poaching work, environmental education, large educational and international projects. By preserving the snow leopard, we preserve the entire fragile ecosystem of the Altai-Sayan Mountain country, where the snow leopard lives, in harmony with local residents, international partners, the state, society and business.
Our main goal is to preserve the snow leopard, the Altai Mountain sheep (argali), musk deer and other rare species of animals.
Managerment
Member of the Russian Geographical Society, Chairman of the Association "Living Nature of the Steppe", Chairman of the General Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the National Park "Saylyugemsky", founder and trustee of the Center for the Maintenance of the Musk Deer Population "AltaiEcosphere".
Ali Mussayevich Uzdenov
Board of Trustees of the Association
RARE ANIMALS SPECIES THAT ARE A PRIORITY FOR PROTECTION
Let’s get to know one of the most secretive cats on the planet better. A rare spotted predator that has chosen cold mountains with eternal ice and alpine meadows as its home. Let’s find out what threatens the snow leopard and how to save it.
Argali
The Altai Mountain sheep is the largest representative of the genus of sheep, which also needs protection. Let’s find out why this species is under threat and what is being done to preserve it.
A small deer, without antlers, but with large ears. The animal’s signature style is the males' fangs, which grow throughout their lives and stick out from under their upper lip like a vampire. In the Altai-Sayan ecoregion, musk deer live in the same conditions as snow leopards. Poachers hunting musk deer set wire loops that catch both snow leopards and other species.
A large falcon, one of the most vulnerable birds of prey in Northern Eurasia. A unique morph, the Altai Saker Falcon, lives in Siberia. These birds were almost completely caught from the wild for the needs of Arab falconers. The birds need protection.
The Pallas’s cat is a cute-looking, but aggressive and cautious wild cat. Like the snow leopard, it is rare and secretive. The Pallas’s cat also needs protection, but who could hurt such a beautiful creature? Let’s find out.
The musk deer’s hind legs are longer than the front ones and deprive the musk deer of true deer grace. Fangs are a weapon in the battle for females, a blow from fangs can even lead to the death of an opponent.
In Russia, musk deer settled in the mountainous area from Altai to the Far East. Prefers forests for life, and lichens for food. And she becomes prey for the wolf, wolverine, harza and even sable.
The abdominal gland of males produces musk, a thick substance with a strong aroma, which has been used in perfumery and medicine since ancient times. This feature played a cruel joke on the musk deer. Hunting for musk has led to a catastrophic decline in the number of the species throughout its range. Miners take only the "navel" (gland), and the carcass is thrown away, because musk deer meat has an unpleasant taste. Today musk deer are all over the world on the pink pages of the Red Book.
Status: The Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The status is "Vulnerable species".
In Russia, musk deer settled in the mountainous area from Altai to the Far East. Prefers forests for life, and lichens for food. And she becomes prey for the wolf, wolverine, harza and even sable.
The abdominal gland of males produces musk, a thick substance with a strong aroma, which has been used in perfumery and medicine since ancient times. This feature played a cruel joke on the musk deer. Hunting for musk has led to a catastrophic decline in the number of the species throughout its range. Miners take only the "navel" (gland), and the carcass is thrown away, because musk deer meat has an unpleasant taste. Today musk deer are all over the world on the pink pages of the Red Book.
Status: The Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The status is "Vulnerable species".
The Interregional Association "Irbis" supports the saker falcon conservation project in the Altai Mountains. For three years now, saker falcons hatched in nurseries have been transported to the Saylyugem National Park to the nesting sites of wild saker falcons and placed in special hake cages.
Three walls of the hake, the floor and the ceiling are solid, and the fourth wall is covered with a chain-link mesh. The chicks grow in the wild, but in safety.
This helps the saker falcons adapt to life in the wild more easily. Since 2021, 17 saker falcons have been released into the wild.
Restoring the species' population is a long and complex process, often experimental, but it must be done. The saker falcon population in Altai has been undermined by poaching. Rare birds of prey are caught for sale to falconry enthusiasts in Arab countries.
Status: Saker falcons are listed in the Red Book of Russia (threatened species category), the IUCN Red List and the Appendix to the Bonn Convention.
Three walls of the hake, the floor and the ceiling are solid, and the fourth wall is covered with a chain-link mesh. The chicks grow in the wild, but in safety.
This helps the saker falcons adapt to life in the wild more easily. Since 2021, 17 saker falcons have been released into the wild.
Restoring the species' population is a long and complex process, often experimental, but it must be done. The saker falcon population in Altai has been undermined by poaching. Rare birds of prey are caught for sale to falconry enthusiasts in Arab countries.
Status: Saker falcons are listed in the Red Book of Russia (threatened species category), the IUCN Red List and the Appendix to the Bonn Convention.
When in danger, Pallas’s cats hide and enter a "nobody's home" state. The camouflage coloring helps them blend in with the rocks and steppe. There is no hope of escaping from the enemy — the short paws will not allow the Pallas’s cat to run quickly, these cats with a spindle-shaped body are quite slow.
Today, the main threats to Pallas’s cats are:
Status: The species is very rare, listed in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Today, the main threats to Pallas’s cats are:
- expansion of pastures;
- shepherd dogs;
- poaching;
- reduction of food (rodents).
Status: The species is very rare, listed in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Our achievements
Since its establishment in 2021, the Irbis Association has supported and implemented dozens of projects, events and ideas aimed at studying and preserving the snow leopard and argali.
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© Interregional Association "Center for the Study and Conservation of the Snow Leopard "Irbis" 2021−2024
Contacts:
E-mail: snowleo_russia@altayirbis.ru
Phone: +7 (916) 973-11-00
Address: 123001, Moscow, Sadovo-Kudrinskaya, 25, building 1