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Hope for an increase in the snow leopard population appeared in the Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve

During a research expedition to the territory of the Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve, it was possible to obtain new data on the snow leopard family — the female Klyopa and her two cubs born in 2023. According to photos and videos, the two young irbis are females.
This year, part of the activities to study snow leopards in the Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve are carried out with the support of the Interregional Association "Irbis". The organization initiated and supported a full-scale census of the snow leopard in Russia at the beginning of this year, in which the Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve also took part.
Observations showed the existence of a single Western Sayan group of snow leopards, which lives in the Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve and in the Ubsunurskaya Kotlovina Nature Reserve (the Khan-Deer cluster). There are 14 snow leopards here — 3 adult breeding females, 4 males and 7 kittens.
Determining the sex of young snow leopards is a particularly important and joyful event, because it is the females who will be able to give birth to new offspring in the future. In this way, the females will strengthen the existing group of snow leopards and increase the number of animals in the reserve. Although it is too early to talk about this now — the kittens need to grow up.
Klyopa’s kittens, as expected at their age, are actively playing, exploring the world. The young leopard family has begun to walk much wider than usual, increasing their territory and exploring new territories. Using footage from camera traps, we were able to determine the sex of Klyopa’s kittens — they are two females. We are very happy about this, since the female is the core of the group, and an increase in the number of females in the reserve will contribute to an increase in the number of snow leopards.
Roman Afanasyev, Senior Researcher of the United Directorate.
Klepa was born in 2020, a female translocated from Tajikistan. In 2023, Klepa had her first offspring — two kittens. The babies successfully overwintered under the close care of their mother. Currently, the young snow leopards are the same size as adults, but Klepa will continue to raise her firstborns for a few more months.
Like children, young snow leopards learn about the world around them and develop various skills through play. For example, by attacking and stalking each other, snow leopards develop the necessary hunting skills. By running and jumping, kittens develop their physical abilities. By repeating after their mother — carefully sniffing marking points and starting to mark, kittens develop the marking skills necessary for adult animals.
With the help of camera traps, we can observe such an important and responsible period in the life of growing snow leopards as maturation, as well as monitor the behavior of a young female snow leopard and the manifestation of her maternal care. Work on studying the northernmost group of snow leopards in Russia and the world — in the Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve continues!