A two‑week raid covered the northern part of the reserve and the protected zone. In the hiding place there are traps and metal nooses, prohibited as hunting tools throughout the entire range of big cats in Russia. "In recent years, we have recorded an increase in the number of rare snow leopards, and this expands the area of responsibility. Camera traps prove that snow leopards are dispersing beyond the boundaries of the reserve and are actively recorded on the opposite bank of the Yenisei — in the protected zone: last year, three females of reproductive age settled here. This increases the responsibility for preserving the population," said Gennady Kiselev, Director of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Joint Directorate of the Sayano‑Shushensky Reserve and the Shushensky Bor National Park." Poaching remains a pressing problem. Illegal hunting of musk deer with wire nooses at one time almost destroyed the snow leopard population in the reserve: snow leopards get caught in the same traps because they follow the same trails.

The Irbis Association has been supporting the reserve’s research and raids for many years and admires the dedication of the inspectors. They work in difficult mountainous terrain with elevation changes and a harsh climate. In difficult mountainous terrain, only horses can be used, or movement is possible on foot. The routes span tens and hundreds of kilometers. The inspectors are true heroes, sacrificing comfort to save rare animals. Today, there are 19 snow leopards in the reserve: 7 adult females, 6 males, and 6 cubs from last year. In the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, in the Western Sayan Mountains, lies the northern boundary of the snow leopard’s global range. The Sayano‑Shushensky Reserve is the only specially protected natural area in Russia where the structure of the entire population is reliably known, and the kinship ties of individual snow leopards have been determined without genetic research. The Irbis Association expresses deep gratitude to all inspectors for their difficult and very important work. Thanks to your courage, ingenuity, and strength, we preserve rare animals and their habitats.