A project to study the South Chuysky Ridge is being carried out by the Interregional Association "Irbis" and the Sailugemsky National Park with the support of the Presidential Nature Foundation.
The initiative aims to confirm whether snow leopards reside here permanently or migrate across the ridge to other territories, to assess the predator’s prey base, and to evaluate threats posed by herders, who most frequently lose livestock to snow leopard attacks precisely on the South Chuysky Ridge. The data collected by scientists will form the foundation of a plan for cooperation between the Sailugemsky National Park and the herders living on the South Chuysky Ridge and adjacent areas, as well as for a long-term forecast of potential threats to the snow leopard in Altai.

At the end of November, the first expedition of specialists from the Sailugemsky National Park and volunteers took place on the South Chuysky Ridge in the Altai Mountains in search of the snow leopard. The team checked existing camera traps and installed new ones in areas that can be considered "blank spots" within the snow leopard’s Altai range. The participants also held discussions with local herders living within the snow leopard’s habitat on the ridge, reminding them of the snow leopard’s protected status, the penalties for hunting this rare predator, and the importance of keeping livestock under supervision.
Project Leader, Director of the Interregional Association "Irbis", Daria Petrova:

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Based on the camera trap checks, a minimum of five snow leopards have been recorded. The snow leopard population on the South Chuysky Ridge is not large and has remained stable in recent years. The territory can be roughly divided into western and eastern sections, with two dominant male snow leopards inhabiting each area. Specialists from the Sailugemsky National Park suggest that young, strong males—such as a snow leopard designated Tu1_YuCh22—simply do not allow other males into their territory, maintaining their status as the sole dominant male. Mongolian snow leopard specialists have reported similar cases.

Daria Petrova, Project Leader, Director of the Interregional Association "Irbis"

Winter expeditions in the harsh continental climate of Siberia and mountainous terrain are always a dangerous and unpredictable undertaking, where every detail matters. Specialists move from point to point in off-road vehicles, sometimes having to assist the vehicles themselves, and in some areas they use specialised all-terrain vehicles. Snow lies in the mountains, and the paths are covered with ice. The vehicles ascend the mountains with chains on their wheels, and in certain places, participants scatter small stones to improve traction.

Unfortunately, on this trip, the experts were unable to survey all the planned territory. However, the work will continue in December, when a second expedition to the South Chuysky Ridge will take place to install camera traps in as-yet-unexplored snow leopard habitats.

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The expedition to the South Chuysky Ridge was complicated by the weather conditions: the roads are covered in snow, there is frost and blizzards, and the very strong wind simply knocks you off your feet. Some rivers have not yet frozen, and the hollow ice on the water bodies prevented us from crossing these watery obstacles.