This year, we signed a cooperation agreement with the ‘On the Trail of the Snow Leopard' movement. For us, it is crucial to join forces in the study and conservation of the snow leopard in Russia. Together, we can achieve so much more!

commented Daria Petrova, Director of the Interregional Association "Irbis".

The expedition, running from 5th to 15th June, will include 20 participants—volunteers from the unique "On the Trail of the Snow Leopard" initiative hailing from Novosibirsk Oblast, Altai and Krasnoyarsk Krais, the Altai Republic, Udmurtia, Tatarstan, Moscow, and St. Petersburg, alongside staff from the Sailugemsky National Park and the "Irbis" Association.

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Within the boundaries of the Sailugemsky National Park and other protected areas, we can conduct monitoring and protection effectively. However, for work beyond these borders, we are catastrophically short of strength and resources. Even in the Kosh-Agach district, we cannot survey all snow leopard habitats, which extend far beyond the protected areas. We highly value any assistance from our partners—informational, material, technical, and advisory. And, of course, the vital support of concerned citizens—our volunteers—whose contribution cannot be overstated

explained Denis Malikov, Director of the Sailugemsky National Park.

The expedition participants will survey not only the Chikhacheva Ridge but also sections of the Kuraisky and Severo-Chuysky Ridges, which were impossible to study in winter due to deep snow and severe weather conditions.

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Our expedition’s mission is the monitoring of the snow leopard in the Altai Republic. We will expand the camera trap network and strengthen cooperation between volunteers and specialists from specially protected natural areas. A second important goal is environmental education: after each trip, we share detailed accounts of our work and the wonders of nature not just in prose, but through poetry and song—our team includes very creative individuals. The third objective is social. The core participants are volunteers, meaning any resident of Russia can join us and do something beneficial for the Motherland. After all, as the classic writer said, to protect nature is to protect the Motherland

stated Igor Pautov, initiator of the "On the Trail of the Snow Leopard" volunteer expeditions, a Novosibirsk entrepreneur and traveller.

During the expedition, the volunteers will also continue an experiment to create a new type of camera trap, an idea conceived by a group member, St. Petersburg doctor and wildlife photographer Vyacheslav Zametnya. Work on this has been ongoing since 2019, and has already succeeded in capturing a unique, high-quality close-up photograph of a snow leopard using a professional camera.

Background Information:
"On the Trail of the Snow Leopard" is a unique expedition, the likes of which exists nowhere else in the world. A decade ago, it was simply a small group of volunteers who funded their own trip to the Chikhacheva Ridge to help a ranger from the Altai Reserve, Sergey Spitsyn, monitor the snow leopards. Today, the movement has become a permanent field expedition, whose participants contribute to the cause of science and nature conservation. Traditionally, volunteers come from all corners of Russia. Each one sincerely wishes to contribute to the preservation of the rare snow leopard. In their daily lives, the volunteers are mostly unrelated to nature conservation, but during expeditions, all their skills and energies are dedicated to a single task: they want our children and grandchildren to also be able to see the snow leopard.