A record number of snow leopards was recorded in the Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve (video)

The population of snow leopards in the Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve in the Krasnoyarsk Territory has reached its maximum for the entire period of observation. According to the press service, 17 snow leopards now live here.

Seven years ago, two snow leopards from Tajikistan were released into the reserve, which saved an almost lost group. During this time, the females gave birth to 15 kittens, and the number increased by 16 individuals.

Recently, camera traps recorded a young female named Musya with three kittens. This is her first offspring – Musya herself was born in the reserve in 2022. As experts note, now she faces a difficult task – to feed and raise three cubs at once in the conditions of the coming winter.

“In 2024, Musya chose an area next to her mother for herself and this spring showed activity during the rutting period. We assumed the presence of kittens, which was fully confirmed by data from camera traps,” commented the directorate’s science department.

The Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve has become the core of a single Western Sayan group of snow leopards, which develops the territories of the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the border areas of the Republic of Tyva.