Visiting Altai: Land of the Snow Leopard [2023]

Not just a pretty name and or a branding strategy, the “Land of the Snow Leopard” name describes a tourist travel route with waypoints in the Argut River valley and along the Sailyugem Ridge in Altai Republic, Mongun-Taiga Mountain and Tsagan-Shibetu Ridge in Tyva Republic, and snow leopard and argali habitat in Mongolian Altai. There…

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Covid-19 news in Altai [2020]

Immature Steppe eagle flying over steppe grassland. Photo by Igor Karyakin.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a challenging and uncertain time for humans around the globe. We are seeing the ripples of tremendous and complex impacts and changes in our homes, our communities, and around the world. The same is true in the conservation world.

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Snow Leopard Conservation [2021]

The Snow leopard is endangered across its entire range in Central Asia, including in Russia. Snow leopard conservation and science are important tools in saving the species.

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Wrongful snow leopard capture in Krasnoyarsk! [2011]

UNDP/GEF Altai-Sayan Program posted this commentary on their website regarding the not-too-distant Krasnoyarsk Krai cat-napping of a snow leopard for supposed research purposes, because the very same thing could easily have happened to Altai Republic’s snow leopards. We are working with people on the ground in Altai Republic to find out how the international community…

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Snow Leopard conservation in Russia 2002-2021

Two snow leopard kittens tumbling playfully on a rocky slope

The Altai Project has invested more than $210,000 in snow leopard conservation in Russia to date (largely 2010-2015, but continuing today). We pooled expertise with other international institutions involved in protecting this big cat. To expand on the saying “many hands make light work,” many hands also strengthen the work by contributing funds, scientific and…

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Camera-trapping along the Argut River – 2010

Baby ibex checking out our cameratrap

In 2010, a local team returned from an expedition along the lower and middle Argut River. With the participation of residents from the nearby village of Inegen, they set camera traps in likely locations to learn more about what animals still inhabit the area. The camera traps are part of a larger project funded by…

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