Snow leopard filmed in Altai reserve

A July expedition by staff of the Altai Biosphere Reserve brought a long-awaited result. The researchers« efforts were rewarded: camera traps captured the rarest predator — the snow leopard, the institution reported on social media.

Specialists surveyed hard-to-reach areas of the Shapshal Ridge and the Bogoyash River valley.

The footage shows the irbis confidently and gracefully moving across a mountain slope, unaware that it is being recorded. For scientists, this is not just a lucky shot but valuable data on the life of this elusive animal.

According to expedition members, when you find fresh tracks of an irbis in the wild, you truly realize how vulnerable this population is.