The VI volunteer expedition “In the footsteps of snow leopard" The group included about 20 volunteers from different regions Russia. For the first time, winning students took part in the project All-Russian competition“In the footsteps of the snow leopard”, organized by the Russian Schoolchildren Movement. As a prize, the finalists received trips to the Altai Mountains, the habitat of the snow leopard.

For the first time, the expedition took place in the Saylyugem National Park; previously it took place on the Chikhachev Ridge. At the final press conference, the organizers, partners and participants of the socio-ecological project in the Altai Republic shared their impressions and proposals for the conservation of the snow leopard.

61 individuals officially live in Russia, 35 in Altai, of which 15 - 17 are in Sailyugem National Park. Volunteers saw one of the snow leopards with their own eyes. In the Chagan-Bayan tract, expedition members observed how a snow leopard guarded a hunted female Altai mountain sheep.

• We made sure that rare animals feel protected in Sailyugemsky Park. During one day of field trip, we saw on the slope a large herd of argali, listed in the Red Book, there were about 100 of them. Then we noticed five black vultures, also listed in the Red Book, soaring in the sky. And at that moment the national park inspector saw a snow leopard! We looked at him for about 15 minutes, and he posed for us. This meeting will be remembered for a lifetime,” shared Mikhail Metelev, a participant in the Russian Schoolchildren Movement from the Sverdlovsk Region.

The role of children in the expedition is educational: to inform peers about the importance of preserving the snow leopard not only in their own, but also in other regions of Russia, noted Nikolai Maleshin, deputy director of the Central Black Earth Nature Reserve, who is participating in the project for the second time. Police methods alone cannot preserve the snow leopard in Russia, Alexander Karnaukhov, senior project curator of the Altai-Sayan branch of WWF, continued this topic: it is necessary environmental education the younger generation, attracting young specialists - perhaps some of the students will devote their lives to the study and conservation of the snow leopard and join the ranks of Russian leopard experts.

During the expedition, volunteers visited monitoring sites in the Sarzhemata, Kamtytugem and Bayan-Chagan tracts. We learned to identify tracks and places of activity of the snow leopard, checked camera traps and installed another one - we donated an automatic registration camera to the park. The head of the expedition “In the Footsteps of the Snow Leopard,” Igor Pautov, noted that volunteers are ready to cooperate with Sailyugem Park, but there is no urgent need for this:

• There are well-established monitoring and security systems in the park rare species, which is what we saw during the expedition, in contrast to the Chikhachev Ridge, which is not part of any protected areas and, as a result, is not protected by anyone. Our task is to organize volunteer assistance in preserving the snow leopard in this territory. We believe that it is necessary to create a buffer (protection zone) of the Altai Nature Reserve.

Participants and organizers of the project addressed open letter to representatives of government agencies and the public, in which the main threats to the snow leopard and argali populations on the Chikhachev Ridge were identified. In addition to creating a buffer zone, the recommendations include: introducing a moratorium on the hunting of Siberian ibex, the main source of food for the snow leopard, in this territory, canceling mining permits and regulating the flow of tourists in the habitats of rare animals. The organizers plan to send proposals for the conservation of the snow leopard in Altai to the special representative of the President Russian Federation on issues of environmental protection, ecology and transport Sergei Ivanov.

Press service National Park"Sailugemsky"

Photo by Evgeny Strebkov

Project Manager: Sannikova Irina Valerievna, Khakass Republican branch of the Russian Geographical Society

about the project:

The main goal of the project is to study the status of populations throughout the habitat of the snow leopard (irbis) in Russia, identify key reproductive nuclei and groups and develop the scientific basis for the long-term conservation of the snow leopard in southern Siberia in Russia. Expeditionary work is carried out in the mountainous regions of Altai-Sayan.

Tasks:

1. Search for traces of the life activity of the snow leopard, carry out work to count the number and clarify the boundaries of the distribution of the Siberian goat, check the camera traps installed in the winter.

2. Organization and development of the State Federal Reserve “Pozarym” on the territory of the Republic of Khakassia in order to preserve rare and endangered species of animals, primarily the snow leopard (irbis).

Work progress:

Field work lasted 20 days. During this time, the valley of the Karatosh River was examined. The snow leopard research was carried out in several stages. The first stage was field work, during which traces of the leopard’s life activity were searched for and sent for genetic analysis. After they were discovered, the number of snow leopards was determined by the traditional method - tracking, that is, by following tracks. They were carefully measured, then the information was entered into a database, after analysis of which scientists were able to estimate the preliminary number of animals per year. certain territory. At the third stage of research, special automatic cameras (so-called camera traps) were used. Then the snow leopards were identified by their individual color, after which a passport was drawn up for each of them. In addition, a grant from the Russian Geographical Society made it possible to organize and conduct the fourth stage. For the first time in Russia, a collar that allows tracking the movement of an animal using a satellite was placed on a snow leopard in March 2011. The fifth stage is analytical, during which all the information received was analyzed and threats to the existence of this species were identified.

results:

All available observation methods are summarized, and on their basis a method for studying the snow leopard is developed.

A population estimate was carried out snow leopards. It was concluded that the actual number of snow leopards is significantly less than previously thought. According to scientists, 9 leopards permanently live on the territory of the Sayano-Shushensky Nature Reserve, and taking into account leopards from other territories that periodically enter this territory, 15 individuals. Over the past three years, the snow leopards have raised six kittens, which lived with their mothers for up to a year and a half, and then left.

The creation of the Pozarym nature reserve, the first federal reserve in Southern Siberia, was initiated. By order of the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation V. Putin dated December 8, 2011 No. 2210-r “On the establishment of a state natural reserve federal significance“Pozarym” established the “Pozarym” nature reserve with a total area of ​​253 thousand hectares, located in the Tashtyp district of the Republic of Khakassia, on the border with the Republic of Tyva. With its advent, federal specially protected areas were united into a single environmental network. natural areas the republics of Altai, Tyva and Khakassia, as well as the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

Kovyazin Mikhail

This research work was completed by a 2nd grade student, and a presentation of this work is also attached.

The goal of this work was to learn as much as possible about the life of the snow leopard inhabiting the territory of the Altai Republic. This work can be used in environmental lessons and in extracurricular activities.

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research project “In the footsteps of the snow leopard” The author of the work is a 2a grade student at the MBOU “Kosh-Agach Secondary School named after. V.I. Chaptynova" Kovyazin Mikhail Head: Turdubekova L.N.

Plan Introduction. 1. Information about the cat family. 2. A representative of felines is the snow leopard. 2.1 Appearance 2.2 Distribution 2.3 Habitat 2.4 Food and hunting 2.5 Number. 3. Measures to protect the snow leopard. Conclusion.

Purpose of the study: to learn as much as possible about the life of the snow leopard.

Introduction Everything in nature is interconnected and people could not live without the nature around them. But, being part of nature, people began to treat it cruelly and mercilessly. Animals play a huge role in nature. Without them, many plants would not be able to reproduce and spread. Animals are also necessary for people. Not only because they provide food and valuable furs, but also because almost all of them are very beautiful and interesting. Because of economic activity people and excessive hunting, some animals disappeared forever, and many others became rare. I want to talk about one of these animals in my research work, which is called “In the Footsteps of the Snow Leopard,” that is, about the snow leopard, which belongs to the cat family.

1. Information about the cat family. Felines are representatives of the family of mammals, the order of carnivores. They are ubiquitous throughout the world. Felids are absent only in Australia, Antarctica and Madagascar. They include 4 genera and 37 species. Felines have flexible and muscular bodies. The head is short and rounded, with straight-set eyes. The feet may be relatively short, but all species except cheetahs have long, sharp, retractable claws for grasping prey. Suppressing the victim's resistance, cats bite her with sharp, dagger-shaped fangs. The low back teeth following them are used for tearing off pieces. The most common species of the cat family are the lion, tiger, panther, manul, lynx, cheetah, leopard, wild cat, jaguar, snow leopard.

A representative feline is the snow leopard. Russian merchants adopted the word “irbis” from hunters in Asia back in the 17th century. In Tuva this animal was called irbish, in Semirechye it was called ilbers, to the east of Alma-Ata in the areas bordering China - irviz. In Turkic language – irbiz means “ snow cat" This word took root in the Russian language, only over time last letter changed from "z" to "s".

Snow leopard or snow leopard - quite large animal. Its body length is up to 130 cm, its tail is up to one meter, its weight is 20-40 kilograms. The head, relative to the size of the body, is small and round in shape. The ears are short, bluntly rounded, without tufts at the ends. The eyes are large, with a round pupil. The leopard's tail serves as a balancer when jumping. The limbs are relatively short, the paws are massive and wide. The marks are large, round, without claw marks. The general background color is smoky gray, with large ring-shaped black or dark brown spots scattered across it. The snow leopard lives in the mountains Central Asia. In Russia it is found in the mountains of Southern Altai, Western and Eastern Sayan. In Altai, the snow leopard is found along the southern edge of the mountains. Mainly lives in the mountains of the South Chuya Range. It is also found in the upper reaches of Ulagan and Bashkaus.

Hunting of the snow leopard Its main prey is the Siberian mountain goat, less often ram, roe deer, and wild boar. The snow leopard also attacks livestock. This predator also eats marmots, hares and smaller rodents. It is active mainly at dusk and at night. Few people have seen a leopard hunt. Leopards hunt by stalking animals. They set up an ambush where the mountain goats should pass. Hiding, they merge with environment. A lightning-fast throw - and a moment later the goat’s body is rolling down the embankment. The leopard also uses another method of hunting. Having noticed the animals, the snow leopard carefully creeps up to them, and then overtakes the prey with a huge leap. And his jump reaches 8 meters in length.

Protecting the snow leopard According to scientists, there are no more than 2 thousand snow leopards left in the world. In our country, the snow leopard is classified as a specially protected species and is included in the Red Book of Russia. Fishing is prohibited; only licensed catching of live animals for zoos is allowed.

This is interesting In the summer of this year, tracks were discovered, and then with the help of camera traps, two individuals of a snow leopard were captured in the Argut River valley - near highest peak Altai - Belukha Mountains. The snow leopards were named Vita and Hook. Also on the Chikhachev Ridge on the border with Mongolia, camera traps captured a female snow leopard with two kittens. In the Altai Republic a competition was announced for best names for kittens, after which, at the end of the competition, by a majority vote the kittens received the names Batyr and Altai. In the village A snow leopard museum was opened in Inegen, Ongudai district. Anyone can visit this museum. Here you can get to know this rare predator better and listen to the stories of local residents.

Conclusion What needs to be done to stop the decline in snow leopard numbers? First of all, it is necessary to conduct explanatory work among the local population, and especially among shepherds, about the importance of observing the ban on hunting and conservation rare beast. It is recommended to introduce a ban on catching this predator in those places where it is currently being carried out until the population size is restored.

Literature: Magazine “Geolenok”, 2008 Magazine “Vesely Kolobok”, 2008 Magazine “Young Naturalist”, 2009 Big encyclopedia. Newspaper "Postcryptum". Information from Internet sites.

A 2a grade student at the MBOU Kosh-Agach Secondary School named after. V. I. Chaptynova" Mikhail Kovyazin

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Research

"In the footsteps of the snow leopard"

Completed:

Student 2 "A" class

MBOU "Kosh-Agachskaya Secondary School"

Named after V.I. Chaptynova»

Kovyazin Mikhail

PLAN

Introduction.

A representative feline is the snow leopard.

2.1 Appearance

2.2 Distribution

2.3 Habitat

2.4 Food and hunting

2.5 Number.

Measures to protect the snow leopard.

Conclusion.

Purpose of the study: learn as much as possible about the life of a snow leopard.

Research objectives:

draw a conclusion based on the work done.

Introduction

Everything in nature is interconnected and people could not live without the nature around them. But, being part of nature, people began to treat it cruelly and mercilessly. Animals play a huge role in nature. Without them, many plants would not be able to reproduce and spread. Animals are also necessary for people. Not only because they provide food and valuable furs, but also because almost all of them are very beautiful and interesting.

By cutting down forests or polluting water in rivers, people unwittingly destroy many wild animals for which the forest or river is their home. Due to human economic activity and excessive hunting, some animals have disappeared forever, and many others have become rare.

Many animals have disappeared from the face of the Earth forever. For example, Atlantic gray whale, Falkland fox, red gazelle, blue antelope, sea ​​cow and many others.

Many animals that used to be common have now become rare. These living creatures are in great danger - they may disappear from the face of the Earth forever.

I want to talk about one of these animals in my research work, which is called “In the Footsteps of the Snow Leopard,” that is, about the snow leopard, which belongs to the cat family.

1. Information about the cat family.

Felines are representatives of the family of mammals, the order of carnivores. They are ubiquitous throughout the world. Felids are absent only in Australia, Antarctica and Madagascar. They include 4 genera and 37 species. To date, there is no general consensus on the taxonomy of this family. Cats are probably the most agile predators. Within the family, they may have different colors, lengths and fur structures, but all of them, even the smallest and largest cats, have a body structure that matches the proportions of a domestic cat.

Felines have flexible and muscular bodies. The head is short and rounded, with straight-set eyes. The feet may be relatively short, but all species except cheetahs have long, sharp, retractable claws for grasping prey. Suppressing the victim's resistance, cats bite her with sharp, dagger-shaped fangs. The low back teeth following them are used for tearing off pieces.

The origin of cats has a long history. About 30-35 million years ago, ancient predators of the Vivier family reached great diversity and widespread distribution. Some of them served as initial forms modern species wild and domestic cats.

The valuable fur of cats has been used by humans for a long time. Many species have been hunted so intensively that they are now rare or critically endangered.

The most common species of the cat family are lion, tiger, panther, manul, lynx, cheetah, leopard, wild cat, jaguar, snow leopard.

A representative feline is the snow leopard.

Little is known about this representative of the cat family - the irbis, or snow leopard. If you want to go looking for it, you need to take care of warm clothes, because this beast lives high in the mountains.

Russian merchants adopted the word “irbis” from hunters in Asia back in the 17th century. In Tuva this animal was called irbish, in Semirechye it was called ilbers, to the east of Alma-Ata in the areas bordering China - irviz. In the Turkic language, irbiz means “snow cat.” This word took root in the Russian language, only over time the last letter changed from “z” to “s”. In the 17th century in Siberia, and then in Central Asia, the word “leopard”, which was used to call a leopard, in popular use began to be attached to the snow leopard. Due to the similarities between both species, it was only natural.

The snow leopard, or snow leopard, is a fairly large animal. Its body length is up to 130 cm, its tail is up to one meter, its weight is 20-40 kilograms. The head, relative to the size of the body, is small and round in shape. The ears are short, bluntly rounded, without tufts at the ends. The eyes are large, with a round pupil. The leopard's tail serves as a balancer when jumping. The limbs are relatively short, the paws are massive and wide. The marks are large, round, without claw marks. The general background color is smoky gray, with large ring-shaped black or dark brown spots scattered across it. The snow leopard lives in the mountains of Central Asia. In Russia it is found in the mountains of Southern Altai, Western and Eastern Sayan. In Altai, the snow leopard is found along the southern edge of the mountains. Mainly lives in the mountains of the South Chuya Range. It is also found in the upper reaches of Ulagan and Bashkaus.

This is one of the highest mountain animals. Leopard inhabits alpine meadows above the upper border of the forest in the mountains, among snowfields and glaciers, at an altitude of 5000-6000 meters above sea level.

The snow leopard is a dexterous and agile predator. He easily makes his way through rocky rubble and climbs rock ledges. Its main prey is the Siberian mountain goat, less often ram, roe deer, and wild boar. The snow leopard also attacks livestock. This predator also eats marmots, hares and smaller rodents. It is active mainly at dusk and at night. Few people have seen a leopard hunt. Leopards hunt by stalking animals. They set up an ambush where the mountain goats should pass. Hiding, they blend in with their environment. A lightning-fast throw - and a moment later the goat’s body is rolling down the embankment. The leopard also uses another method of hunting. Having noticed the animals, the snow leopard carefully creeps up to them, and then overtakes the prey with a huge leap. And his jump reaches 8 meters in length.

The leopard usually makes its lair in caves or rock crevices. Temporary beds can be found in a variety of places. It is known that leopards made them in the nests of large birds of prey.

Despite its large size, the snow leopard does not know how to emit an inviting roar, so characteristic of large cats, but purrs like a cat.

Snow leopards are solitary animals; they do not gather in groups and do not live in large families. But if you're lucky, you might see a female with her cubs. There are 2 or 3 of them in one litter. The hunting instinct usually immediately awakens in these kittens.

Few people have seen a snow leopard in the wild. Scientists, going to the mountains to find out at least something about it, were glad to even have one meeting with a snow leopard. It's easier to see snow leopards at the zoo. And most photographs of snow leopards were taken in zoos. Why? Yes, because a photographer is unlikely to be able to capture such a cautious animal in his lens. natural conditions a habitat. But there are also lucky ones. One of them, Fritz Pelking, by all means, decided to take pictures of the snow leopard in the wild. In February 1996, the photographer went to Mongolia. In search of the beast, Fritz rode a lot on horseback. One day he saw its tracks, and soon found the remains of animals that he decided the snow leopards had feasted on.

The meeting of man and animal took place before sunset. Fritz saw two snow leopards of about the same size, most likely two years old. The photographer's heart beat so loudly that he did not hear the shutter of his camera clicking. Fritz had been waiting for this hour all his life.

One of the predators suddenly quickly disappeared behind a rock. The other lay down and began to look at the man. They were separated by a deep chasm, so that both man and beast felt safe. When snow leopard moved towards him, Fritz took one of his unique photographs.

The leopard is afraid of humans and, even when wounded, tries to go home. A meeting with him usually ends well for a person. The animal, as a rule, notices a person first and leaves unnoticed, so that only traces give away its presence.

The famous climber V. Ratsek said that once, while climbing the seven-thousand-meter peak Lenin Peak, the climbers saw snow leopard tracks that stretched in the direction they needed. Heading to the top, the leopard carefully avoided dangerous snow cornices. It was clear that he was well oriented. Having reached the top, the climbers found traces of this animal here. A leopard has never been seen at such a height before.

Snow leopard protection.

According to scientists, there are no more than 2 thousand snow leopards left in the world. Only a few dozen snow leopards live in the entire space from Altai to the Baikal region. According to G.G. Sobansky, the snow leopard is now preserved in some numbers in the middle reaches of the river. Argut, from the confluence of the river. Cox to the mouth. The reduction in numbers is due, first of all, to the characteristics of their biology and habitats. The point is that large carnivorous mammals are never numerous. And in those extreme conditions, to which the snow leopard is adapted, there is simply no sufficient food supply for the life of a larger number of these cats. But man also had a hand in reducing their numbers. For a long time The leopard was considered a dangerous and harmful predator. In addition, there has always been a demand for expensive snow leopard skin. The snow leopard is an unwary, trusting animal, having noticed persecution, it is in no hurry to take cover or get away from the dogs. All this could not but lead to a catastrophic reduction in the number of the species.

In our country, the snow leopard is classified as a specially protected species and is included in the Red Book of Russia. Fishing is prohibited; only licensed catching of live animals for zoos is allowed.

What needs to be done to stop the decline in snow leopard numbers?

First of all, it is necessary to conduct explanatory work among the local population, and especially among shepherds, about the importance of observing the ban on hunting and preserving rare animals. It is recommended to introduce a ban on catching this predator in those places where it is currently being carried out until the population size is restored.

4. Conclusion.

I am very glad that such a rare animal as the snow leopard lives on our small homeland in the Altai Republic. This summer, tracks were discovered, and then, using camera traps, two snow leopards were captured in the Argut River valley - near the highest peak in Altai - Belukha Mountain. The snow leopards were named Vita and Hook.

Also on the Chikhachev Ridge on the border with Mongolia, camera traps captured a female snow leopard with two kittens. In the Altai Republic, a competition was announced for the best names for kittens, after which, at the end of the competition, the kittens received the names Batyr and Altai by a majority vote. And in the village A snow leopard museum was opened in Inegen, Ongudai district. Anyone can visit this museum. Here you can get to know this rare predator better and listen to the stories of local residents.

Literature:

Magazine "Geolenok", 2008

Magazine "Merry Kolobok", 2008

Magazine "Young Naturalist", 2009

Great encyclopedia.

Newspaper "Postcryptum".

Information from Internet sites.

When a climber conquered all five seven-thousand-meter mountains in the USSR, he was awarded the unofficial but flattering title “Snow Leopard.” And from a zoological point of view, they were absolutely right: the snow leopard is a real climber. But unlike To the Caucasian leopard, or, scientifically, the Central Asian leopard , with which it is constantly confused, the snow leopard is not found in the Caucasus. Snow leopard - Asian mountaineer: Altai, Pamir, Kashmir...

NOT A BEAST, BUT A RIDDLE

The snow leopard is rare and mysterious. It is painted to match the color of gray rocks and white snow, so it hides well against their background. Found high in the mountains and exclusively in Asia - from the Hindu Kush in eastern Afghanistan to Russian southern Siberia. It flashes in the crevices of the rocks of the Pamirs, sweeps the snow of the Tien Shan with its tail, crosses gorges in the mountains of the Mongolian and Gobi Altai, inspects the heights of the Karakoram and Kashmir.

It was first seen in Europe in 1872, when the Governor-General of Turkestan Konstantin Petrovich Kaufman sent a couple of young snow leopards from his domain.

The snow leopard is secretive in nature and small in number - no more than 7,500 around the globe, not counting those two thousand individuals that languish in zoos. It is so inaccessible to observation in wildlife that even today, at the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century, scientists have not reached a consensus on who should be considered a snow leopard and what genus it should be classified as.

WHAT CAT?

What no one doubts is that the snow leopard is a cat. And, in the opinion of an amateur, it is quite large: perhaps a little smaller than the leopard with which it was confused for so long: the British even today call the snow leopard a snow leopard.

The animal weighs up to half a centner, and the long fluffy tail almost equal in length to the body - up to more than a meter! On the other hand, the snow leopard cannot growl like leopards or tigers, but it can purr like a domestic cat. He tears up his prey like big cat, but it sits down and settles down to eat it exactly like a small one. Out of despair, they began to consider him an average cat. And tired of finding similarities and differences with either a leopard or a tiger, they are increasingly distinguishing it into a separate genus Uncia, in which it is the only one, separate and unique.

Feel the difference: Snow leopard or snow leopard (1) and KAucasian leopard or Central Asian leopard, sometimes called the Persian leopard (2). They are often confused, but the snow leopard is not and never has been found in the Caucasus. Snow leopard - Central Asian mountaineer: Altai, Pamir, Kashmir...

WELL EQUIPPED AND PROTECTED

Nowadays, the snow leopard is firmly established in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, in the Red Book of Russia and in the protection papers of other countries. It was not like that before: in the 17th century, its very Turkic name “irbis”, which translated means “snow cat”, was introduced into the Russian language by Russian fur merchants who bought the skin of “irbiz” or “irbish” from Turkic-speaking hunters. Why not buy it when the skin is so good: the fur is long, soft, smoky white with dark rosette spots.

The fur of a snow leopard repels water - how else to survive on the border of eternal snow? Nature has successfully adapted the snow leopard to high-altitude life: its paws, covered with thick hair even between the toes, boldly step on ice and snow in winter and on hot stones in summer. He is afraid of neither frost nor heat...

The inhabitants of the mountains have a special character. It may be an accident that in Russian the words “mountainous” and “proud” differ in only one letter, but accidents, as we know, are not accidental.