Snow leopard of the Russian Federation. Where does the snow leopard live in Russia? What WWF is doing to save the snow leopard

“Snow Leopard of Russia” - a new honorary title in Russian mountaineering

source: PAR

In order to become the owner of an honorary title, you must visit 10 famous Russian peaks.

The idea of a new honorary title was proposed last year by Alexey Slotyuk, president of the Moscow FAiS.After several months of discussion, the FAR Board approved the Regulations on the rank and the design of the badge.

In order to become the “Snow Leopard of Russia” you need to visit 10 Russian peaks: Elbrus, Dykhtau, Koshtan-Tau, Mizhirgi, Pushkin Peak, Dzhangitau, Shkhara, Kazbek, Klyuchevskaya Sopka and Belukha.

The signs themselves will be made of silver and have a serial number. A ceremonial celebration of the first “Snow Leopards of Russia” is planned to be held in December at the annual December conference of the FAR.

The start of the new program “Snow Leopard of Russia” was commented on by its initiator - President of the Moscow FAiS Alexey Slotyuk:

- Why did this idea arise and what is its meaning?

People go to the mountains and many of them do it not for the sake of sports titles and participation in competitions, but for other reasons of their own. And many of those who go to the mountains and climb to the peaks for pleasure set high goals for themselves, for example, to climb the highest peaks of all continents.
There are many interesting and beautiful mountains in our country. Climbing routes to some mountains, such as Kazbek or Klyuchevskaya Sopka, are relatively simple. On others, such as Pushkin Peak or Mizhirgi, these routes are difficult.
We considered that the idea of climbing 10 Russian peaks, 8 of which are above 5 thousand meters, would be of interest to both Russian and foreign climbers.

Well, this is not such a simple program. Climbing Elbrus and climbing the Bezengi five-thousanders are completely different in difficulty?

- So it’s an honorary title. And honor must be earned. A climber who climbs all these 10 peaks, in our opinion, will deservedly bear this honorary title.

- How will people confirm their ascents? What documents are needed for this?

We tried to make the review procedure as liberal as possible so that anyone can take part in this program. The Federation will consider any documents confirming the ascents. We have enough experts and connections in the climbing world to verify the authenticity of the papers if necessary.

Will there be any confusion between the holders of the title “Conqueror of the Highest Peaks of the USSR”, which was also associated with the title “Snow Leopard”, and the holders of the new title?

- We discussed this situation in the process of preparing documents and we repeatedly consulted with mountaineering veterans.
The title “Snow Leopard of Russia” is a new official honorary title established in domestic mountaineering for climbing Russian peaks.
The Euro-Asian Mountaineering Association is currently awarding the title “Conqueror of the Highest Peaks of the USSR”. And this is now an international title, the holders of which undoubtedly deserve great respect for climbing Asian seven-thousanders.
I hope that our new title will take root and become as respected and famous as “Conqueror of the Highest Peaks of the USSR.”

- Is there already preliminary information about the first potential “Snow Leopards of Russia”?

- We don’t have such information yet, but I hope that after this news becomes known to the general public, there will be such lucky people. And those who have 1-2 mountains left to complete have the whole summer ahead.

- What steps are planned for the further development of this program?

In the near future, we will produce posters and brochures with information about the program, which will be sent to the relevant regions of the Caucasus, Altai and Kamchatka.

In the future, for the convenience of climbers, a special certificate will be produced where they can enter information about their ascents. And for connoisseurs, badges will be made for climbing each of the 10 peaks.

The sign "Snow Leopard of Russia" will be made of silver. The layout of the sign on a scale of 1:1 and 1:3 is shown in the figure (the author of the sign sketch is Irina Morozova):

Approved by decision
Board of the Russian Mountaineering Federation
Ave. No. 15 dated 02/06/2010

POSITION
on the honorary title of the Russian Mountaineering Federation
"Snow Leopard of Russia"

1. The title “Snow Leopard of Russia” is awarded to a person who has fulfilled the standard with the presentation of a certificate and license plate.

2. Documents confirming compliance with the standard are submitted to the Russian Mountaineering Federation. The decision to award the title “Snow Leopard of Russia” is made by the FAR Board and documented in the appropriate Protocol.
The document with a record of the ascent must be certified by the signature of the FAR mountaineering instructor indicating the number of his certificate or by another person responsible for organizing the ascent.

3. The FAR keeps records of the awarded titles “Snow Leopard of Russia”. Mountaineering Federation

Russia may instruct the regional federation to prepare documents for awarding the title “Snow Leopard of Russia” and recording the assigned titles.

4. The standard for conferring the title “Snow Leopard of Russia” is to completeclimbing ten peaks located on the territory of the Russian Federation:

Elbrus (5642 meters)

Dykhtau (5204 meters)

Koshtan-Tau (5151 meters)

Mizhirgi (5025 meters)

Pushkin Peak (5100 meters)

Dzhangitau (5085 meters)

Shkhara (5068 meters)

Kazbek (5034 meters)

Klyuchevskaya Sopka (4688 meters)

Belukha (4506 meters)

5. Decisions on issues not specified in these Regulations are made by the Board of the FAR.

Belukha

Dzhangi-tau

Dykhtau

Elbrus

Kazbek

Koshtan-tau

Klyuchevskaya Sopka

Pushkin Peak

The snow leopard, also called the snow leopard, is the only species of large cat that has been able to adapt to the harsh conditions in the highlands. The snow leopard is a representative of the top of the ecological pyramid in the mountains of Central Asia. He is often called the master of the mountains, because he is a permanent inhabitant of this area. Many experts claim that this species of cat has survived to this day due to its habitat in hard-to-reach places. It is very interesting where the snow leopard lives and what it eats. Indeed, today the number of representatives of this type of cat is extremely small.

Appearance of a snow leopard

Externally, the snow leopard is an incredibly beautiful and graceful predator. This is a rather large cat, with an ash-gray, sometimes brownish color and a bright ring-shaped pattern of dark spots located throughout the body. The snow leopard differs from the leopard in its ash-colored fur and long tail, which in its length is almost equal to the body of the animal. In addition, unlike its brother, the snow leopard has thicker and more luxuriant fur. The length of the animal, as a rule, reaches 170-190 cm, and its weight ranges from 50-70 kg. Males are always larger than females.

Regardless of where the snow leopard lives, its body size and color remain the same. Although some experts are inclined to claim the existence of several subspecies of snow leopards, which appeared due to different geographical habitats.

Saving a View

Today it is very easy to find out where the snow leopard lives. After all, this species has long been listed in the Red Book, since there are extremely few habitats left. This unpleasant phenomenon is due to the fact that in modern realities there are too many different threats to the life of the snow leopard. For example, in Russia, where the snow leopard lives, the species is gradually being destroyed by herders and hunters, as well as by environmental degradation due to the development of the mining industry and transport infrastructure. In addition, the number of species is significantly affected by a reduction in the number of food items.

Fortunately, over the past few years, in the areas where the snow leopard lives, the number of animals has stabilized. The situation has improved thanks to the opening of the Sailyugem National Park in Altai. True, the risk of extinction of the species still remains quite high. In the places where the snow leopard lives in Russia, you can count approximately 70 representatives of the snow leopard, most of which live in Altai. Compared to 2002, the number of animals in Russia has now decreased by almost 3 times. This is due to the hunting of poachers who catch snow leopards in order to obtain derivatives used in oriental medicine.

Threat of species extinction

The once unified snow leopard population today is represented by only a third, which exists only as unstable pockets. Nowadays, females who are capable of reproducing are found only in a few areas where the snow leopard lives. In fact, a group of animals in which there are at least 3 adult females can be considered complete. So, unfortunately, despite some stabilization of the situation in Russia, the snow leopard species today is under threat of extinction.

Snow leopard breeding

This animal is characterized by a rather low reproduction rate - the female snow leopard does not give birth to kittens every year, unlike most of her relatives. The rut occurs in the spring, and babies are born at the end of the season or early summer. During the mating season, the male attracts the female with the help of a special purr. After fertilization, the snow leopard leaves the female. Gestation for snow leopards lasts approximately 95-110 days, and litters typically consist of 2-3 kittens.

Before the appearance of her baby, the female sets up a kind of den in some hard-to-reach place, most often in rock gorges. And in order to insulate a well-maintained house, the snow leopard rips out shreds of wool from its body and covers the floor of the den with them. Leopards are born completely blind and deaf, their weight reaches half a kilogram, and in the first month the babies feed on mother's milk. In the middle of the season, the born offspring already go on their first hunt. Snow leopards become sexually mature at the age of 2-3 years.

Predator habitat

Where does the snow leopard live? The snow leopard is a territorial animal that leads a solitary lifestyle, despite the fact that females raise their offspring for quite a long time. These animals make their lairs in rock crevices or caves. Each animal lives within a certain area, which it chooses individually. It is not common for the snow leopard to show aggression towards representatives of its species on its own territory.

One or more females may live in the habitat of an adult male. The snow leopard marks its area in different ways. Where is the snow leopard found? The predator often walks around its territory, visiting camps of wild ungulates and pastures. The animal moves along the same route, so in some places it appears several times throughout the day.

The snow leopard is considered the only member of the cat family that has adapted to the harsh conditions of the highlands in Central Asia. Due to the inaccessibility of its habitats, the snow leopard still remains the least studied animal. Today, the snow leopard is a representative of the Red Book of the International Union and has the status of an endangered species in all countries where it lives. There are 12 such countries in total: China, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Nepal, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan. In total, there are no more than 4 thousand snow leopards on the planet.

Snow leopard in Russia

In Russia, the snow leopard is found in the north of its current range. Only a few groups of snow leopards live in the mountains of the Altai-Sayan region. In addition, the predator can be found in Buryatia, Khakassia, Tyva, Transbaikalia, Irkutsk region and Krasnoyarsk region. According to experts, it is in Russia that the northernmost population group of snow leopards lives. The number of this species in Russia is approximately 2% of the total number of snow leopards in the world. It can be said that the survival of predators in Altai largely depends on genetic and spatial connections with animals in Mongolia and China.

Snow cats in Kazakhstan

The places where the snow leopard lives in Kazakhstan are distinguished by the richness and diversity of flora and fauna. Here, the snow leopard is found in open forests, among rocks and in alpine meadows, where colonies of marmots and pastures of ungulates are located. The highlands of Kazakhstan have extremely complex terrain with many cliffs, stones, precipices, gorges and snow-covered slopes. In these places there is an increased risk of avalanches and mudflows, which is why people rarely appear here. For the most part, it was thanks to this factor that the snow leopard was not exterminated in these parts. Other species of large cat animals that lived in more accessible places became extinct even before the creation of the Red Book.

Character and lifestyle of the snow leopard

In its territory, the snow cat occupies the top of the food pyramid and experiences virtually no competition from other predators. A leopard can easily cope with prey that is three times its weight. As a rule, the animal hunts alone at night, carefully crawling up to the animal from behind cover or waiting for prey in ambush, hiding behind a rock. When the distance between the predator and potential prey is reduced to several tens of meters, the leopard emerges from cover and quickly overtakes the animal with large leaps. If the snow leopard misses, it chases its prey for a maximum of 300 meters or does not chase it at all.

In the second half of the year, snow leopards regularly hunt in families: male, female and offspring. In general, snow leopards hunt only on their own territory - exceptional need can force an animal to move to a foreign territory. In times of famine, predators can go hunting near populated areas, even attacking pets. However, the main food sources for snow leopards are considered to be hares, mountain goats, wild boars, snowcocks, rams, marmots and roe deer. Leopards eat grass and other greens exclusively in the summer as a supplement to their meat diet.

In general, for snow cats, hunting is not only a way of obtaining food, but also a kind of entertainment. The snow leopard is capable of tracking down a potential victim for hours, while practically not moving. Leopards have almost no enemies, so they are not at all afraid of hunting in the dark.

Only a wild wolf can cause trouble for a leopard, but even such an animal is quite easy for a snow leopard to cope with. For people, the snow cat does not pose any threat: having noticed a person, the predator simply tries to move away unnoticed. True, in times of famine, cases of animal attacks were still recorded.

Compared to its other feline counterparts, the snow leopard has a completely friendly character. You can even train him. In addition, tamed snow leopards love to play and spend time with people. When a predator feels good, he, like domestic cats, purrs. The leopard also knows how to growl, like his famous brothers, although he does not do it very loudly.

Powerful and hardy, snow leopards, also called snow leopards, live quietly where most other felines cannot survive. Nature has endowed them with thick fur that reliably protects them from frost, sharp teeth, powerful paws and developed intelligence, so in the wild this predator has almost no enemies, with the possible exception of people.

Facts about snow leopards

These big cats are still poorly studied because they live mainly in hard-to-reach areas.
The weight of an adult snow leopard can reach 55 kg, and the length of the body including the tail exceeds 2 meters.
Unlike the Amur tiger, the snow leopard's spots on its skin are not continuous, but rather ring-shaped ().
Snow leopards are facing extinction, despite the fact that hunting them is strictly prohibited. According to various estimates, there are from 3 to 7 thousand snow leopards left all over the world. They are included in both the Russian and international Red Books.
Judging by archaeological finds, snow leopards lived on Earth already 1.2-1.4 thousand years ago. Their fossilized remains found in Pakistan date back to this age.
Snow leopards can purr like regular domestic cats. But, on the contrary, they do not know how to growl.
Snow leopard kittens raised from childhood quickly get used to humans and become tame.
The snow leopard rarely hunts mice and hares, preferring larger prey. Often his victims are larger than him.
Leopards are often called leopards, so due to their external similarity, snow leopards began to be called snow leopards ().
For shelter from bad weather, snow leopards usually make dens in caves and rock crevices.
The long and thick tail of the snow leopard serves as a steering wheel and counterweight, helping to maintain balance while jumping.
Male snow leopards are usually a third larger than females.
Thanks to their wide paws, snow leopards can calmly walk even on loose snow without falling into it.
Females nursing kittens wrap them with their fluffy tails to protect them from the cold.
Snow leopards can take a running jump of 6-8 meters.
Snow leopards prefer to live in the mountains, at an altitude of several kilometers. So, in the Himalayas they are sometimes found at an altitude of 5-5.5 km, but this is the height of the peak of the Russian Elbrus, and the atmospheric pressure here is half as low as at sea level ().
The hard tubercles that dot the surface of snow leopards' tongues help them easily separate meat from bones.

Females of these big cats give birth once every 2 years, usually giving birth to 2-3 kittens. They spend the first two years of their life with their mother and then leave.
Snow leopards are the only cats on the planet that live so high in the mountains.
Extremely acute vision allows them to see white prey on white snow from a distance of several kilometers.
From a biological point of view, the snow leopard's closest relative is the tiger ().
In captivity, snow leopards live 20 years, and in the wild - 11-12. The officially registered longevity record is 28 years.
Snow leopards never attack people. Why is unknown, although, of course, it is for the better.
They are predominantly nocturnal, preferring to sleep in a safe shelter during the day.
October 23 is considered International Snow Leopard Day.
Unlike most other felines, snow leopards have round, rather than vertical, pupils.
Despite the fact that each male snow leopard has “his own” territory, he will not show aggression if he meets another male on it.
The snow leopard's paw pads are covered with fur, like those of a lynx. This also helps him not to fall into the snow ().
The length of the snow leopard's tail is comparable to the length of its entire body.
Among all land predators, the snow leopard is the most secretive, and that is why it is so poorly studied.
Snow leopards spend their entire lives alone, and males meet females only during a short mating season. The male does not take part in the fate of the offspring, placing all responsibility on the female.
The word “irbis” translated from one of the Turkic languages means “snow cat”.
Snow leopards are no strangers to fun. Researchers have observed them sliding down snow-covered slopes while lying on their backs, and then repeating this activity without any purpose, just for fun.