Fifty Camera Traps Installed in Russia's Altai Region to Monitor Pallas's Cats
Researchers from Saylyugem National Park, together with volunteers from the Following the Snow Leopard conservation movement, have completed the first expedition to study Pallas's cats on the Saylyugem Ridge in the Altai Republic. The team installed 50 automated camera traps to collect data on the population size and density of the rare wild cat.
The expedition established a 100-square-kilometer study area and placed one camera trap within each 2-square-kilometer grid cell. Installation took nearly a week because the cameras had to be positioned at precise intervals and individually calibrated using a specially marked reference pole, according to expedition coordinator and park researcher Aleksei Kuzhlekov. The calibration process allows computer vision algorithms to estimate the animals' movement speeds and travel routes, improving population assessments.
The monitoring program will next be expanded to Zabaykalsky Krai, the Republic of Tyva, and southern Krasnoyarsk Krai in partnership with the Ubsunur Hollow, Daursky, and Sayano-Shushensky nature reserves, as well as Tunkinsky and Saylyugem national parks.
