A seminar on field study SL-TBI (Transboundary Initiative on Snow Leopard) is held in Bishkek. The snow leopard experts from Germany, Great Britain, China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan participate in it.
According to Zarina Esenbayeva, public relations specialist of the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union of Germany (NABU), the participants will consider methods for collecting and processing samples for genetic analysis, and will conduct a comparative analysis of photo trap models, thanks to which good material on the biodiversity of the region is collected. Great attention will be paid to the issues of safety in the mountains, risk assessment during field study.
Director of the Wildlife Institute at the Beijing Forestry University (China) Shi Kun notes that often the usual methods — photo traps, identification on the footsteps — do not give a complete picture of a object under study.
«Snow leopards are considered to be the most secretive animals. They are difficult to see. Therefore, genetic analysis is important. Combining field methods with analysis, you can get the most accurate results of study of the life of the snow leopard,» he said.
Finding out the species, sex or specifically study an individual is necessary for a complete scientific study of the snow leopard and other wildlife dwellers.
Today, the scientists will move to the practical part — field study. They will be held in the national park Ala-Archa.
«The method of using photo traps is very promising for studying the characteristics of the inhabitants of the wild nature, the recognition of individual characteristics according to the pattern on the fell and their number,» the organization noted.
