Tatarstan equips Ak-Ilbirs snow leopard centre in Kyrgyzstan with laboratory equipment

Tatarstan has equipped the Ak-Ilbirs research and rehabilitation centre, recently opened in Kyrgyzstan, with modern laboratory equipment. Tatarstan's Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Azat Ziganshin, announced this to journalists in Kazan.

The project links two scientific sites, in Altai and at Issyk-Kul, under a single goal of conserving the snow leopard. The Ak-Ilbirs centre opened on 23 October on the territory of the Issyk-Kul State Nature Reserve, with the participation of Tatarstan's head, Rustam Minnikhanov. Ziganshin said scientists from Kazan Federal University had worked with the equipment.

According to Ziganshin, a comprehensive scientific programme for snow leopard conservation was developed with the support of its curator, Sergei Naidenko, a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and head of the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution. The programme runs until 2030, with a perspective to 2036. All 12 countries within the snow leopard's natural range are involved.