Gorny Altai 2020. Expedition in the footsteps of the snow leopard. Chikhachev Ridge. Reserved Russia. Siberia. IRBISFILM
The main characters of the picture are snow leopards and people who are engaged in the study and protection of the most alpine cat in the world. The scene is Gorny Altai, the Chikhachev Ridge, which is a snow leopard migration corridor between the Republic of Altai, Tuva and Mongolia. It was here in 2011 that researcher Sergei Spitsyn received the first footage of a snow leopard in Altai. The film not only tells about this historical moment, but also traces the fate of that very snow leopard named Khorgai to the present day. Each fresh video with Khorgai is like a meeting with an old friend. “Alive, old man! - and the heart is happy, ”says Sergei Vladimirovich. Spitsyn spent several years researching snow leopards almost alone. He was assisted by the dog-tracker Rick, who was trained to search for traces of the life activity of leopards. However, a noble cause always attracts like-minded people. So a few years ago the volunteer expedition "In the footsteps of the snow leopard" was born. It is held annually and brings together dozens of people of different ages and professions who come from all over Russia. What kind of work volunteers do in the highlands and harsh climate, what difficulties they face, how their leisure time goes, how their life is arranged - in the film the viewer will find many fascinating stories from the life of a field volunteer camp. - I am familiar with the volunteer movement not by hearsay, - says Svetlana Usanova, the author of the film. - Behind him - twelve years of experience in the "Great Baikal Trail", where I was the foreman of international volunteer projects for the construction of trails in the Baikal region. Volunteers are not idle tourists. And I am glad to have the opportunity to tell in our film about people who give their time and energy to the protection of nature, and, of course, about Sergei Spitsyn, their leader and teacher. Sergey Vladimirovich rallied around the idea of preserving the leopard enthusiasts who are not only truly involved in the common cause, but also shape public opinion. ... Every time when volunteers return from expeditions to the world of people and big cities, to their ordinary life, a particle of their soul remains in these mountains, on the land of the snow leopard. “It seems to me that volunteers are the noblest people on earth,” says Sergei Spitsyn. - Because they are doing something worthwhile for their money, in their own personal time. And I am happy that I give them the opportunity to realize their desire to be useful to their country. " In June, Ivan Usanov is preparing for the release of a new film about the Sailyugem National Park, which viewers will be able to watch on the Youtube channel of the Irbisfilm studio