The project is preliminary supported by People's Trust for Endangered Species. It will give us GPG3000 (about 3/5 of asked) if we find remaining finance up to May 2006

If you want support our research we will give you detailed information about Project and its budget

Your means will be spent on

1. Expedition expenses (fuel, food, rent off-road vehicle)
2. Scientific equipment (GPSs, radio, PC)
3. Field equipment (winter sleeping bags, tents, field stove)
4. Report production preparing and publishing

We will be glad to accept any support from you

Equipment, purchased on charitable means, will be used in the expeditions on rare animals study later on

Pallas' Cat is species recognized as rare and endangered but there is no precise information about its modern status (Nowell, Jackson, 1996). The UICN classifies the Pallas' Cat as near threatened due to decreasing population trends and increasing threats from hunting and habitat loss (IUCN 2000). The Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) lists the Pallas' Cat as an Appendix II species (UNEP-WCMC 2004).

While Pallas' Cat is listed into Russian national Red Data Book from 1978 there is no actual information on its distribution and number (Red Data Book of Russian Federation). Paradoxically red listing led to stopping regular censuses of Pallas' Cat: the cat was excluded from list of game species and so wildlife agency and hunter organizations stopped to census it while environmental agency has no money and specialists for counting any species and is unable to do it. In Russia Pallas' Cat lives near the range limit/on the periphery of range. Russian part of the range (south-eastern part of Altai Republic, the central part of Tyva, and the south part of Buryatia and Chita region) is more populated then adjacent ones. That's why there is an especially great risk of extinction of Pallas' Cat from these regions. The threat to Pallas' Cat population increases because of rapid agricultural development had place after crisis in Russia. In addition there is a rapid growth of livestock in Mongolia that can lead to isolation Russian Pallas' Cat populations from the main range territory.

Unfortunately situation in Russia now is not good for endangered species investigation and monitoring. Lack of information is critical for Pallas' Cat conservation. Governmental agencies will not start to undertake necessary activities and financing without substantiated information. In the other hand to ground financing it is necessary to have actual information.

Our project is directed to obtaining actual information state of Pallas' Cat population in Russia and will promote activities for its saving.

1. to start a discussion in Government Agency and conservationist community to increase Pallas' Cat priority in governmental conservation politics
2. to organize snow-tracking and density estimation of Pallas' Cat throughout the Russian part of the range
3. to identify Pallas' Cat population hot spots throughout Russian part of the Pallas' Cat range
4. to elaborate the map (GIS) of Pallas' Cat distribution throughout the Russian part of the range
5. to identify areas where Pallas' Cat was extinct during last decades

1. Creating GIS map; analysing maps and remote sensing data
2. GIS-analysis of data obtained
3. Interviewing local people (hunters, rangers, herdsmen, etc.)
4. Snow-tracking and density estimation (censuses)
5. Meeting of project team with local members and training local team members for cats search and census methods
6. Publishing materials for motivating and informing decision makers and other stakeholders
7. Distributing the published materials to named decision makers and other stakeholders
8. Elucidating and persuading Wildlife Agencies to include Pallas' Cat in the list of compulsory counted species