The project is supported by the Panthera Small Cat Action Fund and the Nine Lives Feline Fund in Honor of Scotty, Spanky, Lizzie and Rosie (Mr. Brad Kollus).

Pallas cat number and distribution is virtually unstudied in the world. The northern periphery of the cat range lies within Russia and Kazakhstan. To understand Pallas' cat populations' trends it is necessary to understand its status on the periphery of the range. It is because here the species is most susceptible to any threats and its dynamics tendency is most appreciable. Usually a species' decline is starting from the edge of its range. One of the most important sites to study is Russian part of Altai Mountains. It is the edge of Pallas' cat global range while the cat is locally abundant here.

The second reason to monitor Pallas' cat here is the threats resulting from climate change. The Pallas' cat habitats in Altai are placed in high altitude while high mountains ecosystems are recognized to be especially vulnerable to global climate change.

The third, it is important to conserve any species in the place of high conservation value in order to maintain ecosystems' integrity and sustainability. Altai Mts. area is recognized as a global biodiversity hot spot; Altai-Sayan Mountain Ecoregion is listed in WWF Global 200, a part of Russian Altai is a property of UNESCO World Natural Heritage 'The Golden Mountains of Altai' covered 16,114 sq.km. A number of protected areas are designated to conserve biodiversity in Altai. In the Russian portion of the ecoregion currently there are 303 protected areas of various categories comprised 7.4 million ha or approximately 11% of the whole area. In Russian portion of Altai there are three vast mountain grassland ecosystems (Sailughem and Chikhachev's Ridges, Ukok Plateau) where Pallas' cat is recorded.

One more character of Altai that it is transboundary area. Four countries, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and China are bordering here. Thus the edge of Pallas' cat range is mostly a borderland and it makes both an additional challenge and specific opportunity to the cat conservation.

Last not least Pallas' cat number and viability are understudied elsewhere. One of the reasons is the lack of adequate survey techniques. It is necessary to improve survey techniques appropriate to specific habitats of this cat.

1. To work through Pallas' cat survey methods and develop survey techniques for Pallas' cat monitoring
2. To clarify Pallas' cat number and distribution in Altai mountain area (via field surveys)
3. To determine and estimate possible threats to Pallas' cat in the area
4. To determine the effectiveness of protected areas for Pallas' cat conservation
5. To elaborate the map (GIS) of Pallas' Cat distribution throughout the Altai part of the range