According to Vasily Zaitsev, when they were returning from the mountains, the bright headlights illuminated a porcupine, which was not too frightened to find itself in the beam of light. "We observed it for a while until it disappeared into the darkness," Zaitsev noted.
In Kyrgyzstan, porcupines are protected by law, and hunting them is prohibited.
On April 17, 2024, wildlife expert Kanybek Rayymkulov, along with ranger Adyl Baatyrbek uulu and inspector D. Joobaraasov from the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology, and Technical Supervision, conducted a raid in the "Belen-Teke" reserve, located 60-80 km from Bishkek.
During the raid, employees of the Chui regional administration noticed a snow leopard moving along the road. Upon seeing people, it quickly hid on the slope of the mountain.
Additionally, the rangers noted that deer were grazing 500 meters away from the snow leopard.
