Rare leopard spotted in SW China's Yunnan

Infrared cameras in a national nature reserve in southwest China's Yunnan Province have captured three videos and several pictures of leopards, according to the reserve Monday.

The infrared cameras photographed an ochreous leopard with a black blotched pattern strolling along a ridge at an altitude of around 4,000 meters in the Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve in Deqin County on December 12 last year.

According to the reserve, whether it is the same leopard on the three video clips is uncertain.

A total of 27 infrared cameras were set up by the reserve's administration in December last year along a ridgeline of about five kilometers in the reserve.
"The capture of leopard images this time shows that our long-term protection efforts have yielded positive results," said Ti Bu, a researcher of the reserve.

According to Ti, researchers will conduct a further study concerning the subspecies, distribution and group population of the big cat in Yunnan.

Leopards are under China's highest national-level protection and are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Records of this wild animal were seldom seen due to its secretive nature and small population size.

Editor: John Li