Infrared cameras have captured more than 1,000 clips of snow leopards and other wild animals in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. 

Seventy-nine infrared cameras deployed in high altitude forest areas show more snow leopards in the area than usual, indicating an improving ecological system.

The forest area in Shawan County has increased from 29,280 hectares to 66,766.7 hectares. Wildlife diversity has also gradually increased.

"The goal of installing infrared cameras is learning about distribution and numbers of population of snow leopards in the area managed by the branch bureau of Shawan County, the population of snow leopards' prey and the relationship between snow leopards and human beings in the pasturing area," said Deng Haibin, head of the division of forest protection under Tiandong Forest Management Bureau in Shawan.

Snow leopards are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as endangered animals which are under first-class state protection in China. They live in the mountainous regions at an altitude of 2,500 to 4,500 meters, with 60 percent of the population in China. 

Starting in 2014, Xinjiang forestry has dedicated itself to learning more about the population and distribution of the large cats in the region's mountainous ranges.

Read more: 

Camera captures glowing eyes of "ghost cat"

Project yields rare footage of snow leopards

(Cover image via VCG) 

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