Infrared cameras in Mount Siguniang National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Sichuan Province captured a snow leopard in videos and several photos for the first time.

The leopard was walking near a cliff that is over 4,900 meters high.

The staff of the nature reserve found tracks and excrement of snow leopards before but didn't have clear images or videos of the species there until now.

The snow leopard is a rare animal under first-class state protection in China, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies it as endangered-to-vulnerable. They live in the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia at altitudes between 2,500 and 4,500 meters. Sixty percent of their habitats are in China.

(Cover image viva VCG.)

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