An Asian golden cat was captured by infrared cameras, according to the forestry bureau in Taibai County, Baoji City of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

This was the first time that a video of the species was taken in the area.

The Asiatic golden cat, or Catopuma temminckii, is a second-class state protected animal and classified as "near threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

Being a medium-sized feline, the Asiatic golden cat weighs about two or three times that of a domestic cat.

According to the China red data book of endangered animals issued in 1998, there were around 3,000 to 5,000 golden cats in China, mainly distributed on the southern slope of the Qinling Mountains and in Anhui, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi provinces and Tibet Autonomous Region.

The Taibai County Forestry Bureau set up 67 infrared cameras and obtained 7,086 photos and 2,706 videos this year.

(Editor: Zhu Yingming. All photos via VCG.)

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