Rare footage of a trio of leopard cats was unveiled on Tuesday by the Nanshan Provincial Nature Reserve in Jinhua City, east China's Zhejiang Province. The footage was obtained by staff at the nature reserve during their routine sorting of infrared camera data.

"In this footage, we captured three leopard cats, including one female and two young cubs. The female leopard cat was very alert in front of our infrared camera. After confirming that it was safe, she left the area with the two cubs," said Lou Xiaoli, a staff member at the nature reserve.

Leopard cats are mainly found in mountainous forest areas full of shrubs. They are under second-class state protection in China.

Staff at the nature reserve said that it is rare to capture footage of three leopard cats together because they generally lead solitary lives, except during the breeding season. The female seen in the video was probably in her nurturing period at the time and was taking her cubs to find food at night. It also indicates that there is a certain population of leopard cats in the reserve.

The Nanshan Provincial Nature Reserve is the largest nature reserve in Zhejiang Province. In recent years, the reserve has established long-term monitoring plots and used digital equipment such as infrared monitors and drones to bring rare and endangered animals into public sight.