Video footage captures a snow leopard and her cub enjoying a peaceful moment on a grassland surrounded by mountains in northwest China's Qinghai Province.

The naughty cub was filmed trying to squeeze itself under its mother's belly to feed and climbing onto its mother's head but falling down.

Snow leopards are under first-class state protection in China. The big cat is regarded as an iconic flagship species of the mountains of central Asia.

According to a journal article published in 2020, "The concept of a 'flagship species' currently refers to endangered species that have been selected to represent a special habitat that needs to be protected." 

(Cover image via CFP)