Recently, a joint research team from Sichuan Changsha Gongma National Nature Reserve and China West Normal University filmed 16 Tibetan argali, a first-class state-protected animal, while conducting a biodiversity survey in Shiqu County of Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The footage, taken at an altitude of over 4,700 meters, marks the first sighting of a wild population of Tibetan argali in Sichuan in several years.

In the footage, the group of Tibetan argali appears robust, occasionally lowering their heads to forage and then raising them to cautiously scan their surroundings. When sensing potential danger, they swiftly run, adding vitality to the plateau.

The Tibetan argali is a first-class state-protected animal, primarily distributed in high-altitude grasslands, deserts and meadows ranging from 1,500 to 5,500 meters above sea level. They prefer semi-open alpine rocky areas and undulating mountain hills. In recent years, with improvements in the ecological environment, key protected animals, such as white-lipped deer and Tibetan argali, have been spotted more frequently in Shiqu County.

(Video shot by CMG's Liu Tao.)