Infrared cameras have captured a reintroduced female snow leopard walking with her one-year-old cub in Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, marking a breakthrough in China's snow leopard conservation work. Researchers confirmed the female was released into the wild in April 2024 and gave birth between April and May 2025, completing a full year-long cub-rearing cycle. Experts say it is the world's first known snow leopard reintroduction project to complete the full process of wild release, settlement, natural pairing, wild birth and successful cub rearing. Since 2021, the reserve has introduced eight snow leopards through rewilding training, satellite tracking and infrared camera monitoring.