The rare sight of a herd of argali sheep was recently captured on camera in Taxkorgan Nature Reserve on the Pamirs Plateau in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

In 1984, China created Taxkorgan Nature Reserve on the Pamirs Plateau, which covers an area of 1.5 million hectares at an average altitude of about 4,000 meters. The area contains rich number of species and is home to the argali sheep, a rare type of mountain sheep.

The argali sheep is under second-class state protection in China. Its Chinese name "panyang", meaning "curving sheep", comes from the shape of its horns. While horns of females are thin and short, the diameter of male horn roots can grow to a few decimeters. They can also reach as long as one meter and coil up in a circle.

A glimpse of one or two argali sheep is hard to come by, which makes the new aerial footage of a herd all the more precious.

"The argali sheep usually move in a herd of three or five, according to the distribution of the grassland and sources of water. There are also herds of argali sheep of 20 to 30, 40 to 50, even large herds with over a hundred argali sheep," said Dai Zhigang, director of Kashgar Prefecture's Wild Animal Protection Office.

Dai said the growing number of argali sheep could be attributed to the improved environment.

"With the continuous remediation, Taxkorgan Nature Reserve and surrounding areas have become a haven for wild animals to live in freedom. Its ecology is in a good state, which is the reason the number of the argali sheep is rising. After decades of restoration, the number of the argali sheep has stabilized, and the creatures are returning to the areas where they had disappeared. Now the area has about 3,000 to 4,000 argali sheep," said Dai.

(Cover image via VCG)