China is home to the largest number of snow leopards – a species currently under threat. To better protect them, some activists have been studying their habitats, especially on the Tibetan Plateau. Our Yang Jinghao heads to the mountains in northwest China find out what's being done to save this rare animal.  

Images of snow leopards – these are what Sangdhan, a herdsman, had longed for since November. The Tibetan from Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai retrieved the infrared cameras he had placed on Amnye Machen Mountain to monitor the rare wild animal.

SANGDHAN HERDSMAN "I know there're a lot of blue sheep living around, they are the main prey for snow leopards. I also found traces of urine from the leopards. That's why I put the cameras here."

YANG JINGHAO QINGHAI "Snow leopard is considered as a flagship species. It is an important indicator to status of the plateau ecosystem. The Amnye Machen Mountain is a major habitat for the animal, and so its survey here is important to its overall protection."

This program was launched by the Plateau Nature Conservancy, an environmental organization based in Qinghai. Local herdsmen placed some 70 infrared cameras in different locations on this mountain – one of the most sacred for Tibetans. The cameras captured the snow leopards 515 times. The exact number of animals is expected to be revealed in June.

AWANG FOUNDER, PLATEAU NATURE CONSERVANCY "We are going to use the data for some reasons. First, we are gonna analyze all these image data to see what's the situation and status of the snow leopards species here on Amnye Machen region and deliver these results to relevant government agencies, hoping they can take some protection approaches for the snow leopards."

China is home to as much as 60 percent of the world's snow leopard, with Qinghai being home to the most. In September 2017, the International Union for Conservation of Nature changed the animal's status from "Endangered" to "Vulnerable". However, without solid proof on the improving situation for the snow leopard, environmentalists and experts still remain concerned.

AWANG FOUNDER, PLATEAU NATURE CONSERVANCY "There are so many threats to the snow leopards, including their habitat degradation – there are so many factors for that, including construction work and then their preys are getting decreased."

In March, another organization said it managed to capture images of snow leopards about 300 times in three months, in the Lancang River source area in Qinghai. Awang says such investigations are just the first step, and related government departments should play a key role in conservation based on data. He also believes more and more local herdsmen will actively participate in the endeavor, as the concept of protecting their traditional culture and their holy homeland is deeply rooted. Yang Jinghao, CGTN, Guoluo, Qinghai Province.