Snow leopard captured on camera in southwest China's Liangshan for first time

(ECNS) -- A snow leopard has been captured on camera in the wild for the first time in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Sichuan Province, after a local wildlife protection group obtained clear images of the nationally protected animal.

Staff with the Muli County of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture Wildlife Protection Association retrieved the footage during routine equipment checks and data collection in Donglang Township, the association said. The images represent the first field record of a snow leopard in Liangshan, filling a long-standing gap in the prefecture's wildlife monitoring records for the animal.

The snow leopard is listed under China's first-class national protection and classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.

(By Zhang Dongfang)