HARBIN, May 7 -- Clear pictures and video of a rare Amur leopard were captured by infrared cameras in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, local forestry authorities said Thursday.

Experts with the provincial forestry department said the infrared cameras set in a forest in Dongning County have captured images of the same leopard eight times.

The leopard's presence in the county suggests that the range of the animal's activity may be extending inland from the border areas between China and Russia, experts said.

One of the world's most endangered species, the Amur leopard was included on a list of animals under top grade national protection in 1983.

There are believed to be about 40 wild Amur leopards left, mostly in far eastern Russia, China's northeast and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.