Two snow leopards can be seen in footage shot by an infrared camera placed in northwest China’s Gansu province near the source region of the Yellow River. (Photo provided by the WWF)

For the first time, footage of snow leopards has been captured by infrared cameras placed in the source region of the Yellow River in northwest China’s Gansu province, disclosed a member of the snow leopard protection project launched by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

In the video, which was shot on Jan. 7 by an infrared camera, snow leopards are seen rolling around and resting from 7:50 pm to 2:00 am, explained Zhang Changzhi, a project expert.

The six-hour video is important to research the species’ nocturnal behavior, as dawn and dusk are their most active times, Fan Zhiyong, chief researcher at WWF China, told Beijing Youth Daily on March 24.

The video is evidence that the Yellow River's source region is a snow leopard migration corridor, added He Bing, the snow leopard project manager at WWF.

Snow leopards are a Class A protected species in China. They live in the Himalayas in central and south Asia at an altitude of 2,500 to 4,500 meters.