A nature reserve in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region said that it had for the first time captured wild leopard cats on camera, a state-protected wild animal species.

A wild leopard cat is captured by an infrared camera at the Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Photo/The management bureau of the Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve)

After taking memory cards out of over 120 infrared cameras set up in the reserve, staff members of Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve found images and video clips of the wild leopard cats that were captured on July 30 and Aug. 24, 2020.

In May 2017, the wild animal was spotted in the Liupan mountain area of the autonomous region.

Thanks to the improving environment of the Helan Mountain, the species and population of wild animals have been on the rise in recent years, and rare wild animals, including blue sheep, red deer, and blue eared pheasants, are frequently seen in the area of the mountain.