Wild leopards spotted in NW China

Infrared cameras in the hinterland of Qinling Mountains in Northwest China have captured activities of wild leopards in the key wildlife corridor, indicating a stable population and an expanding home range of the species.

According to the forestry bureau of Shaanxi province, the images were found in a recent sorting of monitoring data of infrared cameras carried out by the Shaanxi Institute of Zoology.

The institute has set up sample plots and installed more than 60 infrared cameras in the area in 2017 for long-term monitoring on the changes of and threats to the biodiversity of key species.

The bureau said traces of wild leopards' activities monitored at multiple locations in the sample plot over the past three years showed that the quality of wildlife habitats in Qinling Mountains has been improving.

Reputed as China's "gene pool of wildlife," the Qinling Mountains currently has more than 580 species of terrestrial wild animals, including 12 and 63 species under the first and second-class national protection respectively.