At the local Monba ethnic minority villages, however, signs of the animals were everywhere.

Their fur was found hung on walls or beds, their horn on the lintels of doors, their meat in dishes.

At Yarang village near the county town, the scientists were even treated to wild boar meat by a villager.

"Medog is probably the only county in China where the local ethnic people can still own guns. As an age-old tradition, the love of hunting is in their blood," Wang Hao says.

"This is certainly a serious threat to animals, especially big animals. Another threat to both the animals and their habitat is the traditional slash-and-burn cultivation practiced by the locals.

"For the sake of Medog's conservation, we have to find ways to help the locals give up some of their traditional ways of life."

On the way out of Medog, Wang Hao started thinking about recommendations on conserving the region, which will be presented to the local forestry department together with the scientific findings of the survey team's final report.