Snow leopard spotted at night in Northwest China

LANZHOU -- Infrared cameras have captured a snow leopard's nocturnal activity in Northwest China's Gansu province, local forestry authorities said.

The rare footage was recorded in Aksay Kazak autonomous county, Gansu province on January 7.

The video showed a snow leopard rolling around on the ground, yawning, and resting from around 7:50 pm to 2 am the next morning.

Snow leopards are considered to be nocturnal animals, but are most active at dawn and dusk, said Fan Zhiyong, a scientist with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

"The camera recorded six hours of a snow leopard's activities throughout the night. It provided very important material for the research of snow leopard's activity patterns," said Fan.

A total of 20 infrared cameras were set up throughout the county between Oct. 2018 and March 2019. Six of the cameras have recorded snow leopards.

According to Li Zhilong, head of the snow leopard protection project of local forestry and ecological management office, more cameras will be installed in a larger area to better protect the rare animal.

Snow leopards are a Class A protected animal in China and are classified as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. They live in the Himalayas in central and south Asia at an altitude of 2,500 to 4,500 meters.