Clear Snow Leopard Activity Footage Captured in Qinghai Province
Video screenshot of an infrared camera captured a clear image of a snow leopard in Xiaogel Mountain, Haian County, Qinghai Province, China.
Xinhua News Agency, Xining, Qinghai Province, March 3 (Ruyunpeng Zhangjianhua) Qinghai Province's Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve Association introduced on March 3 that its contracted photographer captured a clear image of a snow leopard in Xiaogel Mountain, Haian County, Qinghai Province, using an infrared camera, which is the first time in the area.
Snow leopards are often referred to as 'barometers of the health of high-altitude ecosystems'. Their distribution area spans China and Kazakhstan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Mongolia and other 12 countries. Currently, China is the largest distribution country for snow leopards, accounting for 60% of their habitat.
Video screenshot of an infrared camera captured a clear image of a snow leopard in Xiaogel Mountain, Haian County, Qinghai Province, China.
'Each time we leave our accommodation around midnight between four and five o'clock, we walk on the glacier for nearly an hour before reaching the shooting location and setting up infrared cameras.' (Gabu Zang), a conservator of Haian County Forest and Grassland Bureau, introduced, 'We check every week to see if the snow leopard image has been captured, but previously they were very blurry.'
The infrared camera used to capture the clear snow leopard image was purchased by Qinghai Province Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve Association contracted photographer Gabu Zang Tailang, Haian County government staff Haiqing and Haian County Forest and Grassland Bureau conservator Gabu Zang.
Gabu Zang said, 'From the snow leopard's walking state, its left hind leg is injured, and it walks with a limp. In the future, we will continue to observe this snow leopard and other snow leopards.'
According to reports, the Qinghai Province Qilian Mountains National Park Administration has obtained a large number of snow leopard and other rare wild animal images since it launched snow leopard monitoring in May 2017, and has also monitored 5 snow leopards appearing together, which is a global rare and the first time in China.
'Seeing the traces of rare wild animals in my hometown, I feel incredibly proud. It proves that our hometown's ecological environment is getting better and better, and wild animals can survive and grow.' Gabu Zang Tailang said.
Gabu Zang Tailang has been working in wildlife protection in the depths of the Qilian Mountains. In December 2019, he filmed the activity images of the endangered desert cat, which is the clearest frontal desert cat image data filmed so far in the Qilian Mountains.
Source: China News Agency
