Snow leopards spotted on Tianshan Mountain

(china.org) A team composed of researchers from the International Snow Leopard Organization, the Central South China Academy of the Forest Inventory and Planning Office of the State Forestry Administration, and Xinjiang Ecology and Geography Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have photographed the first snow leopard over ten years in the central and western sections of Tianshan Mountain in Xinjiang Autonomous Region. Snow leopards, called "the kings of the snowy mountains," are an endangered species and national first-class protected animals that live on snowcapped mountains.

Ma Ming, a researcher with the Xinjiang Ecology and Geography Institute, explained that the team used 50 infrared cameras provided by the International Snow Leopard Organization to collect the pictures. The team used the photographs and tracked material traces of the animals' presence to investigate and analyze the quantity, distribution range and food resource availability of the snow leopard population in the area.

The snow leopards were photographed at four locations spreading throughout more than 1,000 kilometers in the central and western parts of Tianshan Mountain. Two snow leopards were spotted at a water source and one was found in a low-altitude area (1,680 meters above sea level). Based on the results of more than four months of field research, researchers claim that the population of snow leopards has increased, its distribution range has expanded, and local herdsmen's awareness in protecting the wild animals has been on the rise.

Source: china.org by Wang Jiaxing

from China Travel & Tourism News http://ift.tt/1iB6EFm

Put the internet to work for you.

Delete or edit this Recipe