Rare snow leopard is spotted playing with her cub by a hidden camera at a Chinese forest park
- Heart-warming video shows the mother snow leopard relaxing at a Chinese park
- Her playful cub is seen rolling around on its back as the pair wrestled together
- The family was the first of its kind spotted in a northwestern Chinese region
- Scientists believe there are may be less than 7,000 snow leopards left in the wild
A hidden camera has captured the heart-warming moment a mother snow leopard and her cub played with each other a forest park in China.
The wild animals were spotted frolicking and wrestling at the Beishan Forest Farm in north-western China's Qinghai province last month.
Local researchers said they accidentally stumbled across the footage last Thursday while changing the batteries for an infrared camera installed on the site.
Rare footage shows a mother snow leopard and her cub roaming around a forest park in China
The wild animals were captured by an infrared camera playing and wrestling together at the Beishan Forest Farm in northwest China's Qinghai province on the evening of September 4
Scientists estimated there may only be between 3,920 and 6,390 snow leopards left in the wild around the world. China is thought to be home to more than half of them
Scientists estimated there may only be between 3,920 and 6,390 snow leopards left in the wild around the world. China is thought to be home to more than half of them.
Mainly found in the rugged mountains of Central Asia, the specie is a Class A protected animal in China and recognised as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The Beishan Forest Farm, located in Haidong city of Qinghai, has seen over 200 wildlife species inhabiting the region, such as the Chinese blue sheep and Alpine musk deer, a researcher told reporters.
On September 4, the park captured two rare snow leopards on an infrared camera, the first time such animals were spotted in the area.
Incredible footage shows the mother snow leopard casually lying on the ground as she watched her playful cub rolling around on its back.
Mainly found in the rugged mountains of Central Asia, the specie is a Class A protected animal in China and recognised as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature
On September 4, the park captured two rare snow leopards on an infrared camera, the first time such animals were spotted in the area. Local researchers said they accidentally stumbled across the footage last Thursday while changing the batteries for an infrared camera
In this file photo, a three-month-old snow leopard is seen at a zoo in the US. Scientists estimated there may only be between 3,920 and 6,390 snow leopards left in the wild
The animal parent then stood up to join her child as the pair played and wrestled together.
The rare clip suggested that there might be a family group of snow leopards living in the area, according to Lian Xinming, an associate researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
'It is unimaginable that there is such rich biodiversity in an area with frequent human activities. It also shows the harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife,' he told the state newspaper Technology Daily.
The news comes as a wild albino camel has been captured on camera at a nature reserve in northwest China in September.
Footage shows the animal with its all-white skin drinking from a puddle with a dozen brown camels at the Annanba Wild Camel National Nature Reserve in Gansu Province.
The camel is said to be a Bactrian camel, a critically endangered species, and aged about three to four years old, according to the staff.
It is also believed to be the first of its kind to be spotted in the world.
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