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Photo taken on Oct. 22, 2017 shows a snow leopard with its cub at Three-river-source National Park in northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Photo/Xinhua)
Snow leopards have been thriving in the Sanjiangyuan area thanks to government efforts to protect the wild animals and a crackdown on poaching. The latest figures show that more than 1,000 snow leopards have been found in the area.
Since 2016, the population of wild animals such as snow leopards, brown bears and yaks in the area has been recovering, Jiu said. 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.
Female snow leopard Ling Xue, who has recovered from injuries, waits to be returned to Qinghai Province at Beijing Zoo in Beijing, capital of China, May 11, 2018. (Photo/Xinhua)
Photo taken on May 2, 2017 shows a snow leopard eating at Three-river-source National Park in northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Photo/Xinhua)
Photo taken on Oct. 22, 2017 shows two snow leopard cubs at Three-river-source National Park in northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Photo/Xinhua)
Photo taken on Oct. 22, 2017 shows a snow leopard at Three-river-source National Park in northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Photo/Xinhua)
Photo taken on Oct. 22, 2017 shows snow leopards at Three-river-source National Park in northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Photo/Xinhua)
Photo taken by infrared camera on Dec. 3, 2017 shows a snow leopard in the Nujiang River valley in Changdu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Photo/Xinhua)
A snow leopard jumps in the snow-covered Xining Wildlife Park in Xining, capital of northwest China's Qinghai Province, on Nov. 7, 2018. (Photo/Xinhua)
Photo taken by infrared camera on Nov. 28, 2017 shows a snow leopard in the Nujiang River valley in Changdu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Photo/Xinhua)
Photo taken on Oct. 26, 2017 shows a snow leopard at Three-river-source National Park in northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Photo/Xinhua)
Photo taken by infrared camera on Nov. 14, 2017 shows a baby snow leopard with its mother in the Nujiang River valley in Changdu, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. (Photo/Xinhua)
A snow leopard is pictured by infrared camera in Qilianshan National Nature Reserve in northwest China's Qinghai Province, June 19, 2017. (Photo/Xinhua)
Photo taken on June 16, 2017 shows a snow leopard cub in bushes in Gaduo Township of Chengduo County under Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Photo/Xinhua)
Photo taken on June 16, 2017 shows snow leopard cubs in bushes in Gaduo Township of Chengduo County under Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Qinghai Province. (Photo/Xinhua)
A snow leopard is captured by infrared camera on March 29, 2017 in Wolong National Nature Reserve, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo/Xinhua)
A snow leopard is captured by infrared camera on Dec. 30, 2016 in Wolong National Nature Reserve, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo/Xinhua)
A snow leopard cub is seen in the wildlife zoo in Xining, capital of northwest China's Qinghai Province, June 10, 2017. (Photo/Xinhua)
