Qinghai: The snow leopard population in Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province in northwest China, has reached 59, the provincial forestry and grassland administration announced on Thursday, coinciding with World Snow Leopard Day.

According to Namibia press Agency, the survey was conducted with data collected from 2023 to 2024 and involved the participation of 111 ecological rangers. The project deployed 200 infrared cameras throughout the prefecture, with 55 of these cameras successfully capturing images of snow leopards, resulting in 298 independent detections.

Zhang Yu, head of the administration’s wildlife protection department, explained that spatial mark-recapture models were employed to estimate both the population and habitat size of the snow leopards. The survey findings revealed that snow leopards occupy approximately 3,872 square kilometers in Huangnan, which constitutes about 21.74 percent of the prefecture’s total area.

Experts highlighted the importance of snow leopards as crucial indicators of ecological balance, given their status as a first-class protected species in China. Zhang also noted that the survey’s results provide essential baseline data for ongoing monitoring and protection efforts aimed at preserving the snow leopard population.