Sustained conservation efforts have improved snow leopard habitat quality and ecosystem integrity, alongside growth in the population and its reproductive vitality, the administration said.

　　In April, infrared cameras in the Helan Mountains in northwest China captured a reintroduced female snow leopard with her cub, marking the first time a snow leopard reintroduction project worldwide has resulted in cubs being born and successfully raised in the wild.

　　Native to the Helan Mountains, snow leopards disappeared from the area in the 1950s due to habitat destruction and human disturbance. To restore the population, eight snow leopards have been introduced to the mountains so far. Several snow leopards, including those arriving naturally, have since established territories and hunt independently.

　　Signs of the species" presence are also emerging elsewhere. In Muli County of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China"s Sichuan Province, footage recorded this year confirmed the first sighting of a snow leopard in the prefecture, extending the known southeastern edge of the species" range, the administration said.

　　Looking ahead, China will focus on improving connectivity between habitats, protecting genetic diversity and refining measures to prevent and address human-wildlife conflict to sustain snow leopard population recovery, the administration said.

　　(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Sun Zhao)