CHENGDU -- An infrared camera has captured images of a wild leopard in a nature reserve in Southwest China's Sichuan province.

The images show a healthy leopard, a wild species under first-class state protection, wandering through the bamboo forest in the Fengtongzhai National Nature Reserve on April 29, 2020, officials of the reserve said Tuesday.

Snow leopards were also spotted in the reserve in 2020. Experts said that the reserve, thanks to its complete and healthy ecological environment, has become an ideal habitat for apex predators such as snow leopards and leopards that mostly live on mountains and hills.

From 2019 to 2020, cameras in the reserve have captured over 200,000 images, including that of rare species such as pandas, golden monkeys and forest musk deer, the officials said.