Infrared cameras have captured incredible scenes of Amur leopards this year for the first time in the Hunchun area in Northeast China's Jilin province.

The Jilin Provincial Department of Forestry released images on Dec 15 of an adult female Amur leopard and two cubs strolls in the National Siberian Tiger Nature Reserve.

The Amur leopard images were shot on Oct 2 at dusk, which is the typical grazing time for leopards. An adult female leopard walked in front, followed by two cubs. The female stopped and looked around curiously from time to time.

Lang Jianmin, director of the scientific research and education center of the administrative office for the National Siberian Tiger Nature Reserves of Hunchun, said that the cubs may have be born in April or May of 2016.

He said, "Clues that Amur couples were living in the area appearedtwo years ago, but no images had been captured. It is surprising that the Amur leopard images could be finally captured."

The Amur leopard is a critically endangered large cat and appears in Russia, Northeast China, and the northern part of North Korea. In the wild it is even rarer than Siberian tigers.

Forestry departments in Jilin have developed long-term policies to stop hunting, better construct the nature reserve, and clean the mountains to guarantee a better environment for wild animals. To date, 42 Amur leopards have been found to inhabit Jilin province.

Lang said the range of activity for Amur leopards has expanded to outside the protected area, which reflects that the area has enough food and a good environment for the Amur leopard population to grow, and the awareness of protecting wild animals is constantly improving.