Infrared cameras capture images of a leopard in nature reserves in China. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"When we protect the habitats of wild giant pandas, we're actually protecting all flora and fauna in the ecological system. It's also essential to increase interactions among different wild panda populations," says Xu Qiang, director of WWF's Chengdu office in Sichuan province.

"The surveillance cameras help us to monitor human interference day and night continuously in the vast area. It's convenient and reduces our workload greatly to use technology that's often used in the public space in cities," says Hu Kang, director of management office of Yele Nature Reserve.

Hu says their main tasks are to manage and control grazing, gathering herbs, cutting trees and illegal hunting. These surveillance cameras can serve as a deterrent to offenders and obtain evidences of such crimes.

Yele Nature Reserve is adjacent to a township inhabited by the Yi ethnic group. The local villagers have become aware of wild animal and environment protection, and they rarely enter the conservation area.

"There are few human beings in a nature reserve. On this occasion, no news is good news," Hu says.