Rare brown giant panda spotted in NW China's Shaanxi

This infrared camera video screenshot shows a brown giant panda walking in the snow in Zhengnangou of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Jan. 1, 2025. (Xinhua)

XI'AN, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Staff at the Zhouzhi National Nature Reserve Administration in northwest China's Shaanxi Province recently discovered rare footage of a brown giant panda walking in the snow while reviewing data from infrared cameras in 2025.

The footage was recorded on Jan. 1 at 6:15 p.m. in Zhengnangou, an area near the main ridge of the Qinling Mountains under the jurisdiction of the Laoxiancheng conservation station within the reserve. The brown panda in the video appeared strong and healthy as it walked through the snow.

Zhouzhi National Nature Reserve is located on the northern slope of the Qinling Mountains. This marks the second time the reserve has independently recorded footage of a brown giant panda in the wild, following the first discovering on April 16, 2021. It is also the 12th successful recording of a brown giant panda in the wild in Shaanxi Province.

Brown giant pandas are rarely seen. So far, scientifically recorded discoveries of brown giant pandas, including this time, have only occurred in the four counties of Foping, Yangxian, Taibai, and Zhouzhi in Shaanxi Province in the Qinling Mountains area.