Infrared cameras in a nature reserve in northwest China's Gansu Province have captured three images of snow leopards, according to the reserve Sunday.

The footage was captured at Anxi national natural reserve in Guazhou County on Sept. 27, Sept. 28 and Nov. 17 last year.

Whether it is the same big cat on the three images is uncertain.

A total of 62 infrared cameras have been set up by a joint research team of the reserve's administration and Lanzhou University since 2012, covering an area of 50 square kilometers in the reserve.

Images show that the snow leopards walking at an altitude of around 2,600 meters close to a plain desert, "which provides new scientific evidence to the study of its habitats," said Wang Liang, researcher of the team.

It is the first time that such images have been caught in the reserve since it was established in 1987.

Snow leopards are a Class A protected animal in China and are classified as "vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. They live in the Himalayas in central and south Asia at an altitude of 2,500 to 4,500 meters.