Wild lesser pandas captured on film in nature reserve in SW China's Yunnan

Five wild lesser pandas were captured on film by an infrared camera installed in the Gaoligong Mountains National Nature Reserve in southwest China's Yunnan Province, according to staff at the reserve.

Video footage showed five chubby lesser pandas walking in a leisurely manner out of an arrow bamboo grove one by one after snow had fallen. Some of them walked past the infrared camera with thin layers of snow on their coats. Others were attracted by the camera and checked it out with an adorable expression that melted people's hearts.

Lesser pandas are under second-class state protection in China and listed as an endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2015). They have very high habitat requirements, including a good ecological environment and sufficient sources of food.