Snow leopard's birthday shows China's efforts in biodiversity conservation

On the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, a female snow leopard named Ao Xue — China's oldest living artificially bred snow leopard — recently celebrated its ninth birthday.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Wildlife Park in Xining, capital of Qinghai province, had not successfully bred a snow leopard for 30 years before Ao Xue was born on June 10,2016.

"Breeding snow leopards feels like walking on eggshells," said Qi Xinzhang, deputy head of the park. Snow leopards, which usually live in alpine regions at elevations of over 3,500 meters, are difficult to rear in captivity due to their sensitivity to their environment's temperature and humidity, as well as their poor resistance to many common germs, according to the park.