An injured snow leopard is saved by a herder in Yushu Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Qinghai Province, on November 24, 2017. (Photo: China News Service/Da Jie)

An injured snow leopard, a species on the country's top protection list, has been rescued by herders in northwest China's Qinghai Province.

Four herders in Zadoi County, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, found the injured animal lying on the roadside on Friday evening. Two of them stayed nearby to protect the snow leopard while the other two drove back home to bring blankets.

The four herders took the snow leopard wrapped in blankets to one of their homes. After initial treatment, local doctors and police transferred the snow leopard to the provincial wildlife rescue and breeding center in Xining, the provincial capital, according to Qi Xinzhang, deputy director of the center.

The female snow leopard is about ten years old and weighs 25 kg. She suffered a leg fracture and a mouth injury. Qi said the injury happened during a fight between the snow leopard and other animals.

Snow leopards live on the Qinghai-Tibet and Pamirs plateaus at altitudes over 3,500 meters. They have been recorded in the Chinese provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan, and autonomous regions of Tibet and Xinjiang.