An injured snow leopard is said to be recovering following a 2nd surgery to repair its severely broken leg, reports thepaper.cn.

The snow leopard was found injured in late November, 2017, in the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province.

The cat, a species on China's top protection list for endangered animals, underwent a surgery in Qinghai's capital, Xining, shortly after it was found by local herders.

However, the surgery didn't take hold, prompting the Provincial Animal Rescue Center in Qinghai to reach out online for help.

The call was heeded almost immediately, with the snow leopard being flown to Beijing the following day to undergo another surgery at an animal hospital.

The animal is said to be recovering well, and is expected to be released back into the wild in Qinghai within the coming three months.

The story has generated a lot of buzz on the internet, with an online poll dubbing the rare cat "Empress Dowager Lingxue" by people online in China.