When a villager in Shuguang in eastern Jilin province heard his dog barking the night of Jan 6, he asked himself, "Why she is barking?" so he went out to take a closer look with a light and something lying on the ground.

As Li Changsheng got closer, he exclaimed, "It's a leopard cub," since he's seen a similar animal up in the mountains, then quickly ran to the nearest shop to report the cat to the police.

When forestry officers came later, Li told them, "She seemed hungry and a bit terrified as more villagers showed up. Then she leapt over into Yu Zaishan's yard, curling herself into a ball, and looking around cautiously."

Amur leopard cub looking for food in a village near Hunchun, Jilin, on Jan 6. [Photo by Zhou He/chinajilin.com.cn]

Experts from the nearby Hunchun tiger reserve identified the stray animal as a 7-or-8-month-old Amur leopard, then added that she had been foraging for food with her mother but had gotten separated from her so she went to the nearest village.

These cats take their name from the Amur River region in eastern Russia and are considered the most endangered cats on the planet, although there are differing reports about just how many of them there are in the wild, with the largest estimate at less than 50. Previously they could be found all the way from South Korea on north to above the China-Russia border but are now nearly extinct because of poaching and loss of habitat.

Jilin province estimates it had at least 42 of the cats near the China-Russia border, in 2014, based on a forestry office study.