A Chinese environmental protection NGO will raise funds to protect more than 13 China leopards (Panthera pardus japonensis) living in the Jinzhong section of Taihang Mountain.

The NGO - the Society of Entrepreneurs & Ecology - consists of entrepreneurs interested in carrying out environmental and ecological protection. It announced on July 12 that it will fund 526,000 yuan ($78,647) for the protection of the China leopard population in the Shanxi area.

The leopard population found in the middle section of the Taihang Mountain area is rarely seen in China and is extremely precious. The area features a minimal population and a well preserved forest.

The China leopards in Shanxi were given protection in 2006. A monitoring system featuring infrared cameras installed every four square meters was established to observe their living environment and activities, said the Chinese Field Conservation Alliance.

Reproductive capacity has been found in the China leopard population every year since 2012 and at least three female leopards are currently at reproductive age.

Statistics data show that the habitat of the China leopard has shrunk by 96-98 percent. However, the Taihang Mountain area in Jinzhong city, which extends several thousand kilometers from south to north, can provide the leopards with a large area of living space and abundant food including roe deer and wild boars.

In addition to the loss of habitat, leopards living in the area are often killed because they eat cattle raised by local villagers.

The China leopard is the only leopard subspecies living in China and has been ranked as a national first-level protected animal. They used to live in a wider area covering Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, Beijing, Shaanxi, Gansu, and the South Ningxia Hui autonomous region, but their numbers have dropped sharply and they have vanished from some of their former habitat.