Snow leopard recovering in Beijing following 2nd surgery

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

An injured snow leopard saved by herders in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Qinghai Province, November 24, 2017. [File Photo: Chinanews.com]

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

An injured female snow leopard undergoes its first operation in Xining, capital of Qinghai Province, December 11, 2017. [File Photo: Chinanews.com]

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.

An injured female snow leopard recovering at the Beijing Zoo following a 2nd surgery, February 16, 2018. [File Photo: Beijing Evening News]

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.