A snow leopard that killed more than 20 sheep in a town in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region this month has been moved to a nature reserve more than 500 kilometers away, Red Star News, a media outlet based in Chengdu, Sichuan province, reported on Monday.

On Friday, police in Washixia town, Ruoqiang county received a call from residents reporting that an unidentified animal had entered several livestock pens, resulting in the deaths of 27 sheep.

Police and the county forestry and grassland bureau captured the snow leopard and transferred it to the Altun Mountain National Nature Reserve, and then released it into the wild in Yitunbulake town.

The county's public security bureau told Red Star News that there had been no previously known presence of snow leopards in the area, which is located deep in the Gobi Desert, at an altitude of less than 1,000 meters.

After on-site investigations and the gathering of information from various sources, police determined that the culprit in Washixia was a snow leopard.

Police, the county forestry and grassland bureau, and the village committee evacuated residents and livestock from the scene of the attacks. Police then captured the snow leopard by placing a dead sheep inside an iron cage, luring the predator into captivity.

An examination of the snow leopard revealed no apparent external injuries and its overall health was deemed suitable for release into the wild.

To prevent further incidents and protect both the snow leopard and residents, the police and the forestry and grassland bureau transferred the snow leopard over 500 km away to the Altun Mountain National Nature Reserve.

The police are helping affected residents in their efforts to negotiate compensation for their losses.

The snow leopard, classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, is the top predator in high-altitude environments. In the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and surrounding mountainous regions, snow leopards typically live at altitudes ranging from 3,300 to 5,000 meters.