Rare Chinese Mountain Cat and Cubs

One of the most mysterious cats on earth is the Chinese mountain cat (Felis bieti). These wild cats live in the high elevations of the northeast Tibetan plane. The first photograph of a Chinese mountain cat in the wild was taken in 2007. Before that, all we had was a few zoo specimens and some old pelts. But in September, a bird researcher from the ShanShui Conservation Center discovered a den with a mother and two cubs, and set up a camera trap. You can see the footage and some still pictures at Birding Beijing. Not only are they rare, but they are adorably rowdy, too.  -via Metafilter 

(Image credit: ShanShui Conservation Center)