Asiatic wildcat captured on camera in Taklimakan Desert

An Asiatic wildcat was captured on camera deep within the Taklimakan Desert in northwest China, indicating the region's healthy and intact ecosystem and abundant food resources capable of sustaining the wild feline's survival.

Rare images of the Asiatic wildcat, a nationally protected species in China, was discovered by a research team from the School of Life Sciences at Peking University when they reviewed infrared camera data collected from the remote desert region.

The video footage showed the Asiatic wildcat walking through a semi-arid landscape of poplar trees, saltcedar, and desert shrubs. It was seen sometimes sniffing the ground for prey, while scanning its surroundings with alert.

The Asiatic wildcat is a small feline species native to the arid regions of inland Asia. In China, it is primarily found in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Gansu Province, and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and is listed as a Class II nationally protected animal.

Asiatic wildcat captured on camera in Taklimakan Desert

Asiatic wildcat captured on camera in Taklimakan Desert

Asiatic wildcat captured on camera in Taklimakan Desert

Asiatic wildcat captured on camera in Taklimakan Desert

The U.S. dollar weakened in late trading on Friday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, dropped 0.19 percent to 97.608 at 15:00 (2000 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro climbed to 1.1819 dollars from 1.1786 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound added to 1.3475 dollars from 1.3470 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 155.95 Japanese yen, lower than 156.34 Japanese yen of the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 0.7679 Swiss francs from 0.7747 Swiss francs, and it fell to 1.3630 Canadian dollars from 1.3687 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar was down to 9.0200 Swedish kronor from 9.0631 Swedish kronor.

U.S. dollar ticks down