Xinjiang Altun Mountain Nature Reserve, with the support of Beijing Normal University, used unmanned aerial vehicles to monitor wild animals in the reserve for the first time, local media reported on Monday.

Zhang Xiang, deputy director of the natural reserve management bureau, told Xinjiang Daily that equipment can be installed on the unmanned aerial vehicles, which can send back high-quality pictures of the areas wild animals inhabit.

“With these pictures, we can confirm the number of the wild animals.”

Zhang also said that the survey this time was to monitor yaks discovered in the depths of the Kumkury Desert.

About 10,000 wild yaks are living at an altitude of 4,000 to 4,500 meters.

The group, in Shaziquan area, usually comes out of the desert for food in the morning and goes back to desert at night, which is different from other yaks.

The area is largely inaccessible and does not have any roads.