A wild sable stands in snow in the Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve in Yanbian county, Jilin province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A photographer recently captured images of a wild sable in deep snow in the Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve in Yanbian county, Jilin province.

"Sables have been listed as first-class protected animals in China and are not very easy to track," he said. "I have been looking for four years before finding this lovely animal."

"I was so excited when I got close to it — just 8 meters," he said.

A wild sable stands in snow in the Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve in Yanbian county, Jilin province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]