The Chinese pangolin Manis pentadactyla is categorized as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List but little is known about its status in Nepal. Although indirect sign surveys have reported its presence in several community forests in Kavrepalanchok district, no photographic or video evidence has previously been documented. We used camera traps to investigate the occurrence of pangolins in 20 community forests in Panauti Municipality in Kavrepalanchok. A total of 75 0.01 km2 plots were surveyed using camera traps during September 2022–February 2023, with a total survey effort of 803 trap-days. The cameras recorded a total of 16 individual video footage events of Chinese pangolins in six of the community forests. This is the first camera-trap evidence of the species' presence in these forest patches, and in Kavrepalanchok district. The pangolins displayed behaviours such as sniffing, gathering plant material and digging, between 18.00 and 1.00. The camera-trap records provide more accurate species identification and reliable information than indirect sign surveys, indicating camera traps are a useful surveying tool for rare, nocturnal and elusive pangolins.

The Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia is a flagship species of mountainous Asia and a conservation priority. China is the most important country for the species’ conservation because it has the most potential habitat and the largest population of snow leopards. North-west Yunnan province in south-west China is at the edge of the snow leopard's range, and a biodiversity hotspot, where three major Asian rivers, the Yangtze, Mekong and Salween, flow off the Tibetan plateau and cut deep valleys through the Hengduan Mountains. The snow leopard's status in north-west Yunnan is uncertain. We conducted interviews and camera-trapping surveys to assess the species’ status at multiple sites: two east of the Yangtze River and two between the Yangtze and Mekong Rivers. Thirty-eight herders/nature reserve officials interviewed claimed that snow leopards were present, but in 6,300 camera-trap days we did not obtain any photographs of snow leopards, so if the species is present, it is rare. However, we obtained many photographs of potential prey, such as blue sheep Pseudois nayaur, as well as photographs of common leopards Panthera pardus, at high elevations (3,000–4,500 m). More study is necessary in Yunnan and other areas of south-west China to investigate the status and resource overlap of snow leopards and common leopards, especially as climate change is resulting in increases in common leopard habitat and decreases in snow leopard habitat.