CHENGDU, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Black-necked cranes, an endangered species, have for the first time been spotted in Mount Emei, southwest China's Sichuan Province, the local forest management office has announced.

Seven black-necked cranes were found wandering along a pond at the Mount Emei scenic spot by Lin Ming, an official with a management office in the scenic spot, on Monday.

Lin captured pictures of the cranes and sent them to experts from the local forest management office who identified the birds as endangered black-necked cranes.

Listed as a bird species under national first-class protection, these cranes mainly inhabit plateaus, meadows, marshes, reed swamps, lakeside meadow swamps and river valley swamps at altitudes of 2,500-5,000 meters. It is the only crane in the world that breeds and grows at high altitudes.

In China, this species is mainly found in Yunnan, Sichuan, Qinghai and Tibet.