© Steve Bloom / Barcroft Media

Playing peacefully in the mountainous regions of western China’s Sichuan Province, these adorable Giant Pandas melt the heart.

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These incredible pictures show the endangered creatures at play – giving a rare and intimate insight into their secret lives.

Captured at the Wolong Nature Reserve, photographer Steve Bloom spent a week photographing the family as they frolicked in the snow and balanced high in the trees.

“There are so few Pandas left that to go and shoot them in the wild is going to be threatening to them,” he said.

© Steve Bloom / Barcroft Media

“Wolong is a state in China where they live naturally. They have these large areas where the Pandas are able to roam freely and you can photograph them with these incredible backdrops which are their natural habitat.

“I went in the depths of winter and I thought pandas in the snow would be visually striking.

“There have been so many failures with breeding pandas in Zoos in the west and Wolong has such a high success rate. It might be something to do with the climate, the food available or the areas that they are roaming.

“All too often animals in captivity are so stressed that they are unable to function properly.”

© Steve Bloom / Barcroft Media

Established in 1963, Wolong National Natural Reserve is the longest-running, largest and most famous panda reserve in China.

With over 50 individuals, the females are giving birth every year making Wolong one of the most successful breeding facilities in the world.

Giant pandas live in a only a few mountain ranges in central China in the provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu.

Once living in lowland areas, farming, forest clearing, and other human activities have been blamed for restricting the giant pandas to the mountains.

© Steve Bloom / Barcroft Media

Steve added: “I had special permission from the authorities to go in there. I was on the slopes of the mountain with the pandas.

“I try to get an intimacy in all my pictures. Essentially I try to keep a low profile and not to be a distraction, aggressive or domineering towards them.

“Respecting the fact that I am in the animal’s territory is an important part of my work. It’s important to use that in your body language to let the animal know that you are essentially a visitor and you are not going to take anything.

“I think its important to use that in your whole demeanour around them. You stress the animals by swaggering up to them in which case they will attack or run way.”

© Steve Bloom / Barcroft Media

The giant panda is the rarest member of the bear family – with only 2,500 adults in the wild – and is among the world’s most threatened animals.

Today, the giant panda’s future remains uncertain. As China’s economy continues to boom the bamboo-eating animal faces several threats. Its forest habitat is increasingly broken up by new roads and railways. Poaching is also a never-ending threat as animal groups battle to save the captivating creature from disappearing entirely.

© Steve Bloom / Barcroft Media

Wolong Panda Reserve in the east of Mt. Qionglai is a 3-hours drive from Chengdu.

Managed by the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda,the 200,000 hectare (494,200 acre) site was set up in 1980 with help from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) who use the animal as their logo.

With tourists arriving from all over the world, wildlife observation spots opened in the reserve to give visitors a unique first-hand experience of the pandas and their lives.

Also on site are other rare and endangered species including the red panda, golden monkey, white-lipped deer, gnu and precious plants like yew and beech.

Words by Jack Fletcher

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