Local authorities in northern China's Tianjin Municipality said that dozens of Libellula angelina, a type of endangered dragonfly, were spotted at a park in the area.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the dragonfly as critically endangered and considers it more endangered than the giant panda.

"Considering the dragonfly lives in an environment with high quality of water, its appearance in Tianjin shows the municipality has a great environment and ecological system," said Liu Xunan, deputy head of a conservation organization of the dragonfly.

The park where the dragonflies were spotted was classified as a region of permanent ecological protection, where any construction that is not related to ecological protection is forbidden.

It is necessary to explore how to minimize tourists' disturbance of the insect in the future, according to the planning and natural resources bureau of Tianjin.