A panda mother and her cub were captured by infrared cameras on Feb. 13, 2019 in a nature reserve in southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua)

CHENGDU, June 17 (Xinhua) -- A panda mother and her cub were captured by infrared cameras in a nature reserve in southwest China's Sichuan Province, and the cub damaged a camera, local authorities said Monday.

Three sets of photos and a short video of the pair were captured between January and April this year in the Huanglong Nature Reserve in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Aba.

In February, the pair passed by a camera and were photographed. The baby returned and had "intimate contact" with the camera with its claws and teeth, resulting in a malfunction of the camera.

Experts said that based on image analysis the panda cub was around one and a half years old.

The most recent photos of the mother and baby were captured on February 13. Since then, the baby has not been seen, which means it has probably left its mother and is living on its own.

Panda cubs usually leave their mothers when they are one to two years old.