A sick wild panda has been found in a nature reserve in southwest China's Sichuan Province, reserve staff confirmed on Wednesday.

A villager spotted a panda twice on Monday and Tuesday in Wolong National Nature Reserve. Staff and panda experts went to the scene and concluded that the panda was sick due to its lethargy.

The 10-year-old female, suffering low heart rate, arrhythmia and a low temperature, is being kept in isolation. The wild panda will be released when it is fully recovered.

Giant pandas are one of the world's most endangered species. About 1,600 live in the wild, mostly in the mountains of Sichuan, while more than 300 live in captivity.

The Wolong National Nature Reserve, covering 200,000 hectares in Sichuan's Wenchuan County, was founded in 1963 as the "home of the giant panda".