HOHHOT -- Six Baer's pochards, a critically endangered diving duck, were recently spotted in Dengkou county, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, for the first time.

A species under first-class state protection in China, the ducks were spotted during a police patrol at a wetland in the Dengkou section of the Yellow River.

The Baer's pochard mainly inhabits China, Mongolia and Bangladesh.

The duck sighting indicates remarkable improvements to the wetland eco-environment in the region, said local authorities.