Hoh Xil, which is famous for keywords such as “original ecology”, “no man’s land” and “rare wild animals“, has once again triggered a wave of onlookers on social media recently. The focus of attention is a bird that has transformed from a “skinny chai” to a “fat ball” “The Hoh Xil Internet celebrity wolf”. Many netizens made short videos of their close encounters with it and posted them online.
In the video, people not only feed the wolves various foods, but even tourists touch the wolves with relaxed and natural expressions, as if it is not a wolf but a dog. The wolves also behaved extremely docilely, either pacing around the car waiting to be fed, or enjoying the food quietly, and they did not resist the touch of netizens.
Many netizens said that they were very happy to meet and interact with this wolf during the trip. They also released a variety of guides, thoughtfully introducing where you can encounter this wolf and what kind of food this wolf likes. In the comment area, many netizens also said that they would make a special trip to Hoh Xil, or even take a detour, just to see this “legendary wolf”.
What is so special about this wolf?
It turned out that about a year ago, a tourist accidentally encountered this skinny and solitary wolf while crossing the 109 National Highway in Hoh Xil, and fed it a little food out of sympathy. A few months later, another group of tourists unexpectedly discovered that the wolf would squat in the place where tourists’ vehicles passed by, waiting to be fed. They jokingly said that “the wolf has evolved into a dog.” Over time, under people’s feeding, the wolf not only became fatter and fatter, and its hair became smoother, but also became closer to humans, often doing coquettish actions such as wagging its tail and exposing its belly. Recently, some netizens encountered 12 wolves at one time in a place where it often appears. They were a little scared at first, but later found out that it turned out that this wolf brought relatives and friends, waiting here just for the food.
From the top predator of the ecosystem to a mellow “Internet celebrity” who is content with begging, the changes in Hoh Xil’s “Internet celebrity wolf” in the past year can almost be described as “a world-shaking hinterland”. While many people regard feeding as fun, some netizens are also worried about whether this kind of feeding is appropriate? Will there be a situation in the future where “all the wolves in Hoh Xil come here to wait for feeding instead of hunting”? How does the management view this matter? Are there any relevant countermeasures?
Reporters recently visited the site and found that Hoh Xil Internet celebrity wolves often beg for food at a fixed location on National Highway 109 between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., and a warning sign prohibiting feeding is erected on the side of the road. In fact, the Sanjiangyuan National Park Administration and other departments have issued notices many times prohibiting people from feeding wild animals. According to the Hoh Xil Forest Public Security Bureau, due to the increasing number of feeders, the number of wolf begging groups is also growing, and the uninhabited ecological reserve has become a traffic jam check-in point for Internet celebrities. To this end, the police have stepped up patrols in key areas. Police personnel were dispatched, patrols were stepped up, and parking on the roadside and feeding of wild animals were promptly discouraged.
The management department’s “strictly prohibiting feeding” regulations and measures have triggered a big discussion on social platforms. Some netizens suggested that without everyone’s loving support, the wolf might not have survived at all. Now it is not only living well, but also taking care of its family and friends. Why should feeding be prohibited? In response to the statement that “feeding turns a wolf into a dog”, some netizens took photos of it chasing Tibetan antelopes to prove that its wild nature has not disappeared, but it just chose a relaxed way between hunting and begging. , which proves that it is very smart.
However, the strict prohibition on feeding wild animals is not just a rule in Hoh Xil. For example, Shanghai’s wildlife protection regulations clearly state that feeding wild animals is prohibited. In some scenic spots in Sichuan, a tourist “blacklist” system will be set up to deal with tourists who feed wild animals without authorization. Those who are serious will be banned from entering the scenic spot for life.
Biologists point out that feeding animals may appear to be a gesture of goodwill, but it may actually be causing harm. Once an animal becomes dependent on humans or is overfed, real harm will occur to the animal itself. For example, in 2022, three wild boars became irritable and irritable after being fed in Nanjing Bazishan Park. At that time, more than 100 people gathered around the wild boars to feed them. Some people even filmed the wild boar eating 15 steamed buns at a time. However, after the wild boar was sent to the animal rescue center due to health problems, it was not only picky about food, but also showed violent behaviors such as attacking the iron fence.
Lian Xinming, a researcher at the Northwest Plateau Biology Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, pointed out that in a natural environment like Hoh Xil, feeding behavior will not only change the fate of individual animals, but also affect all aspects of the related ecological chain. If wolves no longer hunt wild animals, it may lead to a surge in the number of wild ungulates such as Tibetan antelopes, which will further reduce the coverage of weeds on the surface and easily lead to a series of ecological problems such as desertification.
He Xin, an associate researcher at the Shanghai Museum of Natural History, said in an interview with a reporter from Knews that from casual feeding by passers-by to special check-in feeding, the feeding incident of Kekexixi celebrity wolf has extended from the topic of wildlife protection to social issues. topic. Some of the people who feed people do so out of sympathy, while others do so to attract attention and attract attention, and trigger more vicious imitative behavior, which is very undesirable.
He Xin believes that the public should realize that feeding wild animals is not only not loving them, but also harming them. It will also harm the ecology and natural environment and cause a series of problems. At the same time, approaching wild animals at close range may, on the one hand, cause injuries due to occasional excessive behavior. On the other hand, it may also affect road conditions and risk causing traffic accidents. Therefore, feeding wild animals should be stopped and allowed to survive in nature in compliance with natural laws. In recent years, with the improvement of ecological environment protection in our country, the number of wild animals in many places has gradually increased, and the opportunities for contact with humans have also increased accordingly. Faced with this situation, it should be more appropriate to adopt the attitude of “see from a distance but not play with it”.
Look at the news reporters: Jin Mei, Zhai Jing, Ruan Li
Editor: Ruan Li
Editor: Jin Mei
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