bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Zoey Zhang

More than a decade ago, Chinese wildlife artist Li Weiyi rescued a dying wolf cub in the grasslands of southwestern China.
Recently, the 2017 documentary Return to the Wolves, which chronicles her time with her wolf son, regained attention thanks to a commentary video by film influencer @bizhanfenghua.
The topic has attracted an astonishing 2.8 billion views on mainland social media.
In April 2010, while sketching in the Zoige Prairie in Sichuan province, Li came across a little wolf, only five days old, orphaned after its parents were killed by humans.
The cub was on a patch of grass, hidden within a stone crevice.

Li named him “Green”, after the colour of the lush grasslands and also after the mistranslation of the Brothers Grimm, who wrote the Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf.
Due to the limited care facilities in the grasslands, Li took Green to her home in Chengdu, where she and her then-boyfriend, Yi Feng, also the documentary’s cinematographer, raised him like their son.
During his formative months, Green forged a friendship with the family’s Pomeranian, also emulating wolf howls from the television, gnawing on electrical cables and instinctively learning to catch fish in a pond.

As Green matured, his fangs grew sharper and he began to fiercely guard his food, howling into the night, disrupting the calm of their community.
Concerned friends suggested Green be sent to a zoo, but after visiting one where wolves endlessly paced in confined enclosures, Li rejected the idea.
“For Green, freedom and dignity surpass even the value of life,” said Li.
Having conducted extensive research on wolf behaviour and rewilding programmes, Li decided to reintroduce Green to the wild in July 2010.

Li sold her flat in Chengdu and together with Yifeng, embarked on a journey of sending Green back to the Zoige Prairie.
They lived with a Tibetan friend who raised mastiffs, where Green learned to hunt, coexisted with the canines, unexpectedly adopted the habit of barking like a dog and spent his days lazily sunbathing.
Resolute in her mission to reignite Green’s wild instincts, Li and Yifeng ventured deeper into the grassland, searching for a wild wolf pack.

Green’s journey back to the wild was not without its challenges.
After a failed attempt to join a wild pack, during which he was bitten and forced to return to Li, he was given another chance during the Spring Festival in 2011 when they encountered a new wolf pack.
On the day of their farewell, Green stood beside Li and Yifeng, the pack watching from afar.
With tears in her eyes, she whispered: “Go, my son, just go. Be brave. I will watch you go. You are a child of nature.”

The nine-month-old wolf nuzzled his human mother for the last time before walking towards his true family.
In that moment, Green became the first wolf in the world to successfully return to the wild after being raised by humans.
China was once home to some of the largest wolf populations in the world. However, its wolf numbers have plummeted, victims of environmental change, the expansion of livestock farming and rampant poaching.
Despite the establishment of a nature reserve in the Zoige Prairie in the 1990s, only around 100 wolves remained in the region by 2011.
At the close of the documentary, Li wrote in the captions: “We can save the life of a wolf, but can we change the fate of wolves?”
In 2013, Li and Yifeng returned to the Zoige Prairie, only to find that three of Green’s cubs had been strangled, shot or gone missing, with the only surviving one rescued by Li.
Green, who had become the alpha, met Li by chance. He gazed back at Li from a distance for a long time.
In 2020, the Sichuan government established the first wolf ecological protection monitoring station in Zoige.
By 2021, wolves were officially classified as a second-class protected species in China, with poachers facing up to 10 years in prison.
In January, the head of the Zoige Wetlands National Nature Reserve told the media that around 115 wolves now inhabit the reserve, though Green’s whereabouts remain unknown.
Yifeng told Fengmian News that the last time he saw Green was in 2020, when Green was 10 years old.

A wild wolf’s typical lifespan ranges from 12 to 16 years.
Yifeng said: “He was born on the grasslands and eventually returned his soul and body to the land. Now, every wolf on these plains is called Green.”
On mainland social media, one comment that attracted more than a million likes read: “The love and loyalty that humans spend their whole lives searching for are all contained in Green’s furry head.”
At the time of writing, Li had not made any public comments.
The activist, who has dedicated her life to wildlife protection, left only a brief remark on a recent post about Green, writing: “I have done all I can and should now fade into the crowd.”
She also liked a photo of Green joyfully running through the snow, his face radiant with a broad smile.


‘Fat for beef’: China local drive rewards residents with 0.5kg of meat for same amount of weight lost

China sailor creates ‘radio station’ to connect families with seamen stranded in Strait of Hormuz

‘Real-life Cinderella’: China stuntwoman transitions from playing body double to stardom

Taiwan singer ignites debate by showing popular ‘vacuum belly’ technique to lose weight

Trending in China

Story of China woman and adopted wolf son gains renewed fame, garners 2.8 billion views online

A Chinese woman and her adopted wolf “son” have gained renewed fame recently with the resurgence of the documentary “Return to the Wolf Pack” this year. Photo: SCMP composite/Weibo

Li Weiyi feeds her beloved wolf cub at the start of their emotional journey together. Photo: Weibo

Cute as a button: Green, as the cub was named, looks directly into the camera. Photo: Weibo

The wolf cub, left, was brought up in a domesticated setting with dogs. Photo: Weibo

All grown up: Green as a fully grown wolf with the woman who saved him. Photo: Weibo

Green takes time to visit his “mum” when she was poorly and confined to bed. Photo: Weibo

Li and her beloved Green sit together as the sun goes down. Her “baby” is now back with nature. Photo: Weibo

China boy, 8, wakes from 55-day coma, responding to classmates’ voices in uplifting video

An eight-year-old Chinese boy who fell into a coma after a car accident has miraculously wakened up 55 days later after he responded to his classmates’ calls recorded on video. Photo: SCMP composite/CCTV

Liu Chuxi in his hospital bed. The youngster suffered brain damage in the accident. Photo: CCTV

Liu, who was in a coma for nearly two months, received love and kindness from his classmates. Photo: CCTV

Liu’s friends at school, above, sent him videos and songs to help him recover. Photo: CCTV

China couple, 102, born on same day, gain online attention, credit longevity to respecting privacy

A 102-year-old Chinese couple who were born on the same day have gained attention online. Photo: SCMP composite/QQ.com

Yin Hezhen and her husband Yuan Guanjin, sitting, are pictured with their family. Photo: QQ.com

Family gathering: The centenarian couple enjoying time with their relatives. Photo: QQ.com

Yuan Guanjin, who used to work as a farmer, gets a hug from a female relative. Photo: QQ.com

Lucky red: The sprightly 102-year-old couple pose for a formal photograph. Photo: QQ.com

‘Who’s he?’ China vendor remains unfazed after receiving lai see from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang

A Shanghai market vendor received a lai see packet from Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, but humorously admitted she did not recognise him. Photo: SCMP composite/RedNote 

One of the market vendors shows off the lai see she received from Jensen Huang. Photo: Jimu

Another shop owner holds up the lucky lai see given to her by the Nvidia CEO. Photo: Jimu

Business mogul Huang, right, pays for some oranges from a vendor after sampling one on site. Photo: Jimu

Huang, to the right of a man in a baseball cap, pictured at a Shanghai grocery market recently. Photo: RedNote

China new blind box series features cute muyu-inspired toys to help ‘gain merits’, reduce stress

Pop Mart’s Pucky Knock Knock new blind box series features cute figures inspired by muyu, appealing to youth interests in luck and temple visits. Photo: SCMP composite/RedNote/ifeng

The Pucky Knock Knock series introduces an adorable character with a wooden drumstick. When users knock on its head, it produces the electronic sound of a muyu. Photo: Handout

Muyu, a fish-shaped woodblock traditionally used by Buddhist monks, keeps rhythm during sutra chanting. Photo: Shutterstock

The new toy muyu allows users to collect merits and invite good luck anytime, with excitement over the series positioning it as the successor to the beloved Labubu (above) on social media. Photo: Reuters/Mike Segar/File Photo

China ‘drama queen’ lamb goes viral for pretending to be dead when potential buyers approach

A lamb in China, dubbed the “drama queen,” went viral for pretending to be dead whenever a potential buyer approached it. Photo: SCMP composite/Sohu/RedNote

The “drama queen lamb” appears to only be friendly towards children. Photo: Douyin

Jin Xiaolin, above, the farmer who owns the lamb, is adamant that he will not sell it. Photo: Douyin

True to form, the “drama queen lamb” plays dead when a potential buyer approaches. Photo: Douyin

A farmer tends his flock of sheep in China. Social media observers say the lamb’s behaviour is worthy of an Oscar. Photo: Shutterstock 

News

People & Culture

China Personalities

Touching journey back to the wild of a rescued cub which grew up among humans and dogs leaves animal’s ‘mother’ in tears


Touching journey back to the wild of a rescued cub which grew up among humans and dogs leaves animal’s ‘mother’ in tears.


Animals

Pets

Story of China woman and adopted wolf son gains renewed fame, garners 2.8 billion views online

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Touching journey back to the wild of a rescued cub which grew up among humans and dogs leaves animal’s ‘mother’ in tears

Touching journey back to the wild of a rescued cub which grew up among humans and dogs leaves animal’s ‘mother’ in tears