Xinjiang's revived wolf packs hunting livestock

Urumqi (CNS) – Awareness of the wolf as a predator has sharpened in some pastoral areas near the Sino- Kazakh border of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. As of March 7, around a Chinese army encampment 176 sheep and two horses had been killed by wolves and over 200 other farm animals wounded.

Increasingly larger wild animal communities of wolves and wild boars are thriving in the area's well-preserved ecosystem. They cannot always be spotted in the dense reed bushes, but local people often hear wolves howling and are constantly vigilant about their presence.

The Ye family had over two hundred sheep; 75 were killed and 23 were wounded by wolves just days ago.

Officers and soldiers have carried out seven maneuvers to drive away the wolves without hurting them as they are now among the most protected animals in the region.