Tibetan Plateau wild wolves grow fat from feeding, begging for food

On National Highway 109, passing through the uninhabited area of Kekexili on the Tibetan Plateau, a wild wolf has gained fame online since last year.

Due to being fed by drivers and tourists, the wolf has gradually gained weight and now exhibits behaviors such as wagging its tail and showing its belly to beg for food from passing vehicles. Some netizens jokingly claim it has evolved from a wolf into a dog. With continuous feeding, the number of wolves gathering around the highway for food has increased, with locals reporting up to twelve at one time.

Driver Yuan Youming mentioned that initially, he saw only one skinny wolf, but as more people started to feed them, the number of wolves increased, "I saw up to four at one time."

Lian Xinming, a researcher at the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, noted that the wolves of Kekexili originally turned to human-populated areas near the highway due to disease or disability, which prevented them from hunting.

Lian said the increasing practice of feeding these animals is adversely affecting their health and their ability to hunt.

Lian added that if wolves stop hunting wild animals, it could lead to overpopulation of species like the Tibetan antelope, which in turn could lead to problems such as desertification if grass cover on the ground is reduced. The Sanjiangyuan National Park Administration and other departments have repeatedly issued notices strictly prohibiting the feeding of wild animals.

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