Dancing with wolves

For 20-year-old Zhou Xinyue, "dancing with wolves" is not a scene from a movie, but an aspect of everyday life.

Recently, video clips of Zhou feeding and playing with wolves have gone viral online.

Zhou is a breeder at the Hansulu Eco-tourism Tourist Area in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia autonomous region. Her job is raising eight wolves bred in the scenic area.

"Girls at my age usually would hang out with their friends, something I rarely do because I need to care for the wolves. I can't leave them," she said.

The wolves in the tourist area are raised for film and TV drama shoots and for photographs with tourists.

"They never attack me intentionally. Sometimes their sharp teeth and claws hurt me, but that is accidental," she said.

Zhou's personal connection with wolves dates back to four years ago, when she first saw several wolves raised at the home of her uncle.

"I was scared in the beginning, but later I found wolves can also be tender," Zhou told Beijing Youth Daily.

"I observed them carefully, and stayed with them almost every day," Zhou said. Gradually, she became familiar with them.

Zhou earns 2,800 yuan ($406.71) a month now at the eco-tourism area. She said she will keep working as a breeder because she has developed a deep affection for the animals.