The call of the wild

He Shunfu says that Tianxian Baobao is a special case, as it's rare for a wild animal to remain in captivity for more than a year and then successfully return to the wild. The center had previously rescued and subsequently returned many wild animals to their natural habitats, but most had only been there for a short time. The long delay in the lynx's case was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which had stopped its carers from returning it to the place where it was found, instead requiring them to find an alternative release site, He says.

Employees at the park had worried that the lynx might have become too dependent on them and would not be able to survive in the wild, but their fears proved unfounded and the cat thrived.

Qi says he worked at the Xining Wildlife Park for more than 12 years, during which he participated in the rescue and release of many wild animals, but this one was so special that he wanted to record the story in a book, particularly because after returning to the wild, Tianxian Baobao appeared to still remember his human friends.