Some netizens asked me that he was from Shandong, and he heard from his elders that there were wolves in the mountains of Shandong in the past, and the ecological environment in Shandong has improved significantly in recent years. As a canine research expert, I can responsibly say that there are still wild big bad wolves in Shandong Province, which has a population of more than 100 million.
In terms of scientific name, the wild wolf in Shandong is a subspecies of the gray wolf, also known as the Tibetan wolf or the Mongolian wolf, which originated about 300,000 years ago and survived the extinction of mammals during the Ice Age. The Mongolian wolf is about 1~1.2 meters long, about 0.7 meters high, weighs 35-60 kg, and has a medium size. Mongolian wolves have a lifespan of up to 12-16 years, generally one litter a year, like dogs, as few as 5-6, as many as a dozen, mainly prey on small animals such as hares and marmots, and sometimes hunt sheep and horses and other domestic small animals and poultry in the pastoral area.
Wolves are extremely social species, with a pack of about 5 to 12 wolves, up to about 40 in the cold of winter, usually in a family pack, led by a dominant pair, and in a group of siblings is led by the strongest wolf.
Wolves are territorial, and are usually rangers, and the range of the pack decreases as the number of individuals in the pack increases. The range of the field between the groups does not overlap, and the range is announced to the other groups with a howl. After the young wolves grow up, they will stay in the group to take care of their younger siblings, and may also inherit the dominant position in the group, some will migrate, and in some cases there will be migratory wolves, with hundreds of heads as a group, there are wolves from different family levels, and the leaders of each small group of protowolves will become the head wolf, and the most outstanding of the head wolves will become the wolf king.
Wild wolves can generally live for 12-16 years, and some wolves in captivity can live for about 20 years. The running speed is extremely fast, up to about fifty-five kilometers, and the persistence is also very good. They are capable of running for long periods of time at speeds of up to 10 km/h and can hunt and sprint at speeds of up to almost 65 km/h. If it's a long-distance run, it's faster than a cheetah. Wolves have a high IQ and can communicate with smells and calls. Wolves are omnivores, mainly carnivorous, and are a key link in nature's biological chain.
The above has introduced the basic habits and distribution of the big bad wolf, and now we will focus on why I can say with certainty that there is still a wild wolf population in Shandong! Some may be skeptical or even scoffed at this conclusion, but facts speak louder than words. There are three main aspects of evidence:
1. Historically, Shandong has always been the survival and distribution area of wild wolves
Although Shandong is relatively densely populated, in fact, most of the human living areas in Shandong are concentrated in the plains and hilly valleys, the topography of Shandong is very complex, 2/3 of the area is mountains or hills, we are more familiar with the Taishan Mountains, Mengshan Mountains, Kunyu Mountains and the central and southern hills, the southeastern hills of Shandong are all full of primeval forests or secondary forests, these places are not particularly populated, so there are many forests in Shandong in history, these forests are very suitable for the survival of wild wolves, Since ancient times, wild wolves have lived very comfortably in the deep mountains and old forests of Shandong.
Animal research experts from Beijing Normal University have comprehensively sorted out and summarized the distribution areas of the big bad wolf in the mainland, among which Shandong has clearly had the distribution of wild big bad wolf. Judging from the historical distribution area of this wolf, it is mainly distributed in the northwest region, north China and northeast of the mainland. The distribution area of Shandong wolf is mainly concentrated in the Kunyu Mountains of Weihai, Yantai, the Laoshan area of Qingdao, the Yimeng Mountains of Linyi, the Wulian Mountains of Rizhao, the Yiyuan Mountains of Zibo, the southern mountains of Jinan, and the Taishan Mountains of Tai'an.
In addition, Pu Songling, a native of Zibo, Shandong Province, who is very familiar to everyone, wrote a book "Strange Tales from Liao Zhai" in the Qing Dynasty, in which there are many stories about describing wolves. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, due to the decrease in population, forest resources are relatively abundant, and Shandong wild wolves are distributed in most places. Wolves have also formed in local areas, with wild wolves often attacking humans and domestic animals in packs, causing great panic and destruction.
I was born in the Yimeng Mountains of Shandong, where the terrain is basically hills and mountains, although the altitude of the mountain is not high, only a few hundred meters high, but it is also a deep ravine, shrubs, trees, weeds are relatively dense, very suitable for the survival and reproduction of some wild animals, in our hares, pheasants, badgers, foxes are more common.
I heard my father say that in the 70s of the last century, there were often wolves in our local area who came to the production team in the middle of the night to steal pigs to eat, and these wolves succeeded many times, making the members of the production team miserable, but helpless. These wolves were very clever, and in the middle of the night they jumped into the pen and bit the pig's ear, so that the pig howled in pain and jumped out of the pen with a bang.
The wolf followed the pig, biting the pig's ears tightly, and using its tail to drive the pig forward, and soon disappeared into the forest. Early in the morning of the second day, when the members of the production team found that the pig was missing, a group of people followed the blood trail to find the remains of the pig that had eaten only bones in the depths of the forest, and the scene was very scary.
In the 80s of the last century, after the production was contracted to the households, the farmers' enthusiasm for production has been greatly released, and the farmers have increased the reclamation of the barren mountains and mountains, and a large number of trees, shrubs and weeds have been treated cleanly and sorted out into bare cultivated land, which makes wild animals have nowhere to hide, further compressing the living space of wolves, and forcing the wolves in Shandong to further retreat to the deep mountains and old forests.
The opportunity for people to meet wolves is becoming less and less, but it does not mean that the wolves in Shandong have been completely wiped out. Because the wolf is a very intelligent animal, it has learned the essence of guerrilla warfare, that is, people advance and retreat, people retreat and I advance, they are very smart to go deep in the mountains and old forests to survive, in order to look forward to the right opportunity to come out again, so although the wolf population has been greatly weakened, but it is by no means to the point of extinction, because the wolf's adaptability is very strong.
2. From an ecological point of view, Shandong is more suitable for the survival and reproduction of wild wolves
Shandong is located in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, bordering the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, with complex and diverse landform types, obvious warm temperate monsoon climate characteristics, relatively developed water systems, low river runoff, and vegetation types dominated by coniferous forests and deciduous broad-leaved forests, forming a complex and diverse natural ecosystem and giving birth to rich biodiversity.
The ecosystem diversity in Shandong includes terrestrial ecosystems such as forests, shrubs, meadows, and wetlands, and marine ecosystems such as coastal zones, islands, estuaries, and coastal areas. There were 602 species of wild vertebrates such as mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and freshwater fish. 235 species of insects such as dragonflies, mosquitoes, diptera midges, and diptera flies; 1868 species of bryophytes, ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms; There are more than 350 species of wild macrofungi.
The diversity of marine species includes 125 species of phytoplankton, 105 species of zooplankton, 199 species of benthic animals, 60 species of intertidal organisms, 108 species of fish, 47 species of crustaceans, 8 species of cephalopods, 6 species of reptiles, 66 species of birds, and 14 species of mammals. Genetic biodiversity is also abundant, with a variety of local livestock and poultry breeds, crop varieties, Chinese medicinal materials, edible and medicinal mushrooms, etc.
Especially with the recent years of mountain closure and afforestation, the intensity of returning farmland to forest has been increasing, and its effect has been continuously revealed, several large primeval forests in Shandong, the regional ecological environmental protection has been greatly improved, many primeval forests, secondary forests have gradually formed a relatively perfect ecological chain, the improvement of forest ecology, for the wolves to survive and reproduce in the concealment, provide a good living environment.
More importantly, Shandong has increased the crackdown on illegal hunting, it turned out that many farmers in rural Shandong have hunting rifles, now they can't see it at all, farmers' awareness of environmental protection is also very strong, hunting rifles have all been confiscated by the public security organs, that is, the iron clips, hunting traps and other hunting tools that were often under the previous were also very rare, in this case, the wild animals in Shandong can be said to have become a paradise, and some wild animals in local areas have also formed a certain harm, such as hares, pheasants often eat the crops planted by farmers, so that the farmers suffered heavy losses. Without the threat of human hunting to wild wolves, wild wolves can reproduce and develop with relative peace of mind, and the wild wolf population continues to grow and expand its territory.
The most important point is that if the wolves in Shandong want to survive and develop, they must have food, and in recent years, the types of prey that wolves have preyed on have become more and more abundant, and the number is also increasing. Now the hares, pheasants and badgers in the woodlands and mountains in Shandong are everywhere, and the number is very considerable. What's more gratifying is that wild sika deer populations have been found in many forests in Shandong, and the number is very large, in Kunyu Mountain in Weihai, Shandong, Meihua Mountain in Jinan and other areas have wild sika deer survival and reproduction development, the population has reached several hundred, which provides a food source for the development and growth of wolves.
Last year in the mountainous area of Weihai City, there was a male sika deer into the farmer's home, a farmer's hard work to raise the cattle directly with the horns to die of the tragedy, the male sika deer thought that the cattle was its competitor, so in the peak of hormone secretion of the male sika deer, the cattle to kill.
In addition, a farmer in the mountainous area around Liugong Island found that the sika deer was eating the wheat seedlings he had worked so hard to plant, and the farmer tried to go up to scare the sika deer away, but the sika deer was not a fuel-efficient lamp, and rushed directly to the farmer, knocking the farmer to the ground, causing multiple fractures in the farmer's body, which shows that the male sika deer in heat is extremely dangerous.
In addition to the existence of a large number of wild sika deer in Weihai Liugong Island and the surrounding mountainous areas in Shandong, wild sika deer populations have also been found in many areas of Shandong, such as Lianhua Mountain in Jinan, which is located in the southern mountainous area of Jinan, and there are currently more than a dozen wild sika deer.
3. From a practical point of view, there have been many incidents of wolves attacking people in Shandong
Whether from a historical point of view, or from the perspective of the actual ecological environment, Shandong has the possibility of wild wolf survival, if the above inference is just an inference, then in reality, does the wild wolf in Shandong appear? The answer is yes. And as soon as it appeared, it caused a major casualty incident. This landmark event was in March 2012, that is, exactly 10 years ago, in Zaozhuang City, Shandong Province, a gray wolf broke into the local countryside and committed multiple crimes within a radius of 60 kilometers, killing and biting many innocent villagers.
Since March 14, 2012, there have been a number of suspected wolf wildlife bites in Zaozhuang. According to statistics, as of the 19th, 6 people have been bitten to death or bitten in Shanting District, Xuecheng District and Tengzhou City of Zaozhuang City, the youngest of whom is 4 years old and the oldest is 62 years old.
Faced with the situation of the evil wolf raging in Zaozhuang, the Tengzhou police quickly mobilized more than 100 police forces, including criminal police, public security, patrol police, riot control and Chaihudian police station, and rushed to Chaihudian Town with live ammunition. Subsequently, more than 10 search groups composed of police, cadres of Chaihudian town organs, and militia searched the surrounding area with the scene as the center. At around 2:30 p.m. on the 19th, the Tengzhou police finally found the trace of a wolf, and after more than 2 hours of siege, the wolf was finally killed. The wolf that was killed was large, with gray fur, and its eyes were still wide open after being killed.
Wolves appeared in Zaozhuang around 2000 years ago, and there has been no trace of wolves since then, but why are wolves appearing again now? Where do wolves come from? Zaozhuang City is located in the south of Shandong Province, the northeast is mountainous, the area where the wolf bite incident occurred Nanxin Village, Maozhai Village, Yinzhuang Village is more than 60 kilometers apart, surrounded by continuous mountainous areas. Identified by wildlife experts, this is a subspecies of Mongolian gray wolf, weighing 110 pounds, is a very robust male gray wolf, judging from the degree of wear and tear of the claws, as well as the ferocity of biting people, 100% is a wild wolf.
Generally speaking, it is relatively rare for the Mongolian gray wolf to weigh more than 100 pounds, and this gray wolf can reach 110 pounds, which is very rare, and it also shows that it is indeed a very fierce wild wolf, which is why it can easily bite and bite many people in the local village.
A villager who came to deliver the wolf said that after the wolf bit someone to death, the villagers were panicked, and many villagers set off firecrackers to celebrate. "It is not yet certain whether the wolf bite incident in other places was also committed by this wolf, and it can only be determined through laboratory comparison." The police handling the case said.
"Because the wolf is very vicious, we shot it very decisively in order not to hurt the villagers again." The police said, "The first shot hit the wolf's leg, but the wolf ran very fast and always chose some places where it was difficult for people to walk." When we chased a river, the wolf immediately jumped into the river and swam to the opposite bank, so we had to drive from the embankment, and in the chase we crossed four rivers and pursued more than 20 kilometers. ”
The weight of 110 pounds shows that its feeding and nutritional status is still relatively good, and it can provide more adequate food for wolves in the mountainous areas of Shandong, and its main hunting object should be hares. The area where the gray wolf committed the crime is located in the south of the Luzhongnan hills in Shandong, surrounded by mountains, belonging to the category of the Yimeng Mountains, which has been the activity area of wild wolves in history, and in the sixties and seventies and even eighties of the last century, wild wolves came down the mountain to attack livestock.
After the Zaozhuang police killed the Mongolian gray wolf that bit and injured many people, within a few days, the local people found an animal that looked very much like a wolf, and the local police did not dare to slack off, fearing that the wolf would cause a tragedy of death and injury again, so they quickly dispatched to capture the wolf alive.
It's just that this is really an oolong, this is a husky, not a wild big bad wolf, and soon the owner of this husky posted on the Internet, saying that his husky was missing, and finally the local zoo quickly released the captured husky. However, all kinds of accusations and attacks against the police have been carried out by netizens and well-known media. I don't agree with that.
First of all, the police are not animal experts, the duty of the police is to protect the safety of people's lives and property, and they do not necessarily have to be good at the identification of animal species.
Secondly, whether it is a wolf or a dog, the police have the duty and obligation to catch it, because there are wolves that hurt people, because the people are facing the danger of casualties. The premise of not slacking off, not hesitating, not hesitating, first looking for animal experts to identify and then arrest is that wolves and dogs have to stand still and not bite, if the doubters have the ability to do so, I believe the police will not act rashly.
If the doubter is in Zaozhuang and encounters a wolf or a husky pet dog, it is up to you to decide whether to catch it or not, what will happen to you, the first reaction may be that it is difficult to find the police. When it's a wolf, the police are on it, when it's a dog, don't scare my pet, when it's like a wolf and a dog, catch the right policeman, catch the wrong one and attack you, what kind of mentality is this?
In addition to Zaozhuang, the gray wolf that appeared and was killed, there are also traces of gray wolves found in other parts of Shandong many times, and there are many villagers who have directly witnessed gray wolves, such as in the southern mountainous areas of Jinan, Taishan Mountains, Kunyu Mountains in Yantai, Yiyuan Mountains in Zibo, Mengshan Mountains in Linyi, Luzhong Mountains in Laiwu, and Wulian Mountains in Rizhao.
Of course, we must also be soberly aware that although there are still wild wolf populations in Shandong, at present, the population is not large, and the probability of attacking humans is not large, so there is no need to worry about it. Of course, we can't take it lightly, especially at the turn of spring and summer, it is the critical moment for wolves to give birth to cubs and nurse their cubs, if the wolves can't hunt enough food for a while, they are likely to enter the village to attack livestock and humans, which has to be guarded against, especially the people living in the mountains and around the mountains.
Once you find an animal like a wolf in the village and surrounding areas, or your own domestic animals, attacked by unknown animals, you must report to the local government as soon as possible, and call 110 to call the police in time to minimize the loss.
If you encounter a wild wolf in the village or in the wild, you must keep calm, do not run away, stand up and maintain a fighting posture, if there are stones or sticks around to hold tightly in your hand, so that the wild wolf will assess your combat effectiveness, the wild wolf is a very intelligent animal, although it is very ferocious and ferocious, but it will generally avoid being injured when hunting, because once the wild animal is injured and cannot be treated, it is likely to die, so it will not lose a big one, most likely it will escape.