China News Service, Xining, November 2nd. The rescued snow leopard was not released just to keep it and become an "Internet celebrity"? For some time, around the Qinghai Provincial Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Center, statements such as "snow leopards and rabbit cats are kept in captivity just to gain traffic" and "not actively treated and deliberately not released" have appeared on the Internet. Some people also spliced old videos of Tibetan mastiffs driving away snow leopards with footage of snow leopard cubs being rescued, and concocted a plot of "first let the dogs siege, and then send them to rescue." A rescue operation is said to be an artificially arranged "traffic business".
These claims spread more and more widely, and even spread to the Internet. Many netizens who did not know the inside story were led astray and had deep misunderstandings about plateau wildlife rescue work.
But what is the reality? China News Service's "Truth" column recently interviewed rescue center staff to learn about the treatment and release of relevant animals.
The spliced video tells a false story
In March 2025, after the snow leopard cub "Ling Xiaozhe" was rescued, a video of a conflict between a Tibetan mastiff and a snow leopard attracted attention. Some people claim that the snow leopard in the video is "Ling Xiaozhe" and its mother, and that its serious injuries were caused by a Tibetan mastiff attack. However, according to the public investigation report, this video was shot in 2023 in Xinxiang, Zhiduo County, Qinghai Province; "Ling Xiaozhe" was discovered and rescued in Suojia Township, this county in 2025. The two events happened at different times and places. Qi Xinzhang, deputy director of the Wildlife Rescue Department of the Qinghai Provincial Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Center, said that the old video recorded the scene of snow leopards attacking herdsmen's yaks and shepherd dogs moving forward to drive away the snow leopards. It was not someone deliberately letting dogs attack the snow leopards. The rescuers found no traces of animal bites on "Ling Xiaozhe". Two unrelated images were connected and became the so-called evidence of "how the snow leopard was injured and why it was rescued." It also caused netizens who did not understand the situation to misunderstand the rescue process. What "Ling Xiaozhe" actually experienced was an emergency rescue from a plateau pastoral area to a rescue center.
When discovered by ecological rangers, the snow leopard, which was about half a year old, was emaciated and had stiff limbs, and was in critical condition. After long-distance transportation, it arrived in Xining on March 5, 2025. It happened to be the Waking of Insects that day, so the staff named it "Ling Xiaozhe".
According to the staff, "Ling Xiaozhe" suffered from cervical spine injuries, severe dehydration and other problems. The rescue center carries out treatment such as heat preservation, oxygen inhalation, fluid rehydration, and anti-infection, and invites experts from China Agricultural University to participate in consultations. After that, he was gradually able to raise his head and stand, and his eating and activities improved.
The treatment process continues to attract attention. But as it gradually recovered, another theory emerged: Since it has been rescued, why not release it yet? Did you stay there intentionally for traffic?
Being revived does not mean that you can survive independently.
Qi Xinzhang introduced that "Ling Xiaozhe" was less than one year old when he was rescued. He lacked the opportunity to learn wild survival skills from his mother, and the cervical spine injury affected his movement and balance abilities. Currently, it is still unable to hunt independently and does not have the ability to survive in the wild.
The snow leopard in the picture is able to eat and move, but after returning to the mountains, it may not be able to obtain food and avoid danger on its own.
He Shunfu, director of the Wildlife Rescue Department of the Qinghai Provincial Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Center and director of the Xining Wildlife Park, said that reintroduction requires professional evaluation, which depends not only on the animal's recovery from injuries and illnesses, but also on whether it can adapt to the wild environment and survive independently. Judgments cannot be made based solely on appearance or daily activities.
For animals that have lifelong injuries and lose the ability to survive independently, long-term care is part of the rescue work. Releasing it hastily into the wild may put it into survival difficulties again.
The same is true for rabbits. According to the center, none of the five rabbits it rescued met the conditions for release due to injuries or lack of ability to survive independently. The "Xi Simiao" familiar to the public has been artificially raised since childhood. He lacks experience of growing up in the wild and cannot simply be treated according to the idea of "can be released when he grows up". Whether an animal can be released depends on the circumstances. The reasons for being kept need to be understood based on the treatment experience and viability assessment.
If there is hope of release, keep the possibility for it to return home.
At this rescue center, snow leopards have also been treated and returned to the mountains.
In March 2021, the snow leopard "Ling Zhe" accidentally entered a farmhouse in Menyuan, Qinghai Province. He was injured and was sent to the rescue center. After treatment, expert evaluation confirmed that it was ready for release. It wore a satellite positioning collar and returned to the Qilian Mountains.
Subsequent monitoring records showed that "Lingzhe" continued to be active in the wild, and scientific researchers also found traces of it preying on blue sheep. This information provides a basis for judging whether the rescued snow leopards can re-adapt to life in the wild.
The experience of another snow leopard, "Ling Zhi," responded to the speculation that it was "reluctant to release for the sake of display."
"Ling Zhi" had undergone surgery to remove a testicular tumor and lived in the rescue center for two years. He Shunfu said that considering that it still has the possibility of being released, the center has not put it on display during this period to minimize human interference and prevent it from over-adapting to the human environment. After rehabilitation and evaluation, "Lingzhi" finally returned to the wild.
The same rescued snow leopards, "Ling Zhe" and "Ling Zhi" can be released, but "Ling Xiaozhe" needs to be kept and raised. What determines their destination is their recovery from injuries and their ability to survive independently.
According to data provided by the center, since its establishment in 2010, the center has sheltered and rescued more than 60 species and more than 2,500 wild animals, of which nearly 800 have returned to the wild after meeting the conditions for release. Since 2021, the center has released three snow leopards, "Ling Zhe", "Ling Zhi" and "Ling Yu".
He Shunfu said that helping rescued animals return to nature is the direction of rescue personnel's efforts; for animals that cannot be released, they need to continue to assume the responsibility of caring for them.
The original intention of popularizing science should not be misinterpreted as a "traffic conspiracy"
The popularity of snow leopards and rabbit cats has made more people pay attention to plateau wildlife, and has also put rescue work under constant public scrutiny.
"Our original intention is to use traffic to popularize science." Qi Xinzhang said that videos and photos of animals can attract people to understand conservation work, but if you only rely on clips to judge whether the treatment is sufficient and whether the animals can be released, it is easy to ignore the professional issues behind it.
The influence of these false information also extends abroad.
Qi Xinzhang said that some foreign forces use Internet rumors as material to discredit China's wildlife protection work, which also interferes with the sharing of rescue experience and international exchanges. While carrying out rescue work, frontline personnel also had to devote extra energy to clarifying facts and responding to misunderstandings.
He said that wildlife rescue does not always lead to rehabilitation and release. In the face of some seriously injured animals, even if a lot of efforts are invested, it may still be impossible to save their lives. Front-line personnel must not only undertake rescue work, but also face the pressure caused by the death of animals; accusations that lack factual basis and even personal online violence have added to this burden.
In order to reduce misunderstandings, when conditions permit, the center will disclose the treatment status of rescued snow leopards and explain the reasons why they cannot be released. Qi Xinzhang said that there is a bottom line when carrying out popular science dissemination: do not contact wild animals unless necessary, do not create gimmicks with close interactions, and put animal health first.
The public is concerned about whether the rescue is timely and whether the release is scientific. These issues should be seriously responded to. However, spelling old videos as "rescue insider information" and directly interpreting animal care as a "traffic conspiracy" does not help to understand the real situation. Whether an animal is suitable to be returned to the wild requires treatment records and professional evaluation to answer. Concerns about wild animals should also be based on complete and accurate facts.
