The call of the wild

Three months after the lynx was released, Qi and his colleagues, using the satellite signals from the tracking collar, visited the release site in an attempt to check its living environment.

At dusk, when Qi was hiking in the mountains, he suddenly saw the lynx appear from the bushes, standing on a nearby rock and looking directly at him for about three minutes before disappearing.

Astonishingly, though, when they analyzed Tianxian Baobao's movements, they found that it had followed Qi and his colleagues as they had returned to their vehicle, waiting close by until they had left. The cat had then returned to where it had come face-to-face with Qi.

"As a professional discussing scientific matters, I always tell people to stay rational instead of explaining animal activities through the lens of human emotions. However, tracking data has led me to believe that Tianxian Baobao may indeed have feelings for us. It was at that moment I decided to write this book," says Qi.

That decision has proved popular with the public. Currently, the book has received 9.5 points out of 10 on China's popular review site Douban.

He says that although the lynx's carers shared a bond with the animal, as soon as it became apparent that the cat would be able to survive in the wild, they knew it was their duty to release it. Only creatures judged unable to survive are kept in captivity.

"True love for a wild animal is enabling it to live freely in the wild," says Qi.

Since 2010, the Qinghai Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Center has rescued more than 2,400 animals comprising 60 different species, among which 700 have been returned to the wild after recovery.

After the successful release of Tianxian Baobao, the tracking collar was allowed to fall off naturally, before being retrieved in January 2023. Since then, there has been no further news about the lynx, but sometimes when Qi drives near the area where the cat was last seen, he cannot help wondering how the cat is doing.

"After releasing the lynx in April 2022, I saw it again in the wild in July that year. Three years later, I feel like I am having a second reunion with it through the publication of this book," says Qi.