Inside Qilian Mountains Wildlife Rescue, Where Recovery Means Returning to the Wild

More than 200 animals treated, with freedom the goal

More than 200 animals from 36 species have received care at the Wildlife Rehabilitation and Breeding Station in Qilian Mountain National Park since it became fully operational in August 2022. By late 2024, more than 40 had returned to natural habitats and more than 50 were still recovering under observation. Each release brings the same test: whether an animal can survive again without human help.

The station, on the northeastern edge of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, is China's only wildlife rescue facility inside a national park. Its patients include snow leopards, elusive small cats and birds such as the black necked crane. Staff must repair injuries and restore strength while protecting the instincts those animals need outside an enclosure.

Ma Cunxin, a zoologist who joined the station in July 2023 after training in zoology and field biology, leads its daily operations. His small team includes technicians with degrees in veterinary medicine or wildlife science. Mornings begin with carefully measured meals for different species, a task that can take hours when birds of prey and small carnivores all need feeding. Afternoons bring enclosure cleaning, treatment room disinfection and fresh dressings.

Ma described the satisfaction he finds in that routine:

For me, feeding animals and cleaning enclosures are the most peaceful moments. I enjoy this solitude.

The work takes place in terrain where steep valleys, sudden changes in weather and long journeys can delay a rescue. An operating room, treatment area and laboratory allow staff to provide care at the station, including fluid therapy and imaging. Speed and suitable treatment can determine whether an injured wild animal survives.

A small facility built for different patients

The station covers 1,153.59 square meters, with separate areas for carnivores, herbivores, omnivores and birds. Its stated maximum capacity is 43 animals at one time. The figures describing more than 50 animals recovering under observation by late 2024 give no further breakdown of where those animals were housed.

During its first weeks, the station received a vulture and an owl with injured wings, along with a weakened Tibetan wild donkey. Their needs were different, but all benefited from having treatment available within the protected area.

Ying Hengqing, a veterinarian at the center, explained why the location matters:

With this center we can offer a more immediate response to the animals in need of help within the park.

Shorter transport can reduce stress and the risk of complications such as shock or hypothermia, when body temperature falls dangerously low. Keeping patients near their eventual release habitat also preserves a connection between treatment and the places where they will need to find food, shelter and safety.

Staff record injuries as soon as an animal arrives, stabilize vital signs and prepare a recovery plan suited to its species, age and temperament. Triage, the first stage, means identifying the most urgent problems, supporting survival and preventing infection. Later stages shift toward rebuilding strength and independence.

Feeding without taming

Ma's team follows a simple principle: feed without taming. Caregivers limit handling and exposure to human voices, and use screens to reduce visual contact. Habituation occurs when an animal becomes accustomed to people and loses its fear of them. That can leave it less prepared for life after release.

Recovery rates vary. Ma says about seven in ten injured raptors survive, helped by rapid stabilization, suitable perches and room to rebuild wing strength. Most young ungulates, including blue sheep lambs and red deer calves, also recover well once dehydration and infection risks are treated.

Adult deer are harder to care for. They are highly sensitive to confinement, and stress can slow healing or lead them to injure themselves. Staff therefore keep handling to essential tasks and use remote observation to assess appetite, posture and gait, the way an animal walks.

Deer can also develop capture myopathy, a muscle disorder associated with the stress of being chased or confined for too long. Raptors face other risks: unsuitable perches or rushed handling can damage the flight feathers they need to fly. Calm movement, low noise and sedatives used only when vital help reduce these dangers. Field transport and triage are planned to the minute.

Practice before release, tracking afterward

The station has set aside about 400 mu of alpine grassland, roughly 26.67 hectares, as a training base. Predators can practice hunting there, while herbivores rebuild their ability to recognize and avoid danger. Medical recovery is followed by preparation for the demands of finding food and staying alive.

Staff time releases for favorable conditions, often when food is plentiful and the weather is mild. They choose locations with water and cover, away from settlements, and prepare to respond quickly if an animal shows signs of trouble after release.

Camera traps and, where appropriate, GPS or VHF trackers help teams follow animals afterward. These devices allow researchers to monitor movement without staying close to the animal. In 2023, tracking data gave staff more information about the daily ranges and shelter choices of desert rabbits, an important prey animal for small carnivores on the plateau.

Ma described release as both an achievement and the beginning of a less predictable stage:

Releasing the rescued wild animals into the wild represents the success of our rescue efforts, but it also means that we will face new uncertainties of whether they will survive in nature.

Each case adds to the station's knowledge. Information about how animals eat, respond to confinement and move after release can guide the next treatment plan, connecting work inside the enclosures with observations in the mountains.

A mountain cat's journey back from injury

One winter rescue began when a Chinese mountain cat entered a farmer's chicken coop in Menyuan County on a calm night during a power outage. The owner injured it while trying to chase it away. Local authorities helped transport the animal nearly 100 kilometers to the station.

The Chinese mountain cat, also called the Chinese desert cat, is native only to China. The rescued animal spent two months receiving treatment and careful conditioning before being released into suitable habitat, where it adapted well.

Its feeding preferences shaped the recovery plan. Caregivers observed that the species strongly prefers whole animal prey with fur to butchered meat. The team used pelleted and whole prey analogs to help rebuild hunting responses.

The rescue also showed how recognition can change a person's response. The villager changed course after realizing that the animal in the coop was a protected species. The case became one example of the growing connection between community reporting and wildlife care.

Earlier rescues in the Qinghai care network

Other cases described in the Qinghai rescue work began before the park station became fully operational. In late 2021, a young Chinese mountain cat named Huang Rong arrived with a badly damaged toe. Surgery removed the toe, and months of conditioning followed before her release into a valley inside the park.

Qi Xinzhang, deputy director of the Qinghai Wildlife Rescue and Breeding Center, described Huang Rong's departure:

When the cage was opened, she ran very quickly, confirming she had adequately recovered and could still run perfectly.

In March 2021, a snow leopard known as Lingzhe was found injured after breaking a window in a village home. The center treated a calcium deficiency, monitored risks from feline diseases and released the animal wearing a satellite collar. Its movements supplied rare data about how snow leopards use habitat in the park's high valleys.

The key dates trace the development of this work:

• March 2021: Lingzhe was found injured and received care before release with a satellite collar.
• Late 2021: Huang Rong arrived with a damaged toe, followed by surgery, conditioning and eventual release.
• August 2022: The park's Wildlife Rehabilitation and Breeding Station became fully operational.
• July 2023: Ma Cunxin joined the station.
• During 2023: Tracking data provided insights into desert rabbit movements and shelter choices.
• By late 2024: More than 40 animals had been released and more than 50 remained under observation.
• March 2025: The death of a captive Pallas's cat renewed debate about intervention and habitat protection.

Images of rescued bharals, also known as blue sheep, resting in the station's pens have attracted international attention. The team says the resulting support and scrutiny help it improve its practices.

Equipment helps, but space and skills remain limited

The operating suite supports procedures such as bone repair and wound treatment. The treatment area provides fluid therapy and imaging, while the laboratory handles blood chemistry and parasite tests. These facilities let staff investigate illness and treat injuries without moving every patient elsewhere.

Animals that are highly protected or medically unstable are placed in the quietest, best lit areas for close checks around the clock. Staff adjust perches to suit wing spans and use blinders to reduce visual triggers for easily frightened species.

Space is a continuing constraint. Staff report limited cages and holding areas for large raptors and snow leopards. Temporary partitions help when demand rises, but they reduce flexibility during busy months.

Ma has also called for more technical support and training. The station needs wildlife veterinarians and technicians who understand both the risks of capturing animals in the field and the specialized use of anesthesia. Wild patients respond differently from domestic animals, making species knowledge part of everyday medical care.

The mountains and the people around them

The Qilian Mountains cross Qinghai and Gansu provinces. Glaciers, alpine meadows and desert steppe meet in steep basins, forming an important ecological shield for western China. The park shelters snow leopards, Chinese mountain cats, Pallas's cats, white lipped deer, blue sheep and black necked cranes.

Those species are connected through food and habitat. When prey animals such as blue sheep recover, the predators that depend on them can become more stable too, helping maintain balance in the wider food web.

A rescue station inside the park puts rangers, researchers and veterinarians on the same ground as the animals they protect. It shortens the journey from a reported injury to treatment and helps keep released animals in familiar habitats. The setting also allows education to connect science, traditional herding knowledge and park management.

Tashi Tsering, a longtime herder, leased pasture to the station and now works there as an animal keeper. His knowledge of migration patterns and weather signs helps newcomers understand local conditions, making him a bridge between communities and scientific teams.

Visitors observe animals from a distance and read case histories explaining why an owl's wing may take months to heal or how a young ungulate learns to fear vehicles. The station uses those individual stories to explain the practical demands of recovery.

During a tour, Ma described how that education can spread beyond a visit:

One individual can influence a family, and more families will influence the entire society.

Nearby farmers and herders are increasingly reporting suspected wildlife cases and bringing injured animals to the station when they can do so safely. Their involvement extends the rescue effort beyond the facility, linking people who encounter animals with those equipped to treat them.

A captive cat's death sharpens the habitat debate

In March 2025, a Pallas's cat named Sun Shangxiang died from a gastrointestinal emergency while in captivity at the Qinghai center. The cat was well known on Chinese social media. Its death renewed discussion about when to intervene and how to weigh the care of an individual against the risks of captivity.

Pallas's cats are difficult to keep because of their poor immunity and wary temperament. Sun Shangxiang's case brought those challenges into public view and drew attention to the conditions animals need outside rescue facilities.

Sun Quanhui, a scientist with World Animal Protection, called for priority to be given to natural landscapes:

The best way to ensure the Pallas's cat's survival is to preserve its natural habitats and minimise human interference in its ecosystems.

Conservation groups have also raised concerns about wind farm construction on the Zhangye side of the Qilian range, where Pallas's cats and other species live. Turbines and access roads can divide habitat into smaller areas and reduce prey, putting pressure on animals beyond the reach of medical treatment.

Liu Jiliang, an associate professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Northwest Institute of Eco Environment and Resources, called for better information to guide construction sites and measures to reduce harm:

Wind farm construction is progressing rapidly, faster than our ability to study its impact on wildlife.

Monitoring funded by developers and regulators, layouts that avoid important wildlife corridors, and restoration of ground cover after construction are ways to bring energy development and wildlife protection together. The central issue is whether animals retain enough connected habitat to move, feed and reproduce.

The Qilian station provides a safety net for wildlife affected by traffic, conflict with livestock, storms or disease. Treatment can save an injured animal; habitat protection, community reporting and careful planning outside the station help determine how many animals will need rescue in the first place.

Key Points

• The Qilian station became fully operational in August 2022 and is China's only wildlife rescue facility inside a national park.
• It has treated more than 200 animals from 36 species. By late 2024, more than 40 had been released and more than 50 were recovering under observation.
• The 1,153.59 square meter facility has a stated capacity of 43 animals, with separate areas for different animal groups.
• Ma Cunxin's team limits human contact, prepares individual care plans and uses about 400 mu of alpine grassland for training before release.
• About seven in ten injured raptors survive, according to Ma. Young ungulates generally recover well, while adult deer are more vulnerable to stress.
• Limited space for large raptors and snow leopards, along with the need for more trained staff and technical support, constrain the work.
• Community participation supports rescues, while the death of Sun Shangxiang and concerns about wind farms have renewed attention to habitat protection.