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Arctic wolves starving in China
11/08/2006 11:55 - (SA)
Beijing - Two Arctic wolves, the first China has imported, have refused to eat since their arrival at a zoo last week, putting the endangered animals' health at risk, state media said on Friday.
The wolves have snubbed dishes of beef, pork, fruit and vegetables offered to them since their arrival from Canada on August 3 at the Zoo for Polar Animals in Harbin, Heilongjiang province in northeast China, Xinhua news agency said.
They appeared to be starving themselves and had consumed nothing but water since their arrival, Xinhua said, adding experts were perplexed.
"Maybe they have not adapted to the new environment here," said Wang Yunhai, vice-chairperson of the Heilongjiang Animal Husbandry Association, offering only the most obvious of explanations.
The male and female wolves, both two years old, had been placed in an enclosure at the zoo the size of a football field, Xinhua said.
Their lives would be in danger if they did not eat for 15 days, Xinhua quoted a Canadian expert as saying.
The Arctic wolf is an endangered species.
- AFP
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