Zooland, Thy Name is Beijing: Animals Invade the Capital

It’s been quite a week for animal news in the city! On one hand, it gives us hope for the environment, while on the other, we're simply enjoying gawking at cute videos and wondering what the heck these little guys are doing here. In both cases, we’re just grateful for these furry fellers’ safety and wellbeing. Let’s take a look：

Leopards return to Beijing's mountains

Are big cats reading our Beicology column? A mere few days after we reported on a study that found Beijing is one of China’s best spots for protecting biodiversity, North China leopards were spotted in the mountains just north of the city limits.

The leopards were originally native to Beijing, however, were forced from mountains as the city developed over time. Recently though, protections for the local environment seem to be drawing them back home as the plant-eating mammals that the cats prey on once again begin to flourish.

Mysterious monkey spotted on campus

On Tuesday, Dec 1, a macaque was caught on video meandering about Beijing University of Technology on the east side of Chaoyang district. The well-behaved primate used a cross-walk to cross the campus road and was also seen atop the walls of the campus.

Campus authorities were unable to capture the macaque, but not for lack of trying. It was still at large, somewhere between Chaoyang and Tongzhou at the time of the initial reporting, and there have been no updates as to its whereabouts since.

Like the leopards, Macaques are native to the mountains of northern China. The Beijing Zoo told Beijing News that it is not missing any Macaques.

Arctic fox near Fragrant Hills

Needless to say, Beijing is not the natural habitat of arctic foxes. So, when one of these white-furred friends was spotted near Fragrant Hills Park on Wednesday, Dec 2, we were surprised to learn that this isn’t the first time this has happened – in 2015, another arctic fox was seen lounging in urban Beijing. China Daily reported then that the creature had likely escaped from “a local animal farm.”

According to Beijing Youth Daily, the recently spotted fox was in poor shape, and thus, unlike the macaque, was unable to out-fox its captors. It’s now being cared for by wildlife specialists.

READ: Think Like a Free Rabbit With These Chinese Animal Kingdom Expressions

Images: Fandom, CGTN, Global Times, Beijing Youth Daily