On the frigid nights of the Qinling Mountains in China, hunters with huge social media followings scour the landscape in pursuit of wild boars that threaten local farmers' livelihoods.
China's wild boars – today numbering 2 million – were a protected species from 2000 until 2023 but emerged from safeguarding last year with a hell-raising reputation for devastating crops.
Some local governments now offer boar bounties of up to 3,000 yuan ($410) to hunters like Li Shangxue and his comrades, who share their exploits with 340,000 followers on Douyin – China's version of TikTok.
Their dispatches from the hunting trail fascinate a mostly male audience but also stir crucial questions about the ideals of ecology and animal welfare versus the harsh realities of farming.
"My family and friends are farmers," 26-year-old Li told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Shaanxi province. "I've seen their fields trampled flat by wild boars overnight."
With spears, knives and over a dozen hunting dogs, Li's crew scurry across wild terrain as he oversees the pursuit with an infrared camera affixed to a drone.
The tension of the chase is broken by the feral screeching of a 50-kilogram (110-pound) swine cornered by the pack of dogs before a hunter downs it with a spear.
China's recent efforts to revive forest ecosystems and the dwindling of natural predators have helped wild boars to thrive.
Experts say they have ecological value as important food sources for endangered species like Siberian Tigers, Amur Leopards and North China Leopards.
"They can adapt to different environments, so after being protected, they reproduced rapidly," Liu Duo, senior wildlife program officer at WWF China, told AFP.
According to Liu, better protection and compensation for property damage would help local people while ensuring sustainable habitats for wild boars to thrive naturally.
But Zhang Tengfei, leader of Li's vigilante team who calls themselves "City Hunters" – referring to their urban homes – insists "wild boars are pests."
"Some animal rights groups call us cruel," he said. "They don't see how wild boars can kill people."
Last year, the animals were involved in at least two deaths and wounded several people.
In November, a villager in northern Shaanxi province was attacked and killed. A month earlier, an engineer was hit by a train while confronting an errant hog that strayed onto a railway in eastern Nanjing city.
Zhang's team killed around 100 wild boars last year, acts they call "public welfare farmer protection."
The local government in their regular hunting ground does not offer a reward for killing boars, but the crew has traveled to other jurisdictions to collect payouts for their work.
Hunting with dogs is considered inhumane in many countries. Many City Hunters fans leave comments lamenting injuries to the dogs fighting boars that weigh up to 150 kilograms with razor-sharp tusks.
But Zhang said hounds are the most efficient and safest hunting method – China's strict gun regulations make firearms impractical and traps and snares risk injuring other animals.
Wild boar became such a problem in the nearby Ningxia region that the local government put out an advert for "bounty hunters" to kill 300 adult pigs every month for 2,400 yuan each.
Outside Weinan city Shaanxi, farmer Wang Aiwa estimates the animals cost her around 15,000 yuan in 2024.
"You plant corn, but it all gets picked clean by wild boar," Wang, 74, said. "I sometimes stay up all night in the field with a stick and pitchfork to protect my land, but it's no use."
Some villagers set off firecrackers or bang gongs until dawn to ward off the pigs to little effect.
Wang said she has applied for government compensation in return for lost crops but has received nothing – and sees the hunters as the only people farmers can turn to for help.
Liu Qi, another member of City Hunters, is often first on the scene of the chaotic battles between man and boar. Afterward, he cuts open the carcass to feed the dogs – keep them hungry to encourage their hunting instincts.
But the hunters can only achieve so much. "We're burning cash," Liu said.
The team's drone costs around 40,000 yuan, while dogs can cost tens of thousands. When no bounties are offered, they operate at a loss.
They hope to eventually reach 1 million followers on Douyin and earn money from advertising and selling hunting products.
For now, they all have day jobs. After completing the hunt, returning to base and treating any injured dogs, their work often ends long after midnight.
Once night falls again, they get ready to head out once more. They jump back in their truck and speed along mountain roads, looking for the next boar to hunt.
