“It moved me to tears. I was deeply touched by the wolf's wild yearning for freedom and its genuine emotions, and by Li Weiyi's courageous motherhood… This book showed me a different side of wolves—not the pale figures from wildlife documentaries, but more humane, authentic images and scenes!”
—— Reader's Comment

★ “My human mother is my guide in this world, the only human I cherish.”
This poignant monologue from Green, the wolf protagonist, defines the emotional core of the book: a transcending, heart-trembling bond between mother and son (of different species), which has moved millions of readers to tears.
★ This book serves as both the “mother-son chapter” and a unique echo of the phenomenal million-copy bestseller Return To The Wolves. While the original work moved the world from the perspective of the human “mother,” Li Weiyi, this book narrates the same legendary tale from the first-person perspective of the wolf “Green” for the very first time, offering another heartbeat of the same saga. It is both a coming-of-age story of courage for young adults and a profound fable that prompts adults to re-examine life and freedom. Contains over a hundred precious documentary photographs!
★ Its同名 documentary, “Back to the Wolves,” won the “Best Asian Production Award” and maintains a high rating of 9.6/10 on major video platforms. In January 2026, this story of love and freedom triggered an emotional tsunami once again on platforms like TikTok a decade later, with a single video garnering over 7 million likes and related topic views exceeding 2.8 billion!
★ As an ecological conservation miracle recognized as the “world's first successful case of a human-raised wolf reintegrating into a wild population,” Green's story has been included in the World Animal Protection organization's research case library on “cross-species ethics,” becoming a significant reference case for the “companionship-style rewilding” strategy in international wildlife conservation. This endows the work with solid scientific and social value.
★ Torn between the warmth of being “loved” and the innate call of the “wild,” Green spends his entire life seeking answers. His struggles and choices resonate with the soul of Jack London's The Call of the Wild, posing a timeless question to every modern heart: What are we born for, and how do we remain true to our authentic selves?

This is an animal autobiography narrated from the first-person perspective of a wolf, based on true events that took place on the Zoige Grassland (Sichuan Plateau wetlands) in China.

A lone wolf cub, the sole survivor of a poacher's raid, finds itself in the human world. Living alongside humans, it witnesses human urban civilization and its rules, but its unrestrainable wolf nature gradually reawakens. For the sake of its innate freedom, the young wolf chooses to endure life's trials, constantly facing challenges and tests from the animal world, resolutely rejecting human provision and “domestication,” persistently questioning “Who am I?” Through its growth, it comes to a profound understanding of the “way of the wolf,” ultimately returning to the wilderness and rejoining the pack.

Key Excerpt:
The wolf pack was over there, and I was here, gazing across the mountains.
Mother cupped my face. She seemed to have so much to say, yet words caught in her throat. She only asked softly, “I'll never see you again, will I?”
Looking into Mother's eyes, I didn't know what to say. I only felt a surge of heartache, a sudden rush of warmth blurring my vision. I've lived this long, weathered so many life-and-death trials, and never once cried. But now, tears fell.
My human mother is my guide in this world, the only human I cherish. We once clapped hands under the sun, embraced in the sea of grass, let our vision blur in swirling snow, and howled with abandon atop Wolf Mountain. We caught fish together, chased rabbits, admired the view on hillsides, blew dandelion seeds into the sunset, and also endured hunger and cold, relying on each other for survival… Never again could I do these things with her. For a long time, within me, a sense of species belonging and an identity as part of humanity clashed violently. Mother, the wind is rising. This little dandelion must begin its journey.

Li Weiyi
Chinese wildlife painter and writer. Her artistic career and personal destiny were forever changed by a wolf named Green.
In 2010, on the Zoige Grassland, she rescued an orphaned wolf pup named “Green” and spent subsequent years personally leading and fully documenting the unprecedented, successful process of rewilding and reintroducing him to a wild wolf pack. This pioneering achievement was officially recognized as the “world's first successful case of its kind,” becoming a landmark case in international wildlife conservation.
This extraordinary experience culminated in her representative work of documentary literature, Return To The Wolves. The documentary film based on this true story won international awards including the “Best Asian Production Award.” The memorial edition documentary released online in 2021 received an exceptionally high rating of 9.6/10 on the Youku platform. Her writing blends the authenticity of a firsthand witness, the keen insight of a painter, and profound humanistic care. Her work The Story Behind Returning to the Wolves was awarded the Chinese Excellent Publications Award.
Through this unique human-wolf legend, Li Weiyi has significantly shifted public perception of wolves and continues to spark deep global discussions on ecological ethics, the freedom of life, and the definition of true love.

Prologue
Chapter 1 I Come From the Grassland
Falling to the Mortal World
First Encounter
Uncle Fox
Almost a Month Old
A Baby Who Can Eat
“The Ball-Removal Expert”
Itchy Teeth
The First Meat Bone
Pain Means You're Alive

Chapter 2 Childhood Days
Mother's Magical Tool
Rabies
Uncle Raccoon Dog's Trap
The Outside World
Meeting Teddy
My New Friend

Chapter 3 I Don't Want to Be Led
Home Wrecking
Daily Vocabulary
“Little Ancestor, Stop Making Trouble!”
Mother's Big Fangs
The Guarantee Letter
Unwanted by Humans and Dogs Alike
I Want to Go to the Park
Online Lessons
Don't Leash Me!
The Pet Park
I Want to Walk Myself
We're Going to the Suburbs!

Chapter 4 Where Should I Go?
The Awkward Phase
Fish, Fish, Come Ashore
Fish Must Be Delicious
Prey!
Mom, Is This Right?
Who Stole My Popsicle?
Grounded

Chapter 5 The Mastiff Farm Upheaval
First Arrival on the Grassland
Grassland Dogs Are Not Pets
Joining the Group
“Onlookers”
“The Escapee Interrogation Assembly”
Eagle Eyes, Wolf Glance
Anger Without Strength
A High-Stakes Game
I'm About to Misbehave
You'll Get What's Coming
Starting My Own Venture
Nine Dogs, One Mastiff
If You Were Free, Where Would You Go?
The Hunter's Price
The Fierce Mastiff Bloodbath
The Loner's Arena
A Surprise Bowl of Dog Food

Chapter 6 The Mystery of My Origins
Rabbit, Stop!
The Outsider Rabbit
We Are Not the Same
Two Worlds Separated by a Wall
Companions at Zhaxi Ranch
More Friends, More Eyes
Egg Thief!
Don't Eat It! It's Poisonous!
Can I Eat Sheep?
Be Tolerant Towards Friends
The “Dog-Head” Strategist
Mother Wants to Witness Every Step of Mine
Dandelion Drifting Toward Winter
I'll Show You What's What
The Yak is Coming
Distant Gunshots
Wolves Are Coming?
I Am a Wolf
In This Life, You Are My Brother!

Chapter 7 The Awakening of Bloodline
I Want to Go Far Away
Resisting Bullying
A Wolf Travels a Thousand Miles for Meat
The Local Dogs' Recruitment
Son of the Wolf King
Against My Will
Losses in Life
I Can't Find Mother Anymore
The Dog Gang's Betrayal
The Lonely Cliff

Chapter 8 The Call of the Distant
Setbacks Are a Necessary Path to Growth
Mother Returns
Let's Set Off!
Qiaomo's Wait
The Mountains Where I Was Born
First Arrival at Wolf Mountain

Chapter 9 Spirit of the Wild
Every Difference Is a Talent
Ode to the Creatures of Nature
Searching for Wolf Traces
This Life Is Too Short
Beware of Hunters
Seeing Once Is Better Than Hearing a Hundred Times
Uncle Wolf's Rescue
The Eviction Order
Wilderness Wolf Song
The Mysterious She-Wolf
In Danger
The Meaning of the Pack

Chapter 10 Return To The Wolves
The Suspicious Dead Sheep
Children Don't Understand Adult Matters
You Finally Came?
Caught Between Human and Wolf
Enduring Hunger
Hunting to Provide for the Family
Gesang's Family
Will You Miss Me?
“Child, Don't Be Afraid, You Can Touch Him”
The Last Apple in My Life
Return To The Wolves
Epilogue