'Depressed' wolf rejected by alpha male's pack walks constant figure-of-eight pattern to deal with its loneliness at Chinese zoo

Footage of a lone wolf walking for hours on end along the same figure-of-eight route in a Chinese zoo has gone viral.

Workers at the zoo claimed that the wolf had been rejected by a pack, causing it to feel 'a bit depressed' and walk in the same pattern over and over again.

The zoo refuted web users' speculations that the animal was acting like this because it had been stuck in a crowded cage.

In the viral footage from China, a zoo wolf is seen walking in the same figure-of-eight pattern over and over again. The zoo claimed that there was nothing unusual in the animal's behaviour

The wolf was recently spotted at the Linquan County Magic Zoo in the city of Fuyang in eastern China's Anhui province.

The zoo insisted that there was nothing unusual in the animal's behaviour after the clip sparked web users' concerns at the weekend.

One spokesperson claimed that the wolf had been sent to the edge of its enclosure by the alpha male of a pack.

He told Chinese news outlet Kan Kan News that the wolf had 'low status' within the pack.

'The wolf king arranged it to guard and keep watch of the edge of the wolf enclosure near the entrance,' the zoo representative stated on Sunday.

'Therefore, his mood may have been affected. The fact that it walks the figure-of-eight pattern is due to its habit,' he claimed.

The spokesperson was eager to point out that 'those with high status can walk around the enclosure at will'.

In a social media post, the zoo said that the wolf was yet to be accepted into any of the three packs. The post claimed that it was probably 'a bit depressed' as a result of being a lone wolf

In a social media post from Monday, the zoo said that it had 16 wolves in total, including the lone wolf.

It added that the wolf was yet to be accepted into any of the three packs there because it arrived just two months ago.

The post claimed that as a result of being a lone wolf, it was probably 'a bit depressed', and was working off the depression by walking on the same route every day.

The zoo hoped that the newcomer would soon integrate into a pack and stop pacing around.

The park boasts nearly four million square feet (370,000 square metres) and is home to around 5,000 animals belonging to 200 species, according to reports.

It has reportedly received nearly 5,000 tourists daily since it reopened on April 1 following a shutdown due to COVID-19.