Recently, a video of a tourist being attacked by cows on Wutai Mountain has been circulating online. According to the response from the scenic area staff to the mainland media, the tourist in question fed the cows dried meat and hit the cows’ buttocks, leading to the cows fighting back. However, the person involved stated that the video circulating online was pieced together from multiple clips, and apart from the scene where he was attacked by cows, the other acts of provoking the cows were unrelated to him.
On July 17, several mainland media outlets reported on the incident of the tourist being attacked by a herd of cows on Wutai Mountain. According to the videos released by the media, there were tourists repeatedly using trekking poles to hit and poke the cows’ buttocks, as well as sitting on the back of a cow while it was resting, followed by one tourist being attacked by the cows.
The reports quoted the response from the Wutai Mountain Management Committee staff, saying that some tourists fed the cows dried meat, causing the cows to break the trekking poles with their hooves. Additionally, some tourists kept hitting the cows’ buttocks with trekking poles, which led to the cows fighting back. They have been paying attention to various information, mentioning that the tourists should be fine, as these cows have been on the mountain all year round and generally do not attack people. They consider the provocation as a matter of personal moral quality.
The incident sparked heated discussions online, with many netizens condemning the tourists’ uncivilized behavior. The topic of “Tourist Suspected of Being Surrounded and Trampled by Cows Due to Provocation at Wutai Mountain” even trended as the 2nd hot search on Weibo that day.
However, according to the attacked tourist, Wu Feng (pseudonym), he told the “Beijing News” that on the 16th, he was attacked by the cows to protect his three small dogs on Wutai Mountain, not because he actively provoked the cows and was counterattacked. The circulated video online was pieced together from multiple clips, and except for the scene where he was attacked by cows, the other acts of provoking the cows were not related to him.
Wu Feng explained that he and his group of 4 people were hiking on Wutai Mountain. On the morning of the 16th, they set out from Dongtai and around 8 a.m., approximately 3 kilometers away from Dongtai, he was walking ahead with his three pet dogs, and there were dozens of cows about 100 meters ahead.
Wu Feng said when he was about 30 meters away from the herd, the cows noticed the dogs and suddenly rushed towards him from all directions, knocking him to the ground and trampling him while targeting the dogs. In order to protect the dogs, he shielded them under him and was trampled by the cows several times. The attack lasted approximately half a minute before the cows stopped. Then, he was helped up by a passerby.
Due to a sprained left foot, Wu Feng had to give up hiking. After finding his frightened dogs who ran off, he returned to the hotel to rest.
On the 17th, he discovered footage of himself being attacked by the cows in videos released by several media outlets, along with other uncivil provoking material involving tourists.
Wu Feng stated: “I did not walk into the herd of cows, let alone attack them. The person provoking the cows in the circulated video online is not me; I am only the one being trampled by the cows.”
Wu Feng contacted the Wutai Mountain Management Committee hoping they would help clarify the truth. The staff replied that they needed to report to the leadership and verify the information.
In response, Red Star News called several departments at Wutai Mountain. A staff member from the scenic area management committee mentioned that the person provoking the cows and the one being trampled by the cows were not the same tourist, and they are currently conducting further investigations.