In the frigid night of China's Qinling mountains, hunters with huge social media followings scour the landscape in pursuit of wild boars menacing local farmers' livelihoods.

China's wild boars -- today numbering two 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 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........

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