This is the bizarre moment wolves trembled in fear at a zookeeper's scent of tigers.

Zhang Nana had just fed the wildcats when she visited the visibly scared pair, Dodo and Suosuo, in their enclosure at Puyang Central Zoo in Henan, China, to give them food.

Footage shows the wolves cowering in the corner of the cage on April 7.

Zhang can be heard saying: 'I've brought you some chicken, come on, you two.'

However, the wild dogs remained still, with one hiding behind its shaking companion.

The keeper said: 'I film daily streams of the animals, and I only stop by to give them food. But because I spend most of my time with the Siberian tigers, their scent tends to linger on my clothes.'

Zhang also cleared up speculations that she was hurting the animals.

'I've never hit or frightened them. I rarely even go near their enclosure. I just toss them food and leave.

Honestly, I found it both frustrating and funny. I feed them often, and yet they're still scared of me.

She added: 'It's probably because I spend so much time with the tigers that I carry their scent. Other staff can approach them without such a reaction.'

Zhang, who has been a keeper at the zoo since April 2018, became a full-time tiger cub nursery keeper three years ago and now cares for four abandoned tiger cubs.

She joked, saying that she is not just a keeper, but raises tiger cubs, so she smells strongly of tigers, like she's been marinated in it.

To avoid causing unnecessary stress to Dodo and Suosuo, Zhang said she would no longer visit the wolves.

Wolves are naturally cautious animals. In the wild, they have to avoid confrontation with larger predators to stay safe. The scent of a predator signals that there may be a threat nearby, causing the wolves to feel threatened or anxious.