A Chinese zoo says a wolf and a goat have become unlikely sweethearts after sharing a cage together.

Keepers at the zoo, in White Tower Park, Nanchong city, says the pair have become inseparable.

"If the goat is gone for a bit, the wolf will howl and run frantically around the cage until she comes back," said keeper, Mr Xu.

Prey and predator only started dating by accident a month ago, Xu told the West China City News.

"Early one morning I opened the goat's fence to let her out to eat, and unexpectedly the wolf came out, because we hadn't locked his cage securely," he said.

"The wolf ran straight to the goat's fence, and started howling when it smelled the goat. The goat was so scared you could see her legs shaking."

Xu says he had to protect the goat until other employees came to help separate the animals.

"But for the next several nights the two started getting to know each other better, and even exchanged howls and baas. You could tell they were flirting," says Xu.