Chapter 145 Snow Leopard (Part 3)
For the residents who have lived on the northern Tibetan Plateau for generations, the snow leopard is the most powerful and ferocious beast in this area.
If snow leopards invade mountain villages and kill poultry, it will inevitably attract the attention of the entire village.
The villagers have lived here for generations, so they know very well:
If you encounter a snow leopard, you must find a way to drive it away as quickly as possible to prevent it from using the village as a hunting ground.
The poultry and livestock raised by farmers are much easier to hunt than blue sheep and musk deer.
If the snow leopards develop a habit of coming to the village to hunt every now and then, the economic losses they cause would be secondary, and they might also pose a threat to the villagers living here.
On the day when the snow leopard was discovered to be attacking, more than a dozen farmers in the mountain village held an emergency meeting and decided to take turns to keep watch starting from that night.
Once a snow leopard is spotted, they beat drums and gongs and set off firecrackers to drive it back into the mountains.
Based on the locals' understanding of snow leopards, they know that this beast does not have a very big appetite, and an adult leopard only needs to eat five kilograms of meat a day.
Ordinary snow leopards hunt once every 10 days on average. Even male leopards in their prime or female leopards with cubs may hunt once every 5 days at most.
Therefore, the villagers who were on guard at the beginning did not take it too seriously, thinking that the leopard had come yesterday and would definitely not come today.
The next morning, the villagers walked out of the yard one after another, and looked down to see spots of blood, flowing from the country road all the way to the mountains.
"You came again last night?"
“Can leopards eat so much?”
The big man in charge of night watch scratched his head in shame and said, "I watched for no movement in the first half of the night, and fell asleep in the second half. I'm sorry, fellow villagers."
The farmer whose chickens were stolen felt mixed emotions as he looked at the hens in the chicken coop, except for the widowed hens who were unharmed.
Now that the breeding season for hens has passed, every household in the village has an alarm clock and no longer needs roosters to crow.
The snow leopard stole two roosters, which did not cause much damage to him.
Besides——
"Dad! Look at the flowers!"
"I have flowers too!"
The two twins, a boy and a girl, from a farmer's family, picked up the flowers left in the chicken coop, and happily circled around their father, showing off the gifts sent by the snow leopard.
"Well, forget it." Seeing the child happy, the farmer waved his hand and said generously, "Anyway, we have to kill those chickens for New Year's meal. It doesn't matter whether you give them to me or to the leopard, the result will be the same."
The simple farmers did not care too much, but the hidden dangers caused by snow leopards still exist.
The next day, the villagers who were on night watch were extremely alert and focused on guarding the livestock in the village.
Nothing happened the whole night and we had a rare Christmas Eve.
The snow leopard did not appear on the second and third days either.
After discussion, the villagers felt that the snow leopard was too hungry a few days ago.
I've eaten enough these two days, so I won't come to steal chickens.
However, just when they relaxed their vigilance, the snow leopard's plum blossom paw prints appeared randomly in every chicken coop.
The difference is that this time, two clusters of saffron were left next to the seal.
——It turns out that he didn’t come the past two days, mainly because the snow lotus season was over.
The alpine snow lotus blooms until September, and the saffron begins its flowering period from October.
Saffron has strict requirements on soil, is scarce, and wild plants are hard to come by.
The villagers were depressed because their chickens were stolen several times in a row.
Every time I spot a snow leopard, it always leaves behind some rare plants, which somehow makes it look cute.
"Saffron is a good thing. It is very nourishing when stewed in soup!"
"Tell me, how did the leopard know those flowers and plants were valuable?"
"We often climb up the mountain to pick herbs, and the snow leopards see us all! A few years ago, I went into the mountains to dig ginseng, and I fell asleep in the middle of the night. When I woke up, I found a snow leopard lying in my arms and licking my face. I guess it thought I was frozen to death and was trying to keep me warm."
"In the past two or three years, there have been fewer and fewer sheep in the mountains. We have all seen it. Sometimes leopards steal sheep and cattle, but the herders turn a blind eye and then ask the government for subsidies. In my opinion, if the leopard is really hungry, we can give him the chicken. As long as it doesn't harm the elderly and children in the village, everything is fine."
"Yeah, that's what I mean. We need to see if the leopard is fierce when it meets humans."
"Yes, biting people randomly is not okay!"
After discussion, the villagers reached a new consensus and decided to test the snow leopard's reaction to humans first.
On a dark and windy night, Yu Yiyun sneaked into the village again and saw a... trap?
He walked over with a cat-like gait and almost laughed out loud.
Calling it a 'trap' is an insult to the professionalism of the word 'trap'.
I saw a few crumpled old newspapers spread out in the middle of the country road.
A plucked broiler was placed on the newspaper, with a large bamboo backpack slanted over the broiler, and the bottom supported by two long chopsticks connected end to end.
A rope was tied to the chopsticks. As long as the snow leopard got in, the person watching secretly would pull the rope in and cover the snow leopard inside.
Pig: ...
Even though my cry sounds like a bird, it doesn’t mean you can catch me with the same bird-catching formation!
What's more, those little people actually used bamboo backpacks.
Can you let me mix meat and vegetables?
The little snow leopard approached with light cat steps, swept its tail lightly, and the long chopsticks fell down immediately.
He used his cat's paw to push the bamboo basket away, and it rolled far away. Then he put the saffron in his mouth on the edge of the newspaper and happily picked up the plump broiler.
Thank you for the gift of nature!
No need to pluck your own hair today~
Zhumi, holding the broiler chicken in his mouth, turned around happily, and was almost blinded by the flashlight coming towards him, which had blinded his 24K titanium cat's eyes.
After a few seconds of pause, his eyes adjusted to the strong light, and he could see clearly the terrifying upright apes gathering from all directions.
Pig: Where did you come from?!
"The cat is really not smart. It really fell for it."
"I said I would put a backpack to lure him in. Cats naturally like boxes and baskets. If they go over to play, there will definitely be noise."
"Hehehe, I've been watching you for several days, now I've caught you!"
Oops!
Careless!
Yu Yiyun looked around and found herself surrounded by little people. She timidly retreated to her original position and obediently put down the chicken in her mouth.
"Meow." Look, I have returned it to you.
"Meow meow meow!" Don't attack me!
The villagers were instantly happy when they heard his bird-like chirping.
"Hey, I was wondering why you left the sheep and yaks alone and came to our village every day to steal chickens? It turns out you're just a little leopard."
"It looks like it's only one year old. Its teeth haven't grown in yet. I don't think it can catch a sheep."
"Little Leopard, where is your mother?"
"Meow!" My mom is so awesome!
"Meow meow!" I went home and complained to my mom!!!
The poor leopard, who had been tragically ambushed, was so angry that he turned around in circles, making the most ferocious meowing sounds.
He curled up his claws, secretly gathering strength, and locked onto the gaps between the crowd with his animal eyes, intending to wait for them to relax and then force his way out.
Before the little snow leopard could take any action, a villager in the crowd suddenly shouted.
"Ah! I remember now, is he the one in the photo from two days ago?"
"Yes, yes, Ram's child!"
The local villagers have lived in the mountains for a long time and do not pay attention to news from the outside world.
But their villages are integrated into nature and are included as an important part of environmental protection.
If there are rare protected animals in the area, the relevant agencies will notify the villagers in time to prevent them from accidentally harming National One and National Two species.
Over time, the environmental protection awareness of nearby villagers has greatly improved, and they have begun to take the initiative to learn about the latest news around the village.
With the development of technology, every household has electronic devices, making it very convenient to obtain information.
Some villagers with fast internet speeds see news from around their hometown and share it with their neighbors as after-dinner conversation.
Ram, the snow leopard mother who has attracted much attention some time ago, lives in a nearby mountain. Many villagers know Ram's story and admire the brave leopard mother from the bottom of their hearts.
"Really? A little fatter than in the photo."
The villagers compared the photos and confirmed the identity of the little snow leopard, and a few sighs were heard in the crowd.
After the first few encounters, the villagers discovered that although the little snow leopard stole chickens, it did not attack the surrounding livestock.
Moreover, a few plants would be left behind each time, as if they were being exchanged with farmers in this way.
Winters in Tibet are particularly harsh. Hungry leopards, under pressure to survive, often attack herders' livestock.
The villagers set up traps to block the leopard, mainly to confirm its reaction to humans. As long as they can ensure that it does not harm humans, farmers can eat fewer chickens and ducks.
It was discovered that the 'chicken thief' was a one-year-old snow leopard cub, who had lost two brothers and sisters and now his mother.
It would be difficult for a snow leopard of this size to survive the cold winter alone, let alone hunt blue sheep.
The villagers were planning to teach him a lesson, but they saw the little snow leopard surrounded by several tall and strong men. It looked pitiful, with its long tail wrapped around itself, its round ears drooping, and even letting go of the chicken next to its mouth.
"Well, well..." The villagers looked at the pair of wet animal eyes, unable to say anything harsh, and pretended to be serious and taught him a lesson, "You can steal chickens if you want, but you are not allowed to bite people."
"He's only one year old, why is he biting people?"
The snow leopard has short and thick limbs, and its size and attack power are between that of the leopard and the cheetah.
A strong adult can easily throw a wild cheetah over his shoulder.
The Tibetan people who have lived in the mountains for a long time are all strong and sturdy, and their physiques are much better than ordinary people, so they are more than capable of dealing with young snow leopards.
"Winter is coming soon. He won't be able to catch any sheep in the mountains and will starve to death."
"Yes, let's get through the winter first and wait until spring."
"If you have elderly people or children at home, lock the doors and windows when you go to bed at night."
"Meow?"
When Zhumi heard their conversation, he tilted his head in confusion.
From the sound of it, it seems that the little guy is planning to... feed me?
Leopard Leopard encountered a lot of soft-hearted gods this winter.
The pig looked left and right, with disbelief written all over his face.
[There is such a good thing in the world.jpg]
"Little Leopard, is one chicken enough?"
"I have to tell you something. Don't just catch roosters. There are no roosters crowing in the village now."
"The hen needs to lay eggs, so you can't catch it. You can catch the pig in the cage!"
"Don't make things difficult for the little leopard. He weighs less than 100 pounds, and the pigs in the pen will soon weigh 500 pounds. Do you want to tire the leopard to death?"
“…”
Yu Yiyun listened to their noise but did not slow down his eating pace at all.
After eating the chicken used as bait, Leopard skillfully stole a breeding duck in front of Little Man Mi, spread his claws and quickly ran back to the mountains.
The villagers had been busy for most of the night, and when they saw the snow leopard running away, they yawned and went back to their rooms to sleep.
There was a teenager who had his first close encounter with a snow leopard in his life. He was so excited that he tossed and turned and couldn't sleep.
She got up in the dark and uploaded the photos and videos she had just taken to her QQ space.
Tibet, as a famous province in my country that does not have free shipping, is quite far away from other provinces.
But as the saying goes: The Internet connects us, so cherish this bond.
In particular, the main users of QQ Space are mostly young people who like new things.
I have attracted too many ragdoll, blue and white, and golden shaded cats, and I want to attract some cats of different breeds.
Snow leopards in the wild are elusive and extremely difficult to photograph.
It is difficult for professional photographers to encounter one even when climbing over mountains, let alone a little snow leopard that is usually hidden by its mother.
The sudden sight of such a cute little snow leopard has aroused the cat addiction of countless people. They save photos and videos and recommend them to the world.
During the dissemination process, someone recognized the little snow leopard as the 'Ram Orphan' announced by the photographer some time ago.
The story behind the photo was then dug out by people, pushing the whole incident to a new level.
[Leopard is so cute, Leopard is so pitiful]
[Do you like chicken? I'll buy you a KFC bucket! ]
[Back upstairs, Snow Leopard doesn't eat cooked or fried food. And the family bucket is too small, he can't eat enough]
[I checked the encyclopedia, snow leopards mainly eat sheep, I will buy you a roasted whole lamb from Inner Mongolia]
[Thanks to netizens from all over the country for their enthusiasm in feeding! Local villagers said that they would never accept any gifts and they would drive away the snow leopards after the Chinese New Year]
[Ah? Leopard is so cute, why do you want to drive it away? QAQ? ]
[Cute? After the Chinese New Year, he will turn into a big leopard. He will eat up kids like you! ]
[Calm down, netizens are just too concerned. If we drive the snow leopard away and let it return to the mountains, we can cultivate its wildness and survival ability. Otherwise, when it comes to the courtship period, how can it compete with other snow leopards? ]
[So that’s how it is. Snow leopards have a hard life…]
Just when netizens were worried about the life of the "orphan Leopard", Yu Yiyun climbed to the nest on the sunny side of the mountain with the duck in his mouth.
“Chirp!”
"Meow~"
The two cubs who had been staying obediently in the nest heard the noise from afar and couldn't wait to crawl out, welcoming their stepmother with clapping sounds.
After less than half a month, Feifei and Yuanyuan had adapted to the new life. They jumped over to surround Zhumi and acted coquettishly with her as if she were their own mother.
The two cubs stayed alone in the nest, still missing their mother and wondering why she never came home.
However, for them at this stage, growth is the most important thing, and whoever gives them milk is their mother.
After their biological mother disappeared, their stepmother who appeared out of nowhere took good care of them and brought meat to feed them every day.
Although the meat that the pigs were fed was different from the meat that the babies had eaten before, it was equally delicious.
"Meow!" Don't be impatient, come one by one!
Yu Yiyun had just eaten a fat broiler chicken in the village, but after crawling around with the duck in his mouth for so long, he started to feel hungry again.
"Chirp!" Hungry!
"Meow~" Food~
Hearing the two little birds chirping and begging for food, the piglet forced himself to swallow his saliva and tore the duck meat into pieces and shared it with them.
Three-month-old leopard cubs grow very fast.
In just half a month, Feifei and Yuanyuan's appetite doubled and they ate up half of the duck.
Free-range ducks are relatively thin, with breeding ducks weighing only seven or eight kilograms, and there is not much meat left after the feathers are plucked.
After feeding the cubs, the remaining meat is only enough for Ram.
“Meow!”
Just be obedient and stay in your nest and don't run around.
Zhumi stopped Leopard who wanted to go out to play with him, roared at him as a warning, then picked up Duckling and climbed over the mountain to feed Ram on the shady side of the mountain.
After half a month of good food and drink, the wound on Ram's paw has scabbed over, but his hunting is still affected.
Seeing that his baby was bringing food back, Ram no longer refused and ate it all, including the meat and bones.
After she recovers from her injuries, she can catch sheep for her son again!
"meow~"
Ram finished eating the duck slowly, turned around, and saw his son sleeping soundly again from exhaustion.
She limped to her son, lay down at a good angle, let the baby lie in her arms, and licked his ears and face lovingly.
“Meow.”
The pig was sleeping in a daze, burying himself in his mother's arms and rubbing against her. It seemed that he had another sweet dream.
Towards evening, Yu Yiyun woke up and came out of the cave hungry.
Cats eat a lot and digest food quickly.
Especially in winter, big cats must eat a lot to maintain body heat.
Broiler chicken has low fat content and has already been digested completely.
Yu Yiyun did not disturb Ram.
She has to get more than ten hours of sleep every day to speed up the healing of her wounds.
Jumping to the edge of the cliff, the little snow leopard looked down at the vast rocks, and skillfully moved its paws, its figure blending into the snow-covered mountains.
The autumn on the northern Tibetan Plateau mainly serves to make up the numbers.
September is not even over yet, and the temperature in the mountains is getting lower and lower every day. It will probably snow again soon.
Snow piles heavy enough to bury snow leopards, making prey more difficult to find.
Yu Yiyun must save up more winter supplies before the snow falls.
The villagers in the mountains probably couldn't imagine that the little snow leopard that appeared every two days was busy practicing hunting when it wasn't stealing chickens.
After repeated attempts, Yu Yiyun reluctantly realized that catching a mountain goat was simply a pipe dream for him now.
Pig doesn't even know where to find the blue sheep.
Fortunately, we snow leopards, in addition to eating blue sheep, also eat some snacks.
Yu Yiyun, who is forever young and always likes to fool around, relies on his nine lives to jump around all day long and has figured out the surrounding terrain.
In just half a month, he already knew where the snow lotus was, where the saffron was, and where to find Leopard's favorite snacks - Himalayan marmot and plateau rabbit.
The Himalayan marmot is a distant relative of the otter. It has a fat body and short and thick limbs and is mainly distributed in areas with altitudes of 2,000 to 4,800 meters.
Winter is coming, and marmots hide their breath and go deep into caves to sleep.
Finding them is all about luck.
luck.
Oh, how could Yu Yiyun have such luck?
Sometimes, after patrolling the mountains for several days, we rarely come across a marmot nest, but we end up digging too deep to reach it.
In the past half month, Yu Yiyun has caught marmots twice.
Once, the unlucky marmot hibernated too late.
Another time, because there were too many otters in the den, the fattest one was squeezed out.
Compared to marmots, plateau rabbits, which do not hibernate, are easier to catch.
As we all know, rabbits have very strong reproductive abilities, and inbreeding does not affect their genes.
If two rabbits appear in a certain area, there will be a rabbit kingdom in the next year.
Plateau rabbits can often be found in areas with altitudes between 2,000 and 4,000 meters.
Yu Yiyun has been a beast for many lifetimes. No matter which continent he goes to, rats and rabbits will always be like rice.
The problem is that the plateau rabbit is so small that it can only fit on the cliffs that the snow leopard can barely pass through. It can hide in any crack in the rocks, making it several times more difficult to catch than on flat ground.
Secondly, the plateau rabbit weighs only four or five kilograms at most. The pig jumps up and down for a long time, but the meat it gets is not enough to fill its teeth.
After working hard for most of the night, Yu Yiyun only caught two rabbits and starved himself to death.
Seeing that it was still dark, he skillfully plucked a few wild ginseng roots, turned around and invaded the mountain village with ease.
Because the hunting was delayed for too long, Yu Yiyun rushed into the mountain village. It was already dawn and the early-rising peasant women were yawning as they boiled water and cooked.
Hearing the rustling noise, the peasant woman ran out of the yard with a spatula and saw the little leopard going from house to house, trying to see which chickens and ducks would be easiest to steal.
"Don't look, you've stolen from those families. There's no market this month, and new ducks won't be available until two days later." The peasant woman shouted and called Snow Leopard over.
“Meow!”
If you let me through, I will go through. Where is the beast's face... here I come~!
The noble and arrogant little snow leopard originally planned to put on airs.
Seeing the peasant woman wandering around the kitchen and coming out with half a piece of pork belly to make bacon, his voice immediately became flattering.
"Meow meow meow~"
Zhumi ran over excitedly, blinking her amber eyes: Blame me for not being polite just now, just call me Mimi~
The peasant woman threw the pork in front of the snow leopard and waved her hand proudly, "Take the meat and leave quickly before he wakes up."
"Meow." The pig poked its head into the yard, left a few ginseng whiskers, then picked up the meat and ran out of the village happily.
The peasant woman picked up the ginseng roots he left behind and smiled.
"You know how to eat ginseng and chicken."
In the next few days, heavy snow really fell in the mountains.
Not only did the hibernating marmot nests become more difficult to search, but even the plateau rabbits were buried under thick snow.
The snow leopard, which already had a hard time finding prey, had to search more and more frequently, wasting its efforts all day and all night.
Unfortunately, the two cubs at home had doubled their food intake from three months to four months old, and they needed more meat to fill their stomachs.
The poor one-year-old male leopard had to immerse himself in the hardship that a mother leopard has to endure in raising her cubs.
No wonder Ram was so hurt in his attempt to support himself that he almost lost all nine cats' lives.
It’s not that difficult to deal with if he eats a lot. At most, Yu Yiyun can just steal two more chickens every day.
What's even more difficult is that as the little snow leopards grow older, they can no longer stay in the nest.
Even though Yu Yiyun tried to stop them violently, the two leopards still couldn't curb their desire for the outside world and tried to follow their new mother to hunt.
Yu Yiyun tried to stop him several times, and often when he turned around, he saw two little tails following him.
"Meow!" Go back!
"Chirp!" Not going back!
"meow~" Leopard doesn't understand~
Feifei has a stubborn personality, while Yuanyuan is good at getting away with it by being cute, and Zhumi has no way to deal with them.
Considering that ordinary leopards are three or four months old, they are all taught hunting skills by their mothers.
Yu Yiyun was unable to teach them hunting skills, which was a great waste of time for the children.
We can't let them stay in the cave forever without even having the chance to practice basic running and jumping.
After thinking it over, Baobao solemnly instructed:
"Meow!" Then you just follow me and don't run around!
"Chirp?" What, we run around obediently?
"meow~" Leopard doesn't understand~
Pig: ...
Can these two unlucky kids be returned?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
