Chapter 165 Arctic Fox (V)
Arctic foxes are omnivorous and will accept rotten food.
The raw materials for making red wine happen to be on their recipe.
Smelling the fruity scent emanating from Xiao 8, the other brothers and sisters came over and circled around to lick Xiao 8's fur.
After licking for a while, Xiao 8 became clean, while the other phoenix kids were all drunk.
“…”
Yu Yiyun was so angry that she was speechless.
There are many foods in nature that contain natural alcohol.
Yu Yiyun had seen drunk beasts before, but she had never seen so many drunk beasts!
"Bing!"
It’s so annoying!
Seeing that the phoenix chicks were dizzy and unable to walk, Yu Yiyun sighed resignedly and planned to find a place to stay nearby.
There is no change in light in the Arctic during polar day and polar night, but there are still temperature changes due to atmospheric movement and various factors.
Arctic foxes are small in size, so when they encounter extremely low temperatures, they must hide as much as possible to avoid being buried by heavy snow or blown away by strong winds.
This seems to be an aurora viewing area. There are not only restaurants around it, but also igloos built by humans.
The igloo is a unique building in cold regions. Through its special architectural structure, the little people make the house made of ice and snow both sturdy and cold-insulating, and can withstand wind and frost.
Yu Yiyun looked around and actually saw an unused ice house. His eyes immediately lit up and he whistled for everyone to go into the house.
"Oh?" Boss, what is this?
"Squeak!" Which fox dug the snow hole on the ground? How stupid!
"Chirp~" The fox doesn't live in such a big hole, it must be a polar bear's hole!
"Oh oh!" Yes, that's right~!
After discussion, the stupid fox happily reached a consensus that this was the cave where polar bears hibernate, and secretly stuck his little head in.
There were no bears or other foxes in the igloo, just some very strange ice and snow decorations and a large square block of ice.
This place uses "Aurora" and "Ice House" as gimmicks. The cabinets and beds in the house are carved out of ice. Tourists will crawl into the ice and sleep directly on the ice, enjoying the feeling of being completely integrated into the ice and snow.
The Arctic fox, which has completely integrated into the ice and snow, doesn't think this is anything special.
A few little foxes jumped onto the big ice bed, seemed to smell the residual human scent, and licked the surface of the ice bed curiously.
By the time Yu Yiyun heard the dog-like screams, his tongue had already been stuck to the ice bed.
“…”
Fox was silent, not knowing what expression to show on her face.
How could an Arctic fox freeze its tongue by licking ice out of curiosity?
Were you a Northeastern person in your previous life? Did you like licking iron railings?
Yu Yiyun didn't have time to think about whether to pull him away forcibly or find a heat source to melt the ice.
The fox that climbed up with him had obviously experienced this situation before, and raised its hind legs without saying a word.
As the water trickled down, it was hard for Yu Yiyun to tell whether the bed or the fox was no longer available.
The fox with its tongue stuck jumped off the ice bed with a cry. The other foxes completely lost interest and retreated away from the big ice block.
The igloo has a special structure. The external environment is minus 50 degrees Celsius, and the temperature inside the igloo is about minus 20 degrees Celsius.
If humans were to live in an igloo, they would need an internal heat source to raise the temperature.
Arctic foxes are naturally resistant to cold, and the igloos with low entrances and wind-proof are enough for them to feel comfortable.
The foxes leaned their heads against each other, their tails entangled with each other, and slept comfortably and warmly.
The next day, the temperature rose and the foxes couldn't wait to get out of the igloo and start a new journey.
Not long after running out, Yu Yiyun saw the light again. It was obviously where the little man lived.
Yu Yiyun originally planned to go around, but the light was too bright, illuminating another group of Arctic foxes that were roasting by the fire next to the cabin.
As winters get colder, large numbers of Arctic foxes choose to migrate.
The group of Arctic foxes also came to the deep land to find a place to spend the winter and came across this small house standing in the cold wind.
They dug their nest under the house, near the stove, and spent their days foraging for food and warming themselves by the fire.
Because the living environment was too warm, the face of an Arctic fox was burnt black.
"Hmm?"
Yu Yiyun asked a question.
The Arctic fox's skin changes with temperature. If you throw it into Africa, will it turn into a black fox?
“Ahhh!”
The caramel fox is very active. When it sees a group of strange foxes from afar, it immediately pounces on them like a mad dog.
Foxes also have a sense of territory. The fox group that occupies the cabin is unwilling to let strange fox groups share the stove with them.
"Hmm..."
Yu Yiyun was just about to explain, "I'm not planning on turning into a caramel fox," when a few idiots nearby rushed out.
Although no one knew why they were fighting, they were more active than each other and looked their most ferocious.
There are more beasts on their side, but the foxes on the opposite side are at their peak, so the stupid foxes are not at an advantage.
Yu Yiyun rushed over and tried to stop the fight, but found that his idiot was not at a disadvantage.
In terms of combat power alone, they are indeed no match for the enemy beasts.
But the foxes have one biggest advantage: from birth to now, they have never been separated. They even practice hunting together, and their tacit understanding has been condensed into a strong "team spirit".
Whenever an enemy beast attacked one of the foxes, the foxes next to it would immediately pounce on it, pulling its legs or biting its tail, trying their best to help their companion escape from the predicament.
Taking advantage of the chaos in the battle, the youngest sister quietly approached the most powerful fox.
Using the sneak attack tactics taught by his elder brother, he pounced on him and bit his ear hard.
The unfortunate fox's ear was bitten, and he cried out in pain and rolled back to his den.
The enemy lost its strongest fighting power and was quickly defeated. It retreated to the side of the wooden house and hid behind a pile of firewood, howling in grievance.
The people in the cabin heard the noise, put on hats and gloves, came out, and swept with a flashlight. They saw the fox that had built a nest in their cabin rummaging through the firewood pile and roaring arrogantly.
“You, you guys…”
The man was just about to scold the little fox when he saw that the little fox was so aggrieved that its ears drooped, its brows furrowed, it looked at him with watery eyes, and complained loudly.
People are speechless.
He finally understood why the monsters that enchanted souls in ancient legends were all fox spirits.
Some things...really can't be blamed on King Zhou.
"Fox demon, what happened this time? Last time you built a nest, you thought the soil in my house was too hard, so you asked me to help you dig with a shovel. The time before that, you crawled into my chimney to warm yourself, but you couldn't get out and almost choked yourself to death. The time before that, you couldn't find food during a snowstorm, so you asked me to catch field mice for you."
"Other vixens would at most take my life, but you guys are so good that you make me work like a beast of burden for you!"
“Woo woo…”
The fox looked at him eagerly and cried even more aggrievedly.
The little man was defeated and resigned himself to asking the vixen what she wanted.
The enemy fox performed the "dog relying on the power of the master" online and ran out to signal the little man to look forward.
The humans raised their flashlights and saw a group of Arctic foxes that were newer in color, had prettier eyes, and were not burnt.
The one in the lead had fluffy snow-white fur, its small ears trembled, and its gem-like eyes looked straight over.
"Hello, man~
The man was stunned. His arm holding the flashlight trembled slightly and an uncontrollable perverted smile appeared on his face.
"Fox spirit, Fox Fairy, do you want to come build a nest in my house?"
"Oh oh." Where did this perverted plush lover come from?
Yu Yiyun was extremely disgusted. She swung her beautiful tail and left, warning her companions not to get close to that weirdo.
Who knows what he will do to the fox?
Judging from the temperature, it should be noon now.
The wind and snow stopped temporarily, and Yu Yiyun planned to take his younger brothers and sisters to hunt Arctic hares.
Hunting Arctic hares is much more difficult for subadult foxes than hunting lemmings.
This time, Yu Yiyun did not stand by and watch, but led the Fox Army to bravely rush towards Rabbit.
After several experiments, the phoenix chicks finally realized that they couldn’t catch rabbits in the same way as they did lemmings.
The rabbit is fast and strong and can easily get rid of the fox.
The Fox Army must surround the rabbit or force it into a corner.
Yu Yiyun rushed to the front and used his speed and agility to make the rabbits panic and lose their way.
The youngest sister reacted the fastest and rushed over from the other side, trying to cut off the rabbit's escape direction.
Unfortunately, her body is smaller than a rabbit and her strength is limited.
Instead of being afraid, Tutu arrogantly jumped over the head of the youngest sister.
Little 4 and Little 7 rushed over to help Little Sister, but because they rushed too fast, they bumped into the jumping rabbit.
As soon as the rabbit fell down, the youngest sister, who was jumped over by it, immediately pounced on it and bit the rabbit tightly.
Little 4 and Little 7 didn't care about their headaches and quickly got up to help.
Yu Yiyun felt somewhat complicated.
Back then, he had also been jumped over the head by his prey.
And then... nothing happened.
Yu Yiyun had caught many small muntjacs in his life, but not one of them was this one.
As he thought about it, Yu Yijun even envied his youngest sister.
She is worthy of being the queen chosen by him. She can actually pull off an extreme counterattack.
The youngest sister was successful, but the other team was not so lucky.
The strongest members of the Fox Legion, Little 1 and Little 2, rushed over from the opposite direction and were supposed to surround Rabbit.
The rabbit was somewhat frightened by the fox's large size and did not dare to risk jumping over the fox.
Normally, the rabbit will gradually retreat, and the fox should take advantage of the situation and pounce on it to catch it.
As a result, Xiao 1 obviously got confused and started jumping left and right again, trying to scare the rabbit with his superb popping.
Bunny understood.
Fox, melon.
Fool's melon.
In the end, Yu Yijun couldn't stand it anymore and pounced on it to attack, preventing the rabbit from slipping away.
Little 1 and Little 2 then ran over, shaking their tails like propellers, with a proud look of "the three of us are invincible".
Yu Yiyun was sandwiched between the two of them, taking a bite on the left and a bite on the right, feeling speechless.
After lunch, Yu Yiyun started looking for new groups of rabbits.
It wasn't that he was in a hurry to eat dinner, but mainly because spring was coming, and the Arctic fox was a precocious dog, so he had to master it before spring came...
Well, he wanted to have dinner.
Yu Yiyun and his younger brothers and sisters walked for a long time in the dark but did not find the second group of rabbits.
The weather has been getting colder recently. Arctic hares only come out to look for food around noon. The rest of the time they hide in their nests and rely on the grass they stored in the summer to survive the winter.
Moreover, their foraging range has become much smaller. They only eat grass near their nests and return to their nests at the slightest sign of trouble.
The temperature gradually dropped in the evening, and there were signs of snow.
The Fox Army, unable to find food, could only endure hunger and find a place to spend the cold night.
Just as the pig was about to give up the hunt, a long roar pierced the night.
“Woo——!”
The wolf's unique long howl seemed like some kind of call, prompting the pig to stop.
The Fox Legion squatted on the spot curiously, looking into the distance.
Through the vast darkness, they saw a group of tall and mighty wolves running across the night sky, chasing a reindeer with particularly large horns.
No matter where you are, winter is the season for wolves.
The prey becomes weaker and weaker due to lack of food, making it easier for wolves to capture them.
The reindeer ran very fast, like lightning, trying to get rid of the wolves.
Unfortunately, its beautiful, towering horns, which are used for courtship, are too cumbersome.
A wolf pounced on it from the side and bit its hoof. The reindeer immediately fell to the ground because of the weight of its horns.
All the wolves pounced on it, tearing at its throat and abdomen, draining its strength until the prey could no longer struggle.
The newly formed Fox Army saw a pack of wolves hunting for the first time.
They hunt so perfectly, so well-trained, so efficiently, and every wolf contributes his or her own strength.
The foxes were stunned, and all of them had the same idea.
"Chirp?" Will I become like that when I grow up?
"Squeak!" Definitely!
"Woo woo~" Yes, our calls are the same!
The more Yu Yiyun listened, the more indifferent she became. She really wanted to pack up these idiots and send them to Darwin, asking him to study the theory of evolution again.
The wolves had succeeded in their hunt and were lying there panting heavily.
The leader wolf who was in charge of leading the charge licked his bloody mouth, climbed up, and looked around with sharp eyes.
Its eyes swept across the fox army, then it stopped and greeted the little foxes familiarly.
In the second year of a young wolf becoming leader, his children are not yet mature and cannot serve as a reliable fighting force.
Winter is approaching, and the wolf king and queen are about to breed the next generation. This is the most difficult time for the entire wolf pack.
Too many wolf packs failed within the first two years of their establishment.
Fortunately, the young wolf met the little fox. With his guidance and after several collaborations, the probability of successful hunting was greatly improved, and he finally did not have to worry about food.
Whenever the young wolf met little foxes in the past, he was always alone, but now there are so many foxes around him, they must be members of his family.
"Woo woo." Hello, Fox~
"Bing!" Enemy beast!
Just as the leader wolf was about to approach, Yu Yijun pretended not to know him and did not understand wolf language. He lowered his front legs to the ground with the most ferocious expression to drive it away.
The leader wolf was startled.
It was not that it was afraid of a mere Arctic fox, but that it felt a strong hostility and murderous intent from the little fox, as if if it took another step forward, it would really fight to the death with it.
As a leader, it understood that this was the look of protecting the family.
However, he had no intention of harming the Arctic fox family.
"Ying!" Enemy beast! Get out!
Yu Yiyun screamed even louder.
Regardless of whether the leader wolf intended to hurt Fox, Yu Yiyun couldn't let it get too close.
Sub-adult foxes are in a critical learning period, and if they are too close to Arctic wolves, which are also members of the Canidae family, they may be easily led astray.
Besides, Arctic wolves are ferocious beasts.
If a conflict occurs, the foxes will have no power to fight back.
Yu Yiyun had been a wolf, and knew very well that wolves socialize through biting and fighting.
Their most common social behavior can kill three foxes with one bite.
My little fool is so confused that if he approaches the wolf pack rashly, he won’t even know how he will die.
“Oh!”
The more Yu Yiyun thought about it, the more dangerous it felt. She bravely took a step forward and confronted the wolf with her small body.
Although the foxes didn't know what was going on, it was the first time they saw their leader get angry. Infected by his ferocious aura, they also followed suit and bared their teeth to drive away the wolf.
The few idiots who were confused just now have realized that they are different from wolves and must stay away from the wolf pack.
The leader wolf heard Yu Yiyun's roar and took a step back.
Even though it was several times stronger than the little fox, it had an inexplicable instinct that it would not gain any advantage by confronting the little fox.
In the war of wolves, if you show cowardice, you lose.
The leader wolf has taken a step back and is at a disadvantage.
Seeing that the opponent was gaining momentum, the leader wolf whimpered softly and turned back to his group.
The fox army successfully drove away the leader wolf and was very proud of themselves, with their tails raised to the sky.
Yu Yiyun looked to the left and then to the right.
Although the abilities of my little loser need to be improved, fortunately, he has never backed down whenever he encountered danger.
If you want to have a place in the Arctic, you must have the courage to face the challenges in the wind and snow.
From this point of view, they are already qualified Arctic foxes!
However, being 'qualified' is not enough.
The Arctic Circle is too uncertain, and only the best 7% can welcome their own spring.
The Arctic foxes are separated from spring by the coldest winter.
In the blink of an eye, it was December, and the nearby coast had already been connected by glaciers, and the surrounding land was covered with thick snow.
Yu Yijun, whose whole body was as white as a cotton candy, pushed aside the ice and snow that almost buried her, and jumped high a few steps, but did not find any lemmings or plateau rabbits.
All the prey nearby hid. The mice and rabbits caught by the Fox Army were not enough to sustain their vital signs. How could they have any extra meat to store as food?
A few foxes were so hungry that they had started to gnaw on grass roots and tree bark.
Fortunately, they are over half a year old and have passed their peak growth period, so it is not so easy for them to starve to death.
Even so, eating grass and gnawing tree bark every day cannot provide the body with enough heat to resist the cold.
They have survived until now, and as long as they can survive the last few cold waves, they will see the dawn. How could Yu Yijun let his younger brothers and sisters suffer from hunger and cold?
“Wu-h-h——”
The youngest sister jumped to her eldest brother and used all her strength to help him push away the snow and look for the frozen corpses under the snow.
Arctic animals have various ways to combat the cold. Although Arctic foxes do not hibernate, they will move to warmer areas before winter comes.
Some Arctic foxes even travel 1,000-2,000 kilometers into the subarctic zone in search of food.
As a result, the two most cold-resistant hunters in the Arctic Circle no longer forage for food here.
The huge polar region turns into a blue ocean in minutes!
Therefore, Yu Yiyun made a decision that went against his ancestors. He did not move to the subarctic zone to compete with other fox groups for food. Instead, he returned to the edge of the land, endured the cold and searched around. Sure enough, he smelled the scent of food.
Two foxes worked together to dig out the snow and found a bird that was "welded" in the snow.
Perhaps because of injury or hunger, it was unable to follow the main group and migrate to a warmer place to spend the winter.
As the cold wave hits, the Arctic turns into a wasteland and birds die silently.
Yu Yiyun patted the bird and comforted it gently.
Don’t be afraid, Fox is here, your death will not be in vain!
The youngest sister was encouraged and wanted to continue digging the snow, but Yu Yiyun stopped her.
The snow was too hard, and after digging for a long time I only dug out a bird. The bird starved to death before it could fill its stomach.
Yu Yiyun raised his head and looked at the glacier that was already frozen solid.
The ice layer here is about 20 centimeters, and there is still flowing sea water underneath.
Many marine mammals must surface to breathe, leaving many breathing holes.
The most common way polar bears hunt seals is to wait next to the breathing holes and wait for the seals to come up to breathe.
The two foxes had limited strength and were unable to catch the seal while taking a breath.
But is it possible to prevent the seal from going into the water while it is breathing?
Yu Yiyun’s idea is great, but it is very difficult to implement.
In winter, the ice surface temperature is much lower than the ocean temperature, and many seals only expose their heads or noses to breathe, and then quickly dive back down.
Even if the seals occasionally come out, they will stay near the breathing hole and go back in when there is a little wind.
Yu Yiyun tried several times in the cold, but could not find any opportunity to strike, and instead froze herself half to death.
Sure enough, hunting seals was too difficult for the little fox.
Yu Yiyun was just about to give up the idea and go back with her youngest sister to dig up animal carcasses to satisfy her hunger.
Just at this moment, there was a "splash" sound from the breathing hole, and a lively seal jumped out and patted its belly happily.
After making sure it was some distance away from the breathing hole, Yu Yiyun gathered all his strength and rushed over like a madman to bite the seal.
The seal was frightened by his momentum and hurriedly ran in the opposite direction, getting farther and farther away from the breathing hole.
While observing the seal, Yu Yiyun glanced at the breathing hole, thinking about how to freeze the hole before the seal returned.
“Woo-oo!”
Suddenly, a flash of white lightning flashed before her eyes. The youngest sister screamed and rushed over, rushing towards the seal without hesitation.
Although she didn't know why her brother was so arrogant as to challenge such a huge beast.
But her brother had already rushed towards the hunting horn, so the youngest sister had no reason to retreat!
The seal was very strong. He turned his head, shook off the youngest sister who was hanging on him, and let her roll away.
Yu Yiyun looked at the marks left by the youngest sister on the snow and realized that he had chosen the wrong opponent.
No matter how much hunting experience it has, the huge size difference makes it impossible for the little fox to turn the seal into prey.
But Yu Yijun is unwilling to give up. He must lead his brothers and sisters to survive the cold winter, and no one in the Fox Legion can be left behind!
“Ouch!”
“Squeak!”
“Chirp!”
Because the eldest and the youngest sister had not come back for a long time, the eight chicks, who had been chewing on lichens and mosses for several days and were in urgent need of meat, rushed over following the smell.
From a distance, I saw Yu Yiyun fighting with a super fat seal.
Although the eight underage foxes didn't know what was happening, they still rushed over, shouting and bravely opened their mouths to bite the seal.
The seal roared fiercely and threw the fox away again. The youngest sister limped back and rushed towards the seal again, risking being bitten to death.
At the same time, Yu Yiyun used the compacted snow and other foreign objects she could find to cause the sea water, which was below zero temperature, to freeze quickly.
Then, using the fluffy snow as camouflage, they cleaned up the traces left by the seal at the breathing hole.
“Hmm——!”
He let out a long bark, calling on his mini Paw Patrol to stop biting.
Seals mainly rely on fat to keep warm and can withstand temperatures as low as -30-40 degrees Celsius.
A well-fed Arctic fox can survive extreme weather conditions as low as minus 70 degrees Celsius.
As night falls over the glacier, the tiny polar hunter slowly approaches its huge prey.
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