Chapter 162 Arctic Fox (Part 2)
In order to maintain the stability of the entire population in extreme environments, Arctic foxes have strong reproductive capabilities.
Animals whose young have a lower survival rate often gamble with nature by increasing their numbers, with probabilities of a few percent or even a few thousandths.
Usually, an Arctic fox couple can give birth to 5-15 cubs per litter, with the highest record reaching more than 20, which crushes most carnivores in nature.
Although only 7% of the cubs survive to the following spring, Arctic foxes are capable of reproduction at 9-11 months old.
In other words, as long as they can survive until spring, the newborn Arctic foxes will be able to become parents and expand the species.
Yu Yiyun's Arctic fox family has a pair of dedicated parents who do their best for their cubs.
Summer is coming to an end and the entire Arctic is about to welcome the polar night starting from the pole.
Miraculously, ten of the 16 cubs born to the parents survived, a remarkable feat in the entire Arctic Circle.
The polar living environment is harsh and there are many natural enemies.
Arctic fox parents must hunt every day to satisfy their children's growing appetite.
Arctic fox pups that are more than four months old have already been weaned, and some foxes are kicked out of their homes at just three months old.
However, a loving mother often spoils her dog, and this litter of foxes still relies on their parents for food.
After waiting for a long time, the fox father finally returned to the nest. The few little foxes closest to him immediately ran over with loud cries.
There was only one portion of food brought back, and the fox cubs would not get any food if they ran slowly.
Not being fed means they have to endure hunger in the snow and ice, and they will have even less energy to fight for food next time, falling into a cycle of hunger.
Every little Arctic fox tries his best to compete for the championship in every life-and-death race.
Yu Yiyun: I’m so hungry, Chunchun, it’s because I didn’t win the race before!
Life is not easy, Foxy sighed.
Before the fox father even got close to the nest, he was surrounded by the cubs. He didn't know whether to feed the lemming in his mouth to the eldest son or the eldest daughter.
He shouted fiercely twice, scolding his children who ran too slowly to get the meat and were so hungry that they kept licking his mouth, almost licking their fox father's mouth until his fur was stripped bare.
"Howl!" Enough, stop making noise!
"Howl!" Isn't it just prey? I'll catch it for you!
After being busy for a while and not having a bite to eat, the fox father turned around resignedly.
Dogs are mostly omnivorous animals, while wild Arctic foxes mainly feed on lemmings and birds, and in extreme cases they will also eat fruits to satisfy their hunger.
At the end of summer, birds that have flown to the Arctic to breed begin to hatch. The chicks gradually grow full-fledged wings and spread their wings when they encounter natural enemies.
Since Arctic foxes can't catch flying birds, they can only turn their attention to lemmings.
Lemmings are numerous, small and flexible, with an average weight of 30-120 grams.
Arctic fox cubs, more than four months old, are in the most vigorous growth stage, gaining 30-40 grams every day.
The fat utilization rate of the little fox is as high as 90%, so it can absorb enough calories from meat food and convert them into energy in the body.
This means that fox parents must provide at least 1-2 lemmings for each cub every day to ensure that the cubs grow healthily.
Even though the fox father devoted all his energy to hunting, the burden of the family still weighed heavily on him, and he was so worried that he couldn't even grow new fur.
The fox father jumped out a few steps anxiously and saw a fox cub squatting next to him, but he did not rush over to fight for the food.
He moved his nose, sniffed the scent, and recognized that this was the smallest cub in the den.
The food that the fox father and mother can find is limited, and the cubs at home fight fiercely for it.
The prey brought back was too little, and only the strongest cubs could eat the meat. The weaker cubs could not compete with other foxes, and could not eat if the prey was not enough.
Before today, the cub had not eaten for two whole days.
"Ah." The fox father called out.
He and the mother fox hunted even harder, hoping to feed at least one lemming or chick to the cubs.
The living conditions of wild animals are cruel and do not allow parents to treat their children equally.
They must feed the children who are most active in grabbing food first to ensure that they are healthy, strong and able to cope with the tests of nature.
The remaining mercy will be distributed to the cubs that are marked to be naturally eliminated.
Most of the time in the Arctic, there is no discernible change from day to night.
The exception is around the autumnal equinox, when areas near the edge of polar glaciers experience brief sunsets.
Today is almost over.
The fox father still hasn’t caught enough food. The weakest cub must continue to endure hunger... right?
"Oh~" Daddy~
Yu Yiyun blinked and saw Fox Father walking towards her. She called out to him in a low voice like a thief, motioning him to come over to her.
"Howl?" cub?
The fox father recognized the cub's call, avoided the other cubs, approached with a strong sense of security, and helped the cub to tidy up its fur with great affection.
The fox father secretly decided: I must work harder today and catch at least one lemming to feed my cubs.
Halfway through the vows of eternal love, Yu Yiyun took out the whale meat she had just brought back, bit off a small piece and fed it to her fox father.
"Oh oh!" Eat quickly, don't get discovered!
Before the fox father could react, his mouth opened and closed and the whale meat had already gone into his stomach.
His eyes lit up. It had been a long time since he had eaten such fresh and delicious meat!
"Bing bing!" Stop talking nonsense! Eat quickly!
Yu Yiyun fed the second piece of whale meat to the fox father, feeding him until he was 70% full like a duck, then tore off a piece of meat the size of a lemming and asked the fox father to take it back and pretend it was prey.
After witnessing the fate of his father, the clever little fox immediately gave up the idea of feeding his brothers and sisters.
Yu Yijun has taken care of countless cubs, and she knows only too well how terrifying it can be when the cubs fight for food.
There is not enough meat to go around, and the kids who didn't get to eat it will definitely not let go of the "meal ticket".
His hair hasn't grown out yet, so his lips can't be licked bald.
After a while, the mother fox also brought a lemming back to the nest.
No one knew where she was injured. She was moving very slowly and the tip of her tail was shorter, probably bitten off during hunting.
Yu Yiyun used the same method to summon the fox mother and fed her a piece of whale meat.
The mother fox has a strong maternal instinct. Even if she gets a small piece of whale meat, she will run back to feed it to her cub.
Yu Yiyun made a sharp roar, threatening and tempting, and finally allowed the fox mother to eat half full.
No matter what life he had, Yu Yiyun was never good at catching prey. The remaining whale meat was obviously not enough to feed nine gluttons.
Fortunately, the fox father and mother have enough food, so with them around, the family will not be broken up for the time being.
As for the whale meat... Yu Yijun thought about it and concluded that if it wasn't discovered by other bears, the remains of the narwhal would be enough for the mother bear to enjoy for about a week.
Foxes are small canines that are good at cleaning tarsal meat.
Even if the mother bear left, the remains would be enough for him to gnaw on for three to five days.
The question is, what happens after eating the whale?
As the cold wave gradually spread, the Arctic Ocean was freezing at a rate of more than 50,000 square kilometers per day.
At first, a thin, greasy film of water will appear on the sea surface, then turn into a brittle ice crust.
The ice layers are connected to each other, and the vast Arctic Ocean will be frozen again.
In 2022, the area of Arctic glaciers reached its maximum value since satellite records began, reaching 14.88 million square kilometers, which is 46 times larger than the area of Europe.
After the ocean freezes, killer whales, who need to float to the surface to breathe, will definitely leave the frozen sea early.
Even if Yu Yijun could use all kinds of whale language to act cute, it would be impossible for her to get food from Fat Tiger.
really.
No matter what kind of animal you become, hunting is always a compulsory course.
Yu Yiyun was full of confidence, made up her mind, and then...
He nibbled on the whale remains for three days with great relish.
It’s fun to get something for free, but it’s always fun to get it for free!
The little fox has been hungry for so long, only when he is full can he have the strength to hunt~
The ice floe was far away from polar bear habitat and had not been discovered by other bears.
With the mother bear guarding them, carnivores in the tundra dared not approach, allowing the two bears to miraculously enjoy the prey all to themselves.
After replenishing enough fat, Yu Yiyun dragged and hauled the last piece of whale meat back to the nest, and started his main mission: hunting!
Yu Yiyun had been to the Arctic, but had never been above sea level, so she had to familiarize herself with the surrounding environment from scratch.
The nest where the little fox lives is located on a hilly slope. The inside of the nest is well connected and very warm.
Not far from Chaoxue, there is a seaside cliff.
Although the temperature in the Arctic is low, the sunshine hours in summer are much longer than in other regions, which is conducive to the crazy growth of lichens and mosses, attracting many birds to come here to hatch their chicks.
For example, snow geese, white cranes, barnacle geese...
Before the chicks learn to fly, Arctic foxes are their biggest threat.
Some birds will "plant" their eggs in crevices high up on cliffs, and some birds will use abandoned nests of snow hares to hide their eggs to prevent Arctic foxes from stealing them.
The Arctic fox's claws do not bloom and its climbing ability is poor, so most of the time it can only look at the eggs and sigh.
If you want to catch birds, you must hunt them when the young birds have not yet learned to fly and can only walk on the ground.
Once the birds spread their wings, the Arctic foxes pose no threat to them at all.
How could the birds have imagined that among the Arctic fox group, there would be an oddball who had lived in the mountains in his previous life, had been a bird in his previous life, and who had liked to rob bird nests in every life?
Yu Yiyun came to the side of the cliff, looked at the bird feathers all over the mountain, and climbed up to a high place with his claws.
After turning over several bird nests, he actually found a nest hidden very deep inside, with four bird eggs neatly lying inside.
Snow geese, which are good at laying eggs on cliffs, are monogamous and raise their young together every year, with a high hatching rate.
However, anyone who has worked with birds knows that no matter how high the hatching rate is, it can never be 100%.
There are too many reasons why young birds cannot hatch. Even if everything goes well in the early stages, if the adult bird dies in the mouth of a predator, the eggs will completely lose the possibility of hatching.
By now, the other snow geese have successfully hatched and spread their wings in preparation for migration. The eggs in this nest have become completely cold, and it seems that the parents are unable to hatch them.
Yu Yiyun took the bird egg in her mouth and climbed down the mountain happily to give it to her parents.
The mother fox cracked open the shell, and the baby bird inside already had its embryonic form, but unfortunately it would never have the chance to spread its wings.
The little fox searched all over the rock and brought back all the eggs that had not hatched.
At the end, the fox parents simply gave up hunting lemmings and just squatted below waiting for their children to drop the bird eggs.
After digging out the bird's nest, the polar night circle spread southward, almost surrounding them.
While he could still see, Yu Yiyun used unfrozen sea water to clean his claws that were stained with bird poop and decided to explore the land.
Most of the area around the Arctic Ocean is permafrost, with the thickest permafrost layer exceeding 600 meters.
The permafrost stores a large amount of carbon dioxide. As the world warms, the permafrost gradually melts, releasing a large amount of carbon sources.
The permafrost layer can fix moisture, regulate temperature and supply nutrients, nourishing plants unique to the polar regions and forming unique polar tundra and alpine meadow landforms.
With the presence of plants, herbivores have evolved characteristics to adapt to the cold environment and have thrived in this bitter and cold land.
There are so many tenacious lives throughout the Arctic Circle.
Yu Yiyun stepped on the floating ice between islands and jumped over several isolated islands.
Then they used the floating ice as a boat, paddled through the water with their claws, and successfully reached the nearest land.
The little fox climbed onto the shore and first found an underground nest to warm his paws which were about to freeze into popsicles.
I originally planned to take a nap first and regain my energy before hunting.
As a result, Yu Yiyun heard some strange rustling sounds while still in a daze, and opened her eyes alertly.
Three seconds later, a furry thing poked its head into the cave and stared at the little fox.
The body odor of a four or five-month-old fox cub is very light. In addition, Yu Yijun has been exposed to the wind for so long and has not eaten for a long time, so the original carnivore smell is almost blown away.
The furry creature obviously had no social experience and thought that everyone in the nest was of the same kind, so it came in without any sense of crisis, shaking its ears and showing off its long legs.
Yu Yiyun didn't make a sound, but moved to the side and recognized it with the help of the faint light.
The Arctic hare is a giant, long-legged rabbit.
An adult Arctic hare can reach 70 centimeters in length and weigh more than ten kilograms, almost as much as an Arctic fox.
Coupled with their powerful jumping and running abilities, and strong claws, many Arctic foxes dare not rashly take the powerful Arctic hare as prey.
The little fox secretly looked at the Arctic hare and thought:
The rabbit is so big, no wonder I can fit into the nest.
The Arctic is home to many giant animals, and rabbits are fatter than those in other places, so why are foxes so small?
Before Yu Yijun could figure it out, the Arctic hare had already approached her.
Arctic hares are social animals, usually living in groups of dozens to hundreds.
Moreover, the rabbits do not live in a fixed nest, and there is no fixed number of rabbits in one nest.
The rabbit that came in thought that he had a new roommate today, and shook his cute ears to say hello.
Then.
It's so cute!
Yu Yiyun is only five months old, still a cub, and is smaller than an Arctic hare.
Under normal circumstances, it is difficult for him to catch the Arctic hare that can run and jump.
But it is another matter if a rabbit approaches you with trust and easily exposes its neck and abdomen.
Yu Yiyun quickly bit the rabbit to death and licked its neck, feeling a little pain in his conscience as big as a needle tip.
"Oh." Rabbit.
"Oh oh." If I become a fox in my next life, I will definitely be a good friend of yours!
After wailing his last words of mourning, the little fox couldn't wait to tear open the animal skin and enjoy the delicious meal.
Youth has no price, and Pengtu melts in your mouth.
Yu Yiyun ate the plump and sturdy Arctic hare for two and a half days.
On the third day, Yu Yiyun cleaned up his body odor in the same way. He rolled around a few times in the places where the rabbits often appeared, and then crawled into the rabbit nest when the light was dim.
Sure enough, the Arctic hare was caught off guard and came in without hesitation to deliver the takeaway.
In the narrow cave, the Arctic hare's jumping ability and strong hind legs cannot be fully utilized, and it easily becomes the prey of small predators.
The fox got the new hunting strategy and was so happy that his tail was lifted up.
With the huge number of the rabbit family, I will definitely not starve!
The fox who is the best at cosplaying as a rabbit in the entire Arctic walks sideways with an arrogant attitude, without caring about his relatives.
Not long after walking, the little fox heard a earth-shaking noise and instantly became quiet.
The temperature in the Arctic Circle is low, and the plants are mainly lichens and mosses. It takes hundreds of years for ordinary trees to grow into low trees, and there is no way for the little fox to climb up to take shelter.
Hearing the noise, Yu Yiyun didn't even dare to go over to see what was happening. She was so scared that she immediately hid far away, stretching her neck and trying to watch.
Because the nights and days are very long in the Arctic Circle, the Arctic fox has to adapt to the environment. Its eyesight is not outstanding among dogs, but it is good at capturing dynamic objects.
In the distance, he saw a blurry dot running towards him. It looked like an old musk ox.
Musk oxen have thick and dense fur, which is eight times that of other animals of the same species and can withstand extreme cold environments of minus 50 degrees Celsius.
The base of its horns is very thick, like a hard helmet buckled on the head, mainly used to protect the head from being smashed when competing for mates during the breeding season.
Yu Yiyun had seen tropical buffaloes, temperate yaks, and cold-zone bison, but this was the first time she saw polar cattle.
No matter what kind of bull it is, they are all fierce fighters.
It let out a long roar to alert its companions to stay away from danger, and then it spread its hooves and led away the hunters - a group of wolves chasing after the bison.
Arctic wolf, also known as white wolf.
They are almost entirely white, have thick fur, sharp teeth, and possess strong attack power and teamwork abilities.
The leading male wolf was obviously the leader of the pack, with sharp eyes. He followed the musk ox closely, risking being kicked away.
The other wolves obeyed the leader's decision, baring their teeth and growling softly, trying to scare the prey with the sound.
Judging from the sound, this is a powerful wolf pack.
The other musk oxen wanted to rescue their companions, but they were unable to defeat the powerful wolf pack. They cried anxiously and pawed the ground with their hooves.
Wolves are best at chasing each other, and the old musk ox is already exhausted, so the outcome is obvious.
The musk ox had a premonition of being eaten and was unwilling to become prey.
It stopped and turned around unexpectedly, intending to kill at least one of the enemy beasts with its horns.
The moment it stopped, several sharp and crisp howls were heard from behind.
The musk ox didn't understand.
The wolves understood.
The signal was simple and powerful, a code used by my relatives living in North America, and it was only sent by the alpha wolf.
The leader wolf hesitated for 0.5 seconds, but still followed the unfamiliar instructions, changed direction and went around to the rear to avoid the frontal attack of the musk ox.
The musk ox missed its target and before it could launch a second attack, the voice rang out again, commanding the wolves to launch a group attack.
The wolves work in perfect harmony and already know where to position themselves when hunting musk oxen.
The musk ox felt the pain and shook its head from side to side in despair.
At the end of life, it sees its enemies clearly.
An Arctic fox, only five months old, can kick a hundred meters away with just the slightest movement of its hooves.
It squats quietly in the distance, and without getting close, it can easily get a generous reward through its terrifying decision-making ability.
The wolves successfully hunted the musk ox and felt a little dazed.
The hunt was easier than they had imagined, and no wolves were injured.
Moreover, all the wolves clearly remembered that the final howl of this hunt was not blown by the leader.
The wolf pack members looked at their leader in confusion. The young leader also looked confused and raised his head to look around.
It followed the direction of its memory and saw an Arctic fox running away, so it started chasing after it.
Yu Yiyun didn't expect that the group of big dogs were not in a hurry to eat the cow, but instead targeted himself.
The Arctic fox is a small canine. Even if it can run faster than a wolf, its endurance is much worse, not to mention that Yu Yijun is still a cub.
After just two laps, Yu Yijun was caught up by the leader wolf, panting and barking loudly in anger.
"Ah!" What's wrong with you, dog!
"Ahhh!" I was kind enough to help you catch the cow, but you chased me!
When the leader wolf heard him barking like a dog in anger and looked at the little fox's overly small body, he became even more confused.
The little Bi Ga in front of him can use the common commands of the wolf clan and howl like a wolf. In theory, he should be an excellent wolf.
But judging by his appearance...
Do wolves have such small relatives? Dwarfs?
"Ahhh!" I'm angry. Unless you share the meat with me, there's no way to appease me!
The leader wolf didn't understand Yu Yiyun's nonsense. As they were both canines, their way of begging for food was similar.
The strong leader wolf turned around and looked at the musk ox that weighed nearly a thousand pounds and could crush the little fox to death with one hoof. He then looked at the little thing in front of him that was as angry as a puffer fish, but whose bulging chest was still only the size of a tiny thing.
After thinking for a while, the leader wolf remembered that he had encountered similar creatures before.
It lowered its head and searched around for a few times, then quickly grabbed a lemming and put it in front of Yu Yiyun, nudging it with the tip of its nose.
"Woof." Eat it.
The scene was as if the adults were preparing to eat, and when they heard the baby crying, they prepared some baby food for him.
The little fox slowly lowered his head and looked at the lemming that was pushed in front of him, and was so angry that he almost blushed.
"Ah!" You eat the beef yourself and give me the rat!
"Ah!" How can there be such a stingy wolf? I won't help you hunt next time!
The leader wolf still didn't understand and asked him blankly if he wanted to eat.
"Ying!" Eat!
[Iron Bones.jpg]
No matter how small a lemming is, it is still meat. Yu Yiyun lowered her head in humiliation and picked up the lemming, following the wolves' eating broadcast in the distance, imagining the taste of beef, and ate the lemming clean.
So delicious!
Yu Yiyun lived on land for several days and even felt reluctant to leave.
On land, there are rabbits delivered to your door, dogs that catch lemmings with automatic voice control, and occasionally you can dig out unhatched bird eggs.
Where is the Arctic Circle?
It’s obviously Foxy’s comfort zone!
No matter how perfect life on land is, Yu Yiyun will eventually have to return to the island where she lives.
I've been out for a while, and the fox dad and mom definitely can't keep up with this glutton×9. No matter how much they spoil their cubs, it's time to clean up the mess.
Counting the days, the little foxes have reached the stage where they can hunt independently and prepare for future survival.
As the big brother (self-proclaimed), Yu Yiyun must lead the Fox Squad to become the most powerful hunting team in the entire Arctic!
With great hopes for the future, Yu Yiyun returns to the Fox Family's island along the same path she came from.
There were more floating ice on the coast, so Yu Yiyun didn't need to use his paws to row the boat.
The closer you get to the island, the more the sea glaciers become connected, and even the island is almost covered with ice.
The day Yu Yiyun returned to Fox Island, the sun set and never rose again.
Looking up and looking over the top of the mountain, you can see the aurora that is so bright and gorgeous that it is difficult to describe in words.
The first night of the fox's life has arrived.
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