Chapter 23 South China Tiger (Twenty-three)
Yu Yiyun followed her mother closely and witnessed the whole process of her forcing the poachers to retreat. She was deeply shocked by the scene before her.
From a human perspective, when a tiger gets angry, it makes the entire forest tremble, which is really shocking.
However, Yu Yiyun's focus was not there.
As Hu Hu, who lives with his mother day and night, can already guess Kang Kang's mental journey from his behavior.
Almost all tigers are afraid of humans. Some tigers even give up their claws and are domesticated by humans to become pets or circus employees.
Even when encountered in the wild, tigers rarely choose to attack humans, but instead stay away from them.
'Stay away from the terrifying upright ape', as if it is the instinct of wild animals to seek benefits and avoid harm.
What’s more, the South China tiger was once hunted to extinction by humans, and Kang Kang experienced a brutal poaching incident and almost lost his life.
The first time she spotted traces of poachers, she chose to stay away from them, which was in line with the nature of wild animals.
It's all because of those hunters who didn't know what was good for them and repeatedly challenged the authority of the Lord of the Jungle.
Kang Kang: I just gave you face.
She was indeed afraid of humans, but after two consecutive offenses by poachers, her pride as a tiger prevailed.
Even though he knew there was danger, the tiger still chose to defend the mountains that belonged to him and thousands of lives.
——This is our territory, you won’t be allowed to run wild.
“Ahhhh!”
The tiger cubs circled around their mother, spinning around excitedly and praising her crazily.
If Kang Kang could understand the flattery his kid was spouting, he would definitely cover his mouth and interrupt this public execution.
The two tigers squatted there and waited until they were sure that the poachers had rolled down the mountain, then they slowly stood up.
Kang Kang hooked the tiger cub with his tail and planned to move forward.
The little tiger obviously had his own ideas. He howled at his mother twice and ran cautiously to the trap.
After making sure there were no other ambushes around, he kicked his hind legs and kicked the surrounding loose soil into the pit.
Even if there are no traps in the pit, animals that are not good at climbing can easily get trapped if they fall into such a small and deep pit.
Either they starve to death or are eaten by birds and beasts.
Even if Yu Yiyun wanted to get something for nothing, she was not willing to take advantage of such a dirty opportunity.
Kang Kang watched from the side for a while and finally understood Baobei's intention. He joined him in filling the trap.
After filling it, the two tigers returned the same way and filled the other hole.
The little fat tiger jumped around on it and stepped firmly to make sure no animal would fall in.
After doing all this, the tiger cub raised his head proudly, and felt that the white scarf at the collar was more colorful.
Yu Yiyun naturally thought that the poacher leader had fallen into the pit and was bitten on the butt by the trap, and that the injury must be quite serious and he would not be able to do anything bad for a while.
As the saying goes, it is difficult to change one's nature, so Yu Yiyun did not expect him to change his ways and become a good person.
Moreover, even if those people retired from the underworld, there are still countless poaching gangs watching over the Qinling Mountains.
He had been a human being and knew how greedy the human heart could be.
When the profit reaches 200%, some people will still take the risk even if they know it is against justice.
Not to mention poaching, a way of making money that has zero cost, high returns, and has not been punishable by death so far.
No matter how severe the crackdown is, it still persists.
If you want poachers to stop completely, you must let them know:
No cost is the biggest cost.
The next few days were calm.
The poaching gang did not appear again, and the tiger cub gradually relaxed its vigilance and celebrated its first birthday in sunny weather.
After repeated confirmation and inference, Yu Yiyun finally narrowed down the range of her birthday to within three days.
The Hu Hu family didn’t have a calendar, so even if they asked their mother, it would be hard to get an exact date.
But it doesn’t matter, who says a kitten’s birthday can’t last for three consecutive days?
According to the average lifespan, one tiger year is equivalent to seven human years, so it is reasonable to celebrate the birthday week.
The greedy pig found a suitable reason to celebrate his birthday for three consecutive days and went out hunting happily.
It just so happened that Kang Kang found a good place to settle down. There was lush vegetation nearby, all kinds of prey, and leafy trees as cover.
The tiger cub was rubbing its claws, its confidence index was overflowing, and it even ignored the goral and insisted on hunting a goat weighing more than 100 kilograms.
Goats that can grow to over 100 kilograms in the tiger's territory are not easy to deal with.
They run very fast and can climb walls and jump over rooftops. After shaking off the hunters, they will leave behind "Maltesers" as a provocation.
During the first few days after Yu Yijun arrived in Hedong, he suffered many losses from goats, so he became more cautious.
The tiger held his breath, locked onto a hungry goat, and attacked with all his might.
The goat was prepared. As soon as its skin was hooked by the tiger's claws, it immediately performed a nimble "kite flip" and turned around to run towards the open jungle.
As long as the goats are in the open jungle with many routes leading to all directions, they will have many escape routes and it will be easier for them to get rid of the tiger cubs.
"Ahhh!" Yu Yijun immediately spread out his short legs and chased after it relentlessly.
joke!
It would be fine if I failed in normal hunting, but this was my birthday present, a symbol of my becoming a tiger!
Even though the chase was not in his favor, the tiger cub was determined to give it a try.
I still remember that half a month ago, the tiger killed the buffalo alone, and won through a chase.
The tiger king often engaged in chase battles and never avoided his weaknesses, no matter how hard the wind was against him, so his hunting success rate was not as good as Mulan's.
The tiger is the only one that can kill a buffalo weighing thousands of pounds alone. Even if the hunting success rate is only a few percent, it does not have to worry about going hungry.
The tiger cub thought of the bison meat he had last time and drooled with envy.
Yu Yiyun was thinking about some random things in her mind. When she came to her senses, she found that the goat had run far away, and it had arrogantly scattered marshmallows all over the ground.
"Aoao!" The tiger cub roared twice in frustration, but there was nothing he could do. He turned around and planned to go back the same way to choose a new birthday present.
The moment he turned around, Yu Yiyun subconsciously stopped and caught a glimpse of danger.
I was too focused on chasing the goat just now.
So when he reacted, he smelled a slight human scent and a faint smell of gunpowder.
Human body odor is relatively light, and when Yu Yiyun is able to detect it, it means they are very close.
In an instant, there was only one thought in my mind: run!
The question is, where to run?
This time, the tiger cub did not get lost and could identify the direction it came from by smell.
However, there was a human presence there, approaching him.
Not only that, in several other directions, one could smell the scent of humans and gunpowder, and even vaguely hear their conversations.
"Where's the walkie-talkie? Talk to the other guys. Try not to shoot or use traps. This little guy is a pet reserved by a rich man. If he's disabled, he won't be able to sell for a good price."
"Don't worry, we are all veterans in this business. It's a multi-million dollar business, who in the industry doesn't want to get a piece of the pie?"
"We brothers should be clear about the accounts. If we catch that tiger, how will the reward be divided?"
"We'll follow the rules. The person who catches the criminal will get the lion's share, and the rest will be divided equally. Everyone will get a reward for their hard work."
“…”
A tiger's hearing is several times better than that of a human. Even though the poachers were lying in ambush in the distance, Yu Yiyun could still hear their conversation clearly.
I'm afraid the poachers didn't expect that this tiger could actually understand human language.
The current situation is very unfavorable for Yu Yiyun.
The poachers have a clear target, they are targeting me.
Judging from their tone, it seems that the most successful poaching gangs on the road have gathered here today.
Yu Yiyun: “…”
Help!
Is there anyone who can call the police for me?!!!
——It’s true.
Poaching activities in the Qinling Mountains are becoming increasingly rampant, seriously affecting the local natural ecology.
There were also daring hunters who dug traps at the door of Guoyi's house, a blatant provocation to the police.
You know, the "Return of the Tigers" plan is the result of the efforts of more than three generations.
The country also provides support at all costs and has designated an unprecedented scale of protected areas for this purpose. One can imagine how much importance it attaches to it.
The South China tiger, also known as the "Chinese tiger", is a subspecies unique to our country. From ancient times to the present, there are countless poems, idioms and legends about it.
No one wants to see the Chinese tiger become extinct in China, or become extinct in our generation.
In recent months, relevant departments have stepped up patrols and closely monitored the movements of poaching teams.
One of the poaching teams was discovered as soon as they reached the mountain.
The police who were responsible for monitoring the conversation heard that they had accomplices who were preparing to do something "big", so they did not alert the enemy.
At this moment, a dragnet has been laid in the mountains and forests, waiting to catch these "poaching industry champions" in one fell swoop.
The little fat tiger, who was besieged by a poaching gang, had no idea of these details.
Realizing that all his escape routes were blocked, the tiger cub had no choice but to resort to the same old trick and climb up a big tree to take refuge.
If the poachers were not targeting him but any other tiger, the clever little fat tiger might be able to find a loophole and escape successfully.
It just so happened that this group of poachers targeted Little Fat Tiger and of course they had investigated his information in advance.
Yu Yiyun only knew that famous people are prone to gossip, but she didn't expect that tigers are also prone to gossip.
He is now the undisputed top star in the tiger world, and he can be on the hot search list whenever there is any movement. He also has several "million direct shots" and a large "cloud parents" fan base.
After leaving Mulan's territory, every time the official announced the latest news about Little Fat Tiger, it would receive hundreds of thousands of reposts, comments and likes, and its popularity was comparable to that of a popular star.
With such high attention, poaching gangs can get news like "Little Fat Tiger is very good at climbing trees" just by moving their fingers.
Seeing the little tiger climbing up the tree, the poachers no longer hid but stood out to watch.
"Oh, this is the first time I've seen a tiger climb a tree. It's pretty impressive."
"He discovered us, but he knew how to hide. He's quite smart."
"Can a tiger that is priced at several million be an ordinary tiger?"
"I heard that this tiger is spiritual. Some people call him the Tiger God."
"What era is this? What gods or no gods? It's just feudal superstition. If you ask me, this tiger is stupid. We have surrounded him, why don't you call his mother over here?"
--really.
After Yu Yiyun discovered the poachers' traces, he never made another sound.
He was well aware of the cunningness of human beings, and he also knew that it would be difficult to escape by relying on his own strength.
Even so, Yu Yiyun remained silent, fearing that her mother would be called over.
Kang Kang is afraid of poachers.
Moreover, she had intimidated the poachers once before, so there was no guarantee that the other party would not hold a grudge.
This group of people dared to choose Guoyi as their hunting target, so they must have been well prepared and were not afraid of losing another tiger's life.
Yu Yiyun climbed higher, trying to avoid the crowd under the tree, while looking around, thinking about whether there was any way to escape.
Xiaohu was a little anxious and misjudged his own weight and the bearing capacity of the branch.
With a sound of "crack", the branch under his feet was stepped on and broke, causing Hu Hu's legs to go weak and he almost slipped.
The hunters under the tree were all happy and laughing.
They thought it was interesting and were not in a hurry to catch the tiger.
He slowly spread a large net under the tree, waiting for the little tiger to fall down by himself, and then he would pull the net in and catch him alive.
"Hey, little guy."
The hunter whistled.
"If you can't hold on any longer, jump down. Uncle will take you to a good place."
"Brother, you use this tone of voice to coax a child, making us look like child traffickers."
"He is only one year old. Isn't this child trafficking? Little boy, be good and obedient. Uncle won't hurt you~"
"Hahaha!"
The poachers gathered together and watched the little tiger hiding in the tree canopy, clinging tightly to the tree trunk and dodging here and there in a panic, as if it was playing with some fun toy.
Yu Yijun missed a step just now and was so scared that he retracted his claws and carefully changed direction.
He raised his eyes and accidentally glanced at the direction he came from, and was immediately frightened and broke out in a cold sweat.
"Ah! Ahhh!"
The tiger cub yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice containing some pleading tone.
However, his prayers were in vain.
An orange figure followed the scent left by the tiger cub and ran over without hesitation.
It’s mom.
“Roar! Roar!”
The tiger cub roared anxiously, trying to stop its mother.
Kang Kang seemed to be deaf, as determined as a soldier about to step onto the battlefield.
The tiger cub, which had been quiet all the time, suddenly cried out, and the poacher realized something was wrong.
There was a sharp-eyed hunter who saw Kang Kang running towards him from afar and was so scared that he asked the gang leader for help.
"Boss, the big tiger is coming!"
The chief disagreed and said lightly, "Just fire two shots, even tigers will be afraid of that."
"Okay!"
"Snap! Snap!"
Two gunshots were heard in succession in the silent jungle, and the birds on the branches flew away in a hurry.
The smell of smoke from the fire scattered the surrounding wild animals, causing them to flee in panic.
In the chaos, only Kang Kang did not retreat at all and continued to run towards his son firmly.
Yu Yiyun was so anxious that she was turning around in the tree. She wanted to get a tiger language translator, hang it on Kang Kang's ear, and beg her not to come over.
Although he was surrounded, the situation was not particularly bad.
From what the poachers said, it seemed that they were planning to buy him abroad as a pet.
Since the 'financial sponsor' specifically requested a pet, they would definitely not shoot themselves.
Yu Yiyun has enough room to maneuver.
Even if the negotiation fails, you can still find a way to escape during the transportation process or find an opportunity to seek help from the embassy when you are abroad.
Kang Kang suddenly rushed out, it is very likely that -
"Boss, the gun is useless!"
"Stupid, do you need me to teach you? If it doesn't work, just shoot her. What if you don't know how to use the weapon in your hand?"
Nearby, another group of people said hesitantly, "That's a South China tiger. What if we kill it? I heard that last year, several poachers who accidentally injured South China tigers were sentenced to 20 years in prison in the first instance."
"It's only 20 years, it's not a death sentence." The leader took a puff of his cigarette and said cruelly, "Besides, our hunting target this time is the South China tiger. What's the harm in having one more? We might as well kill that one too. The tiger teeth and tiger skin can be sold for a good price."
After a few seconds of silence, the leader said regretfully, "It's a pity that she's a female tiger and doesn't have a tiger whip..."
Before he could finish his words, the little tiger who had been hiding in the tree suddenly jumped down and bit his shoulder hard.
The leader screamed, covered his bloody shoulder and shouted, "Fuck! Catch him! Don't let that beast get away!"
Hearing the noise, the various heavily armed poaching gangs lying in ambush under the trees all rushed out.
The tiger cub stopped and laid on the ground with its front legs.
At this moment, he no longer cared about any maneuvers or detours.
How could Yu Yiyun still have any sense when she heard the fat and big-eared poacher say smugly that he wanted to skin her mother and soak her in wine?
Only when you experience it yourself will you realize that such behavior is unforgivable for animals.
"Roar!" Xiaohu let out the most ferocious roar.
"Hey, I was planning to climb up and grab you, but I didn't expect you to fall into my trap."
"Where's my nine-section whip? The sponsor only said that all four limbs must be intact, but he didn't say that I can't beat him."
The person who was speaking had just pulled out the whip when, accompanied by a terrifying roar, the tiger described in the poem as "a long roar like thunder, with its domineering power shaking the nine rivers" suddenly flew over, grabbed the whip and threw the person far away.
Kang Kang is well aware of the horror of poachers, and knows that if he and his cubs fight them, they will be in great danger.
Without even a moment's pause, she picked up the tiger cub and was about to leave.
Unfortunately, I was still a step too slow.
In order to capture the tiger cub alive, the industry's "top" poaching gangs cooperated, and several small minions who wanted to get a piece of the pie came along to help.
Before taking action, they had already blocked all retreat routes to ensure that nothing could go wrong.
Moreover, in order to guard against the big tiger, everyone carried a suitable weapon.
Kang Kang was holding the tiger cub in his mouth. As soon as he turned around, he found himself surrounded.
She changed direction. There was a big net spread out over there. If she rushed over, she would be caught.
Kang Kang dug his claws into the ground and roared threateningly.
“Ahhhh!”
Yu Yiyun shouted anxiously, wanting her mother to leave her alone and leave here quickly.
Poachers will not kill tiger cubs for profit, but Kang Kang is different.
Adult female tigers are no longer old enough to be domesticated and raised, and are more difficult to smuggle.
They would most likely skin and bone Kang Kang as they said.
Yu Yiyun was so angry that she was shaking all over. She would rather die than see that kind of scene.
He would rather his mother abandon him, return to the jungle, and continue her life.
Anyway, it is normal for female tigers in the wild not to be able to raise their babies.
——But Kang Kang has tried his best to raise him.
——Obviously, after today, the tiger cub will be one year old.
Yu Yiyun felt so sad that she wanted to cry when she thought that she might not be able to spend her first birthday with her mother.
Perhaps, there really is such a thing as a mother-child bond in this world.
Kang Kang seemed to sense the tiger cub's emotions and lowered his head to lick his eyes.
Then, as if she had made up her mind, she raised her head high and let out a long, distant howl.
"roar--!"
Yu Yiyun clung tightly to her mother's arms, not knowing what such a roar meant.
It doesn't sound like marking territory, nor does it sound like preparing for a fight.
Even Yu Yiyun didn't understand, let alone the hunters.
They were afraid of the big tiger and did not dare to fight it at close range.
The leader's shoulder was bitten badly, the blood could not be stopped from flowing out, and he soon went into shock.
The tiger cub is already one year old, and its teeth are much sharper than when it was a cub. It can easily tear animal skins and of course pierce human blood vessels.
When the hunting team encountered such a change, they didn't know who to follow for a while.
They held the guns, their hands on the triggers, but they were afraid to press down.
The sponsor offered several million for the wild South China tiger, and she pounced on the big tiger and hugged her tightly.
If they accidentally shot Xiaohu, the deal would be ruined.
In case they can’t get the money, they don’t have the funds to flee abroad.
Hunting is a serious crime and you will have to spend at least half of your life in prison.
"Everyone listen to me. Separate the big ones from the small ones first. Kill the big ones and capture the small ones alive!"
"Yes, this is the only way now!"
"The question is, how do you separate them?"
"Let's go around to the back first...wait, can this little one understand us?"
The poachers conspired loudly and were about to take action when they discovered that the little tiger was one step faster than them and used his body to protect the big tiger.
Even though they thought it was ridiculous, they still thought, 'Isn't it possible that he can understand?'
grass!
Could it be that I really encountered the Tiger God?
Kang Kang let out three long roars in succession, and looked around at the crowd with his animal eyes.
Yu Yiyun has studied tigers for many years and has been a tiger for more than half a year, but this is the first time she has seen such strong emotions in a tiger's eyes.
——hatred.
Kang Kang took an offensive stance, not for hunting.
But to avenge.
This is the revenge of the king of beasts.
The poachers who had been clamoring and shouting to kill the tigress just now met her eyes and were frightened and became as quiet as a chicken.
Yu Yiyun understood her mother's determination and also showed a fierce look, intending to depend on her and fight side by side.
They never expected that there would be more than just the two Tigers fighting side by side this time.
"roar--!!!"
A tiger roar that shook the mountains and forests came from the distance, as if responding to Kang Kang.
The tiger was very fast, as fast as lightning, and appeared behind the crowd accompanied by thunder.
Several poachers panicked instantly, fell to the ground in fear, and waved their long knives wildly, trying to drive the tiger away.
The sharp knife scratched the tiger's skin, but the tiger seemed to feel no pain or fear.
Facing the blade, the sharp claws ruthlessly penetrated into the hunter's body.
“Help, help!”
Screams rang out one after another.
"I don't dare anymore, let go...ah!!!"
At the same time, Kang Kang seized the opportunity and pounced forward.
Yu Yijun was stunned for a few seconds. He couldn't understand why the tiger appeared here?
But he didn't have time to think, he pounced over and bit the hand that was aiming at the tiger's head and preparing to pull the trigger.
The long tiger roar spread among the mountains and forests.
Shen Yu and Qin An, who followed the police up the mountain, looked at each other breathlessly.
Qin An: "That sound is so scary, is it Kang Kang?"
Chen Yu: "No, it sounds like a mountain lord."
"Huh? How come even Tiger is involved? He's obviously not a big cat who likes to join in the fun."
As Professor Yu's right-hand men, they understand the habits of every tiger in the forest.
Hearing the tiger's roar, the two men stopped panicking.
When a tiger is provoked, the ones who should be worried are not the tiger cubs, but the group of ignorant poachers.
The problem is——
"Just now, my colleague who stayed in the laboratory told me that Shanjun must have heard Kang Kang's cry, so he rushed over."
"Wait, does Shanjun know Kangkang? He clearly..."
As they were talking, they both remembered at the same time: Last spring, an unmanned camera captured tigers soaking in the river.
After analyzing all the photos, the research team found that the tiger king only appeared in the river for about a minute, and thought that the tiger king just wanted to change the place to take a bath.
“Could it be…?”
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