Chapter 21 South China Tiger (Twenty-one)
Yu Yiyun was quite lucky today. The goral she killed "alone" weighed at least 60 kilograms, which was enough for her and her mother to have a full meal.
Even though he has grown a little, the little fat tiger is still not used to dragging his prey by the "mouth" method.
He bit one of the goral's hind legs and dragged it on the ground with a grunt, preparing to take it back to the tree hole to share with his mother.
The tiger tribe has poor endurance and is not suitable for carrying heavy loads for a long time.
Dragging the prey is tiring and no easier than carrying it in your mouth.
During the hunting process just now, the tiger cub has consumed most of his energy.
Now, after only walking a few hundred meters while dragging the prey, I felt out of breath.
“Hoo…Hoo…”
He opened his mouth and silently looked at the "huge" prey, thinking whether he should eat part of it or continue to drag it.
Eating part of the prey first can indeed reduce the weight of the prey.
But that would not only be dirty, it would also leave a strong smell of blood, which might attract large wild animals.
An adult tiger in its prime has no natural enemies in the wild and does not have to fear other large beasts.
Unfortunately, Yu Yiyun was still young and Kang Kang was injured.
There was no guarantee that there would not be wild beasts taking advantage of his illness to kill him and bully this "weak" pair of orphans and their widow.
Forget it, let’s just keep dragging it out.
Little Fat Tiger made the decision resignedly.
Just as he bit the goral's leg, he was planning to drag it for a few thousand meters and finally meet up with its mother after working himself to death.
Suddenly, I smelled my mother's scent, getting closer and closer, rushing towards me.
"Moo——"
Kang Kang ran very fast, and in a few minutes, a cat's head popped out from the grass, making a nasal sound to call its cubs.
She is like every parent who sends their child to kindergarten, letting go and allowing the baby to be independent.
In fact, he followed secretly, fearing that something unexpected might happen to the lost and found cub.
"Aoao!" When Yu Yijun saw her mother, she excitedly ran over with her tail wagging, and threw herself into the big tiger's arms to ask for praise.
Kang Kang lovingly cleaned his cub's hair and praised him for his heroic performance.
If the South China tiger also had a circle of friends, Kang Kang would definitely be a crazy show-off.
The mother and son were intimate for a while, but the tiger cub came to his senses first and realized that it was not advisable to stay here for long.
Yu Yiyun distanced herself from her mother and made a few "howls" to tell her that this was the tiger's territory.
"Ahh!" Mom, do you know tigers?
It’s that very fierce big tiger, the one that killed the big black bear alone two years ago!
"Ahhh!" The two of us combined are not enough for him to beat, so let's run away quickly!
Kang Kang heard the little fat tiger yelling non-stop and thought he was still showing off his hunting of gorals, so he responded to his cub with love.
Yu Yiyun found that he couldn't convince her, so he simply went back to the goral, grabbed its neck with all his might, and walked a few steps out of the territory.
Kang Kang then understood the child's intention. He lowered his head, bit the goral's neck, and took over the responsibility of carrying the prey.
Before turning around, she looked up briefly at the mountain king's territory, her eyes seeming a little confused.
In the end, Kang Kang said nothing and left with the cub silently.
Back at the tree hole, the mother and son shared the delicious goral meat, ears touching, and finally had a full meal.
Wild tigers have a strong ability to recover.
The wound on Kang Kang's back looks scary, but it's actually not serious.
After a hearty meal, his strength was mostly restored.
Although I haven't recovered to my peak, at least I can keep on traveling.
After eating the goral, she dealt with the remains as usual.
Returning to the tree hole, Kang Kang did not crawl in. Instead, he hooked the cub by the tail and motioned the child to follow him deeper into the jungle.
"Oh?"
Yu Yijun tilted his head, feeling deeply confused.
He originally thought that when Kang Kang recovered a little, he would take him across the river and return to the territory west of the river.
Now it seems that Kang Kang wants to stay in the Hedong Nature Reserve to find a suitable habitat.
Yu Yiyun thought about it carefully and found it understandable.
The territory in Hexi already has the smell of a strange male tiger's mark.
Kang Kang is already in a weak position and has cubs with him, so he certainly cannot compete with an adult male tiger for territory.
In contrast, there are more prey in the Hedong Reserve.
Even if they don't have their own territory, they can still raise their cubs.
Compared to Hexi, where kings do not meet and the environment is comfortable, Yu Yiyun prefers to stay in Hedong.
The more dangerous the environment, the more it will hone the beast's claws and allow it to grow into a big tiger capable of conquering the jungle.
Tiger Tiger Adventure, set off!
Yu Yiyun had no objection to her mother's decision. She followed her mother, wagging her tail, and began a new jungle adventure.
For the past six months, Yu Yiyun has been living with her aunt.
Queen Mulan has a strong and fierce personality and a strong sense of territory.
Except during the breeding season, even the male tiger's partner will be expelled.
The tiger cub followed her around and had never seen her aunt come into contact with tigers outside of Zhen'an.
Therefore, it was the first time that Yu Yiyun knew that wild South China tigers could socialize with each other.
There are not only three powerful male tigers in Hedong, but also nine female tigers who are also adapted to the wild environment and occupy the jungle.
In fact, female tigers in Hedong are better able to adapt to the wild environment than male tigers.
Considering that the Hedong Nature Reserve is large enough to support hundreds or even thousands of tigers.
The rewilding team has drawn up the first release list, planning to release 13 female tigers and 7 male tigers in Hedong, allowing them to reproduce and thrive in this fertile forest.
The male tigers that are included in the release list are all the best among the existing South China tigers.
As a result, three years later, the rewilding success rate for male tigers in the Hedong Nature Reserve is less than 50%.
The reasons for the failure of wilding are almost always the failure of courtship and fighting. The self-esteem of the king of beasts is shattered...
The male tigers that were badly beaten in the wild were more obedient than house cats after returning to the zoo. The keepers gave them a bath and they didn't even dare to stretch out their claws.
On the contrary, nine female tigers, which are considered to have "weak survival ability" by humans, have set up camp in the reserve over the past three years.
Of the few that failed in rewilding, two were due to human factors.
——There were too many airdropped supplies, causing the tigress to become too lazy to hunt.
Animal experts have studied this result for a long time.
Apart from the fact that 'male tigers prefer to fight for territory', no constructive conclusion was drawn.
However, no one can explain: they are both wild animals, so why do tigresses rarely fight with each other?
It was not until Yu Yiyun turned into a South China tiger that she discovered that female tigers can socialize to a certain extent, thus avoiding meaningless wars to a great extent.
Long before the South China tiger was reintroduced into the wild, zoologists from various countries had discovered a phenomenon: if there was sufficient food, most tigers were willing to live in groups.
This phenomenon is particularly evident in groups of female tigers.
Even among female tigers living in the wild, sisters from the same litter can live together for a long time if there is no territorial dispute, and they can coexist peacefully even as adults.
Kang Kang was born in the country's largest South China tiger conservation park, where there are more than twenty tigers of her age.
In the end, six were included in the release list and successfully reintegrated into the wild, including Mulan and Qingqing, as well as three tigresses.
Unlike humans, tigers rely mainly on their sense of smell to distinguish things.
Kang Kang came to the edge of a tigress's territory, sniffed the scent, and recognized it as the little Qingmei with whom he once ate, drank, and played.
She brought her cub with her, made non-aggressive purring sounds, and greeted the tigress from a distance.
This way of greeting, called 'chuffing' by animal experts, is often used between parents and children or couples who haven't seen each other for a long time.
Big cats in the wild are elusive and leave behind very few images.
Therefore, even the most experienced animal experts dare not conclude whether big cats will use chuffing to say hello to friends they have not seen for a long time.
The facts prove: yes.
Kang Kang's little childhood sweetheart heard chuffing, jumped out of the woods and responded in the same way.
When two beautiful tigresses met, they were visibly happy. They circled around each other and sniffed each other to check on each other's condition. They were almost about to hug each other and roll around on the ground.
“Ahhh~”
The ignored tiger cub howled quickly to remind others of its existence.
Mom and Xiao Qingmei have such a good relationship that they might forget about me while they are having so much fun together.
"Huh!" Little Qingmei noticed the chubby baby and called out to Kang Kang: Sister, your child is this big now?
"Huh!" Kang Kang responded: Yes! Look, isn't he smart and cute?
The two big tigers' gazes both fell on Yu Yiyun.
The tiger cub immediately stood up straight, with his head held high and his chest puffed out, just like a child being taken out by his mother to perform a show.
It was also the first time that Xiao Qingmei encountered a wild cub.
Accompanied by Kang Kang, she walked towards the little fat tiger, sniffed the smell, and also showed no aggression.
Adult female tigers in the wild often fight over food and territory.
Even biological mothers and children and sisters will turn against each other.
However, historical data shows that female tigers fight much more gently than male tigers.
After all, their main purpose of fighting for territory is to survive and raise cubs, and only secondly to show off their strength.
As long as the weak tigress is willing to surrender, the strong party will not kill her but will just expel her.
The main reason Kang Kang came to Xiao Qingmei this time was to ask for a passage through her territory to the high mountains behind to find a place suitable for himself and his cubs to survive.
Seeing that she had no intention of taking her territory, Xiao Qingmei naturally didn't bother to initiate a war.
The size of a tigress's territory is mainly determined by the number of local prey.
The Hedong Nature Reserve is full of prey, and the territories of the female tigers living here are not very large, so it is not too much to accommodate dozens of them.
What does it matter if there is another tigress nearby who poses no threat to you?
Yu Yiyun has studied the South China tiger for many years and learned for the first time that adult tigers in the wild can be so harmonious.
Kang Kang is worthy of being the white moonlight of the jungle and the number one succubus in the tiger world.
Not only did the male tigers compete for her, but even the female tigers liked her very much.
Xiao Qingmei not only generously lent Kang Kang the passage, but also allowed Kang Kang to stay in the territory for one night, leaving after eating, and called out to him to "come and play again next time."
Kang Kang waved goodbye to the enthusiastic little Qingmei and continued to walk deeper into the jungle with his cub.
Yu Yiyun had discovered before that her mother seemed to particularly like high places.
Most South China tigers choose their territory in relatively flat areas where it is easy to chase prey.
Kang Kang is different.
She might be a...creeper?
Kang Kang, who is obsessed with climbing, doesn't know that in the baby's heart, he has become a woody deciduous vine.
After climbing a few steps, she looked back at her child to prevent him from running out of energy and rolling off the cliff.
Kang Kang knew very well that most South China tigers did not like climbing mountains.
So she instinctively thought: as long as she hid the child high enough, she could avoid many risks.
Yu Yiyun followed behind Kang Kang and climbed to the middle of the mountain with great effort.
It was not until I crawled into a steep and hidden cave that could not be discovered even by 200 drones that I finally understood my mother's intention.
really.
Yu Yiyun had already vaguely sensed that Kang Kang was not only beautiful, but also incredibly smart.
They actually knew how to take advantage of the habits of the South China tiger and do the opposite to protect their vulnerable cubs.
For the next period of time, Kang Kang lived in a cave high up in the mountain with his cubs.
They only go out hunting when the sun is high in the sky and other night owls are snoring in the night.
In a blink of an eye, more than half a month passed. The mother and son lived peacefully in the cave without being disturbed by any tigers.
After a period of rest and exercise, Kang Kang's injuries have completely healed, and his hunting and activities are not affected at all.
The little fat tiger has also grown bigger, his physique surpassing many of his one-year-old counterparts, and his claws and fangs have become sharper.
If such peaceful days continue for another four or five months.
When Yu Yiyun is 15 months old, she will enter the peak growth period of the tiger. Both her size and combat power will grow rapidly.
By that time, the little tiger will be able to face all challenges in the jungle, including those from male tigers.
The 15-month-old tiger cub is about to enter the sub-adult stage.
Even if it is still no match for an adult male tiger, at least it has a chance to break free from the tiger's claws with its own strength, instead of running away as soon as it smells the scent like it is doing now.
Yu Yiyun sharpened his claws, bided his time, and looked forward to the peak of his growth.
However, the unfortunate Mercury retrograde began to trouble the ill-fated little fat tiger.
One day, when the tiger cub was half asleep, he smelled the scent of the male tiger.
And, there is more than one.
Yu Yiyun woke up instantly, full of swear words!
.
The calendar is now in May, and this year's breeding season is already entering its final stages.
Not only is there one litter of tiger cubs in the Hexi Nature Reserve with a 100% survival rate, but two other female tigers are also showing signs of giving birth.
The only exception was the one who had faked pregnancy to win favor, and everything was back to normal after the date.
As the saying goes, there is no harm without comparison.
The situation in Hedong is not optimistic, as none of the nine tigresses show signs of pregnancy.
This caused the rewilding team to be very worried, and they held meetings day and night to discuss the issue.
At the discussion meeting, photos of twelve tigers, three males and nine females, from Hedong, were neatly hung in two rows.
The red arrow in the middle represents the affection between South China tigers.
The staff sat around the screen, like dating variety show observers, worrying about Hu Hu across the screen.
"Look at these red lines. They seem to be a lot. But when I look closely, I see that none of them are double-headed. I'm so worried!"
"What's wrong with you, Tiger? All seven tigresses consider you the number one male guest. What a blessing! Why don't you live up to your expectations?"
"Tiger is indeed strange. In previous years, even if he had no interest, he would at least accept it once or twice. This year, the tigress moved her den next to him, and the tiger flicked its tail and went to patrol its territory."
"To be honest, if I were a tigress, I would choose Shanjun among these male tigers. But Shanjun is already six years old this year, so why is he not worthy of me?"
"Don't slander the Tiger King! The tiger has mated three times before, with a 100% success rate! Not to mention the one litter that failed, the other two were all because of you guys feeding the tigress like crazy, causing her to not be able to hunt, and she was taken back to the zoo and became a caged tiger."
"We didn't have any experience back then... Professor Yu taught us a lesson later. And the two litters of tiger cubs are growing well. We estimate that they can be included in the wild list this year."
"Stop! The biggest problem now is that there are no offspring in the Hedong Nature Reserve. If this continues, the Tiger Return Plan will never succeed."
"Alas! The other two male tigers in Hedong are so unpromising. They are so fierce to the female tiger. If I were a female tiger, I would run away too."
"Speaking of which, why is Hexi's success rate so high this year?"
As soon as the words fell, the staff looked at each other.
After a while, someone said weakly, "Because of Fat Tiger?"
Colleagues echoed.
"Yes, because of Fat Tiger!"
"The four sugar orange cubs were saved thanks to him."
"Also, I thought Mulan would have to wait until little Fat Tiger left home before she would have her own cub. But I didn't expect Fat Tiger to be so sensible and run away on his own on the right day."
"Hehehe~ I'm the person in charge of the Hexi Nature Reserve. I wake up laughing in my dreams every day. Now, our Hexi team worships the Tiger God every day."
"Will worshipping the Tiger God be useful? Or should we in Hedong also..."
Before the Hedong official could finish his words, the door to the conference room was pushed open from the outside.
The staff member who was responsible for monitoring Kang Kang's movements was so anxious that he was out of breath and reported intermittently:
"No, it's bad! There's a tiger on the mountain!"
"It would be great to have tigers. We wish the whole mountain was full of tigers." said the Hedong official sourly.
"Not that one!" the staff member said anxiously, "There are two male tigers near the positioning collar!"
"What?!"
.
"roar!"
Yu Yiyun stood on the rocks, looking down from above, and tried his best to make the most ferocious sound to scare off the tiger that was trying to go up the mountain.
Unfortunately, his voice was too immature and did not have the strong deterrent power of an adult tiger. The adult male tigers were not afraid at all.
Yu Yiyun leaned against the rock, watching the two tigers approaching, and felt fear instinctively.
At the same time, Yu Yiyun was thinking quickly about what went wrong to attract the two tigers.
In recent days, she and her mother stayed in the cave as usual, except for hunting and drinking water.
Yesterday, Yu Yiyun drank some water as usual and found a tree root to relieve himself on the way home.
In order to avoid leaving any smell, he would bury the pee after peeing, just like a cat digging up cat litter.
Kang Kang noticed his actions and came over to smell it. He thought for a few seconds and covered Xiao Hu's scent with his own.
--I see.
The mother was afraid that the tiger cub's scent would be discovered, so she helped him hide.
But Kangkang is an adult female tiger, and her scent is easier to capture than that of a cub.
The two male tigers, who were obsessed with continuing their bloodline, were easily attracted by the scent of the female tiger and followed her scent all the way to the cave.
"roar!"
When Changsheng discovered Xiaohu, new and old grudges surged into his heart, and he roared in anger.
"Ahhh!" You're such a big tiger, why are you angry with a child!
"Roar!" Another male tiger also joined in.
The male tiger's full name was 'Captain'. He was the oldest male tiger on the rewilding list and was five years old when he was released.
The sugar oranges in Hexi and the two male tigers that had previously failed to be reintroduced into the wild are all the captain's children.
The rewilding team put him on the list, originally hoping that this older tiger would be able to play a leading role.
Who would have thought that after the captain was released, his personality became more and more stupid.
In the past two years, he relied on the fact that he was closer to his peak and challenged the tiger every now and then.
After having suffered enough, he turned his target to Changsheng, fighting with him all day long for territory and mate.
As the two male tigers rushed to the top of the mountain, they kept fighting each other, trying to knock each other down in their courtship.
Yu Yijun had just roared when the two tigers suddenly started quarreling, making him a little confused.
etc!
Shouldn't I be your target?
There was a deafening roar outside, and Kang Kang, who had just run away somewhere, finally showed up.
Kang Kang was not afraid at all when facing the two male tigers. He ran over and stood in front of the cubs.
“Ahhhh!”
Yu Yiyun became anxious.
Last time, Kang Kang fought Chang Sheng alone and was seriously injured.
Now there are two male tigers. How can she, a female tiger who has just recovered from a serious injury, deal with them?
Kang Kang turned around and licked the cub's face, as if telling him not to worry.
Two male tigers halfway up the mountain saw the beautiful Kang Kang and immediately stopped arguing and frequently sent her courtship signals.
Changsheng had seen Kang Kang before and knew that this tigress was strong and beautiful.
What a pity that I brought a cub with me!
It was the first time that the captain saw Kang Kang. He excitedly ran around among the rocks and grass, wagging his tail like a peacock spreading its tail.
He quickly climbed up the rock and jumped to Kang Kang's side.
The old pervert, who was completely fascinated, ignored the tiger cubs and competitors who were in the way and began to demonstrate his strength in all directions, circling around to sniff the scent of the tigress.
Kang Kang did not show any aggression and lay down submissively.
Tigers living in the wild know that male tigers in the courtship period will release scents and display themselves through complex behaviors.
Once the tigress does not resist, it means she is willing to accept it, and then the next step will be as follows -
"roar!"
It's logical as hell!
Changsheng was so angry that his face turned red and he rushed over roaring.
It's like the second male lead in an idol drama, hysterically questioning the female lead for not choosing him.
As soon as he climbed up the mountain, Kang Kang turned to Chang Sheng and expressed his obedience in the same way.
The beautiful tigress's meaning was clear: either of you will do.
However, male tigers have a very strong possessiveness over their partners. After all, a female tiger can only continue the bloodline of one tiger.
The two powerful male tigers, both in their prime, looked at each other, and the air was filled with crackling sounds of electricity.
With two roars that shook the mountains and forests, the two male tigers pounced on each other, each one more brutal than the other.
Kang Kang, who was sandwiched between the male tigers, jumped up, quickly picked up the cub that was standing nearby, followed the mountain road he had just discovered, and dived into the dense forest without looking back.
Two guys with full hatred values were left behind and fought fiercely.
Yu Yiyun: ???
Wha-what’s happening?
As one of the world's most professional animal experts, Yu Yiyun has studied cats including tigers and knows that some females will protect their cubs by showing weakness to males.
For example, when a lion group on the grassland changes its leader, some lionesses with cubs will actively seduce the new lion to mate with him, making the lion think that the cub is his own blood, thus protecting the cub from being bitten to death.
However, Kang Kang's strategy was obviously more clever than that of the lioness.
The tiger cub, who was held in his mother's mouth and was shaken all the way away from the battlefield, heard the tiger roar that shook the mountains and forests behind him. He was actually worried about the two male tigers, afraid that they would really fight to the death.
Poor Toms, they are played around by the beautiful big cats.
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