Chapter 26 South China Tiger (Twenty-six)
“Ahhhh!”
The little fat tiger ran down the hillside, circling around the aunt lying on her back, turning clockwise twice and counterclockwise three times, trying to activate her motherly love.
Why are you sleeping!
Get up and feed the baby!
Your tiger has started to step on my milk!
Mulan was so annoyed that she turned over and covered her eyes and ears with her two paws.
The thought of having six useless cats in the nest who can't take care of themselves when eating, drinking, defecating or urinating, and can only make 'mumbling' sounds when they open their mouths makes me feel depressed.
If I go back, I have to serve them like a cat and a tiger, not only providing them with milk but also cleaning up their poop and piss.
Queen Mulan decided to give up and refused to return home no matter what.
[Escape from cat life.jpg]
Yu Yiyun could more or less understand why her aunt would rather lie outside and pretend to be dead than go back to breastfeed.
How can you not go crazy taking care of six kids at the same time?
The problem is——
I'm a little male cat, what should I feed them?!
“Ahhhh!”
Unable to awaken maternal love, Yu Yijun bit Mulan's tail and tried to drag her aunt back to the nest.
After trying for two minutes without success, he moved closer and boldly bit Mulan's neck.
Mulan: ???
The opposite of Tiangang!
A useless cat that can't even carry a goral certainly can't carry the queen of the jungle.
Zhumi was busy for a while, but Mulan was still lying there as steady as a rock, with no intention of going home to breastfeed her baby.
“…beep beep.” Yu Yijun was really at a loss. After thinking for a few seconds, he made the sound of a little tiger cub begging for food.
The pig is already 14 months old, and its beeping is really embarrassing.
But there is no other way. Although other things can be done for others, the aunt has to do the breastfeeding herself.
Her six little kids surrounded Xiaohu's arms and stepped on him, but they couldn't squeeze out even a drop of milk. They were almost going crazy with hunger.
What's even more outrageous is that they firmly believe that Fat Tiger is their mother, and they don't feel that the target they are stepping on is wrong. Instead, they become more and more excited.
With such amazing perseverance, Yu Yiyun was really afraid that they would succeed...
When Mulan heard the sound of her tiger cub begging for food, her conscience finally overcame her laziness. She reluctantly got up and walked towards the cave with heavy steps.
For her, the future is hell!
Yu Yiyun watched her aunt's back as she walked away from the wind, and couldn't help but shed tears of sympathy.
Calculating the time, the six cubs were born a little early, but still appropriate.
Mulan was strong and healthy, with plenty of milk, so each of her cubs was raised to be very healthy.
At this rate, if they can make it through the full month, raising all six cubs won't be a dream.
Mulan is the most competitive, so she has six happy troubles, and she can only bear it~
Queen Mulan returned to the cave slowly with a look of despair on her face.
He kicked his legs and lay there as if he had lost his soul, letting the six little kids rush into his arms and find their own 'best position' for drinking milk.
There are too many cubs in the litter, and every feeding is a mess, just like college students going to the cafeteria to eat after military training.
One baby was almost pushed away, and it scratched everywhere in a hurry, and stuffed its dirty paws into Mulan's mouth.
Mysophobic Tiger: ...
Just take care of this kid. Whoever takes care of him will go crazy.
After the babies had finished drinking, Mulan quickly got up and shook off the milk lumps on her body.
Then he rolled out of the cave and howled twice at Yu Yiyun who was catching dragonflies outside.
“Moo——!” Come here quickly!
"Ah?" Yu Yijun failed to catch the butterfly and returned to his aunt in disappointment. Then, his aunt pushed him into the cave.
"Huwu." Mulan urged loudly.
"call!"
Okay okay.
I know you don’t want to take care of the baby anymore.
Yu Yiyun muttered in her heart, "There is no such thing as free meat in this world" and "You will have to pay for what you have done sooner or later", and she honestly crawled into the cave and took Mulan's place.
After experiencing the shift change for the second time, the six tiger cubs have gotten used to it.
They burped, grunted, and nudged into their brother's arms, waiting obediently in line for their bellies to be licked.
The tiger cub has just eaten and smells milky. It is furry and soft, and its ears haven't stood up yet. It is so cute!
Yu Yiyun, who had the cuteness all to herself, used her paws to pull out her younger brothers and sisters, turning them over one by one to reveal their bulging bellies.
When he turned to the fourth one, Fat Tiger heard some rustling noises outside and looked towards the cave entrance.
Seeing the large cat's head poking in, Yu Yiyun was not surprised at all.
"Ah~" Long time no see~
"Awooo!" Zhen'an's cry was much more excited than his, and he turned into a catworm and squeezed into the hole.
Ever since the day the tiger cub was born, Zhen'an had tried several times to go back to his old business of 'stealing the cub' and sneak in to see the child.
The result is predictable. Every time he was chased away by Mulan who was protecting her cubs, and his handsome face was covered with several scars.
Today, he was wandering around the edge of Mulan's territory and smelled the familiar scent of a tiger cub, so he knew that his chance to steal the cub had come~!
Zhen'an went into the stone cave, not feeling crowded, and lay down beside his "darling eldest son" affectionately, as if he wanted to tell him with his actions: Baby, no matter how many cubs I have, you will always be my first one!
As expected of Aquaman, he is very good at providing emotional value.
Poor Qinling, the biggest victim, still doesn't know that he has been raising a son for the tiger.
Yu Yiyun was too lazy to explain, since Zhen'an wouldn't understand anyway.
Since Zhen'an treats him like a son, at most he can just be another parent, and little Fat Tiger won't suffer any loss.
"Ah~" The tiger cub moved to the side so that Zhen'an could see his biological tiger.
She picked one up and placed it carefully in front of him, so that the father and daughter could get familiar with the taste.
Mulan's litter of cubs is too large, even if Yu Yijun can take care of them all now.
When the tiger cubs grow up a little, they can run and jump around. It must be very difficult for Xiao Yunyun, a tiger alone, to take care of six cubs.
Since Zhen'an is willing to take care of the cub, just teach him how to take care of it.
In that case, Mulan's pressure can be shared, and Zhen'an's other partners can also give birth to babies, which can also increase the survival rate.
Yu Yiyun had a plan in mind. After they were familiar with each other, he nudged Sister Hu's butt from behind, made her turn over with her paws facing the sky, and then demonstrated to Zhen'an how to lick her belly to stimulate excretion.
I thought that male tigers did not have the natural skills to take care of cubs, and it would probably take several times of teaching before they could learn.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Yu Yiyun demonstrated it, Zhen'an immediately lowered his head and licked the belly of his own tiger cubs seriously.
Looking at his proficiency, it doesn't look like this is his first time doing this. He is even more meticulous and thoughtful than his biological mother Mulan.
Yu Yiyun was confused for a few seconds, but soon figured it out: Zhen'an must have practiced on other tiger cubs, so he was so skilled.
After Kang Kang stayed in Hedong, the four remaining female tigers in the Hexi Nature Reserve were all Zhen'an's partners.
Yu Yiyun was very clear about the situation of the sugar oranges next door.
Before the baby of Shatangju was one month old, Zhen'an was never allowed to get close to it. After the baby was one month old, the little tiger had learned to defecate on its own and did not need to lick its belly.
So, it should be that among the two remaining tigresses, one had a better temper and allowed the male tiger to approach the baby who was not even a month old.
Thinking of this, Yu Yiyun's eyes lit up and he wagged his tail happily.
This means: there are new cubs in the Hexi Nature Reserve!
Great! We are one step closer to the South China tiger’s true return to the wild!
The ultimate goal of the "Return of the Tigers" program is to allow the South China tiger population to follow the laws of nature and reproduce naturally from generation to generation.
Many years later, even without protected areas, the brave and beautiful big cats can still live well in China!
"Aoao~" Yu Yiyun called Zhen'an and asked him excitedly if he had another cub.
"Oh!" Zhen'an responded happily and gave a positive answer.
Yu Yijun could no longer sit still, so she turned over and stood up, trying to figure out how many new brothers and sisters she had.
Thinking carefully, I have been back for several days, so I should say hello to my good tiger friend next door and take a look at the little tiger girl who was raised by my own claws.
Fat Tiger shook his fur and stared at Zhen'an for a while, confirming that his ability to raise the cubs was acceptable.
At least it's much better than my aunt.
Little Tiger, who is less than a month old, is at the age when he easily feels sleepy.
The six little kids had just eaten their fill, and without caring who was around them, they made a nest in the soft fur and slept soundly. It was estimated that they would not wake up for several hours.
Fat Tiger shouted some instructions, asking Zhen'an to take good care of the baby, and that he was going to visit Shatangju's house.
Zhen'an was a little scared when he saw him leaving.
If Mulan returned to her nest and found herself lying here, she would definitely be beaten.
[Big cat feels wronged.jpg]
Yu Yiyun raised her paw and patted his battered nose.
"Ouch!" It's okay.
My aunt thought that Xiaohu was helping to take care of the cubs and would not come back except to feed them.
Even during feeding time, Yu Yiyun had to go over and drag Mulan back to the nest.
The once powerful jungle queen now has six weaknesses and her bad temper is almost worn out.
Not knowing whether Zhen'an understood or not, Fat Tiger ran out of the cave and turned his head to take a look.
Seeing Zhen'an stretch out his paws, gather all six babies under his belly, and then wrap them around his tail, the scene was very warm.
Yu Yiyun seized the time and ran all the way to the territory of Shatangju while Naituanzi was sleeping, chasing the wind.
On summer afternoons, the sun is scorching and tigers are reluctant to hunt during the day.
Sugar Orange was lying under the tree, snoring with her four healthy and lively children, who were both half a year old.
The first one to notice that Fat Tiger had entered his territory was Tiger Sister.
Half asleep and half awake, she smelled the familiar scent of little tiger and immediately jumped up excitedly.
The younger sister tiger was originally sleeping in the innermost part, but she strode over her older brothers and sisters and excitedly ran to the edge of her territory.
The eldest and the third were sleeping soundly when they were suddenly woken up by a claw. They were completely confused about what was going on.
Until the brother from next door appeared in front of them, they were still confused. They thought it was a strange enemy tiger, and they were so scared that they hid behind their mother for protection.
The second child who was sleeping in the middle was lucky enough not to be stepped on and was still sleeping with his legs spread out.
Even though the 'enemy tiger' came up to him and licked him, Lao Er still showed no signs of waking up.
There's no hope.
Yu Yiyun looked at the second child snoring, stepping on the milk with his paws, and sighed and shook his head.
With this level of vigilance, when he grows up and lives alone, he will leave behind many dark histories.
"Ah!!!" Relying on his mother's support, the eldest brother mustered up the courage to stick his head out and roared at the enemy tiger.
The third one was braver. He rushed out and opened his mouth with newly grown fangs.
[Super fierce.jpg]
He lunged forward, but before he could bite the enemy tiger, he ended up fighting with the tiger's sister.
The little tiger sister, who was the smallest when she was born and almost died, was fortunate enough to be favored by the brother next door. She had basically caught up with her older brothers and sisters when she was one month old.
Now that she has grown a few months older, she is becoming more active in grabbing food and is gradually showing signs of catching up with the other three.
In the zoo, if two half-year-old tiger cubs fight, humans could easily get hurt accidentally if they intervene, let alone a fight between wild tigers.
The teeth and claws of a six-month-old tiger cub are quite aggressive. Even if it is not fatal, it will definitely hurt if you hit it too hard.
When Yu Yiyun saw the two tigers fighting each other, he quickly jumped into the middle and used his body to block them.
"Roar!" If you have something to say, say it nicely, little kitty, don't fight!
The fat little tiger is about to enter sub-adulthood, and his roar is not so immature, but has considerable deterrent power.
The two fierce little kids shuddered in fear at the same time.
The younger sister Tiger was still sitting there, and the third sister was so scared that she ran back to her mother and buried her head in the arms of Tangju, with only her buttocks exposed.
Sandangju finally had enough of the excitement and smiled brightly, welcoming his good friend Tiger back from his trip.
Yu Yijun ran over happily, clinging to the sweet tiger girl and reminiscing about how they hadn't seen each other for a long time.
After four months of separation, Fat Tiger had a lot to say and wanted to chat with her about his travel experiences.
But time is limited, so I can only say "ah" twice symbolically.
This time when he came to the territory of Shatangju, in addition to catching up with his good friend Hu whom he hadn't seen for a long time, Yu Yijun had another purpose.
He walked around twice, found the tallest and sturdiest tree in the territory, and climbed up in no time.
It was not until this moment that the eldest and third tiger brothers recognized him: Oh, it turns out to be the brother who is very good at climbing trees!
The two of them gathered under the tree, and their originally fierce calls suddenly became soft, as if they were acting coquettishly.
"..."Yu Yiyun was in a weird mood.
So my tag is tree climbing?
Yu Yiyun used all four claws to climb to the top of the branch. From this distance he could see very far.
If you are lucky, you can also see the lord tiger next to the sugar orange.
Unfortunately, Zhumi’s luck has always been weird, with more bad than good.
I played steadily today, but bad luck prevailed again.
He stood on the tree and watched for a long time. The whole tiger was about to be roasted into melted orange candy by the scorching sun, but he did not see any tigers appearing in the nearby territory.
The sun is particularly scorching in the summer, and even if a tigress with cubs does not stay in the tiger den, she will choose to stay under the cool and sheltered shade of a tree.
It is difficult to spot them with the naked eye.
Yu Yiyun lowered his tail, feeling a little depressed.
He had no connection with the two tigers, so he couldn't forcibly break into the territory of a mother tiger with cubs just to confirm the number of cubs.
It’s not that I’m afraid of a tigress with cubs.
Yu Yiyun is now as physically fit as a thin adult tigress and is not worried at all about being bitten to death by a tigress with cubs.
Even if you can't win the fight, you can still get out of it safely.
However, raising tiger cubs is the most sensitive period.
We cannot allow our own selfish desires to affect the normal lives of the tigress and her cubs.
Yu Yiyun drooped his ears, sighed, and was about to jump down from the tree.
Before he turned around, the scales of luck suddenly tipped towards 'lucky'.
In the territory southwest of Shatangju, a tigress walked out from the shade of a tree and stretched lazily.
Then she looked behind her and made a sound calling out to her child.
An orange ball that had just learned to walk followed, staggering, and then the second one, and the third one...
Yu Yiyun clung to the tree branch, opened her eyes wide and observed carefully, and was 100% sure that there were three full-mooned little balls there.
Although we don’t know how many cubs the tigress gave birth to in one litter, it’s already amazing that she could raise three cubs to the age of one month!
"Awoo~" Yu Yiyun howled excitedly and congratulated the mother from afar.
The mother tiger heard the sound but didn't see the tiger, so she turned around in confusion.
Yu Yiyun saw the tiger mother's face and discovered that she was actually the tigress who had "faked pregnancy to win favor" before.
The falsely pregnant tiger went through its first breeding period and then showed pregnancy symptoms for a whole year, but ended up giving birth to nothing.
After discussion, the rewilding team believed that the female tiger had a health problem that might make her infertile.
He originally planned to stop the wilding and take the animal back for examination after anesthesia, but was stopped by Yu Yiyun.
After observation and analysis, combined with the data previously collected, Yu Yiyun determined that the female tiger had no problem with her survival skills and could fully adapt to the wild environment.
Just because the tigress cannot give birth to babies, we forcibly stop her rewilding. What do we think of her?
Yu Yiyun always believed that reproduction is indeed an animal instinct.
But the prerequisite for reproduction is that the South China tiger can gain a foothold in nature.
Isn't it putting the cart before the horse to simply pursue reproduction without considering the condition of the tiger?
Fortunately, thanks to Yu Yiyun's persistence, the tigress had more time to adapt to the wild environment.
At the beginning, Yu Yiyun and her team were prepared for the possibility that she would be unable to reproduce.
Who would have thought that she could successfully raise three babies!
——Not only Yu Yiyun did not expect this, but the rewilding team that was closely following Hu Zi also did not expect this.
The falsely pregnant tigress carried cubs for a whole year while everyone was expecting them, but she gave birth to nothing.
There were signs of this happening this spring, and she was the first tigress to date Zhen'an.
After the date, she showed no signs of pregnancy and continued to hunt regularly.
Because she had been acting strange before, the rewilding team didn’t have much hope for this tiger.
When they found out that the falsely pregnant tiger had no signs, they turned their attention to Mulan and her other companion, the tigress.
Until one day, the staff checked the photos taken by the infrared camera.
It was discovered that Zhen'an had gone into the cave where the tigress often slept, and had taken out a few chubby tiger cubs, and put them in the sun to dry.
The photo was projected on the screen and the entire conference room fell into silence.
The South China tiger behavior expert sitting at the table felt that his authority was in jeopardy when he encountered this female tiger who did not play by the rules.
Yu Yiyun stared at Hu Zi next door for a long time before reluctantly climbing down.
The tiger baby next door can only be looked at but not touched, so I'd better go back and touch Mulan's doll to satisfy my craving.
Judging from the time, the six little kids at home should be awake from hunger, so I have to go back quickly and drag Mulan into the cave.
Little Tiger wagged his tail, said goodbye to Tangju in a hurry, and ran to his aunt's house as fast as he could.
After running a few steps, I heard a panting sound behind me and felt that something was wrong.
Looking back, I saw that it was Tiger Sister who was following behind, sticking out her tongue to cool down due to being so tired.
"Ah~" Yu Yijun stopped and waved his paw to signal Tiger Sister to go back.
As a result, the tiger sister was not driven away, and another uninvited tiger appeared not far away.
Smelling the scent of an adult male tiger in the air, Fat Tiger, who had rich experience of being attacked by adult male tigers, had no intention of running away. He even walked a few steps in the direction of the male tiger curiously.
"Roar!" Stop playing hide-and-seek, come out!
Although Fat Tiger is only 14 months old, his chances of winning in a head-on fight with the male tiger are almost zero.
But Zhumi is the son of the Tiger King, and this place is the border of Shatangju and Mulan’s territories. Zhen’an is also staying nearby. How could he be afraid of a mere male tiger?
Hearing the roar, a male tiger wandering nearby showed his head. It was Qingqing, one of the only two handsome tigers in the Hexi Nature Reserve.
As an unlucky male tiger who was born at the wrong time and whose every object of pursuit becomes Zhen'an's partner, Qingqing is already five years old and is still a solo.
Last spring, he left his territory and went looking for a mate, but again he failed to find his true love.
Qingqing was unwilling to give up, and kept searching even though spring had passed.
Passing by the territory of the tangju tree, Qingqing suddenly smelled the unfamiliar scent of a tiger.
Even though it knew it was an underage male tiger, it hadn't seen a strange tiger in a long time and still wanted to run over to take a look.
The two tigers met each other from a distance. Qingqing also saw the little tiger girl behind Fat Tiger and her brows wrinkled.
If I work harder and catch Shatangju, that Hu Hu will be my daughter!
Since Qingqing was born, why was Zhen'an born?
Yu Yiyun had come into contact with so many tigers, but this was the first time she saw a look of pitiful grievance on a tiger's face.
The hostility that had been brewing had largely dissipated, and Yu Yiyun took two tentative steps forward.
Seeing that Qingqing had no intention of attacking, he walked over boldly and patted his front paw.
"Ao~" Don't be discouraged, a tiger has more than one breeding season in its life.
Although the female tigers in Hexi all chose Zhen'an.
Although several tigresses are carrying cubs, they will not reproduce again for at least a year and a half.
"Oh!" Anyway, you still have a chance... maybe.
It would have been fine if the tiger cub hadn't been comforted. After the comfort, Qingqing seemed even more miserable.
It’s not that he understood what Fat Tiger meant from his random shouting.
Instead, he smelled the lingering scent of Kang Kang on the tiger cub.
Kang Kang, that was the white moonlight that Qing Qing had been pursuing but couldn't get, and for which she was beaten half to death by a tiger.
If you want to blame someone, blame Qingqing for choosing the right time.
The tigresses that he had pursued before always chose to date them after they had gone on a date with Zhen'an.
That would have been fine, until he finally mustered up the courage to bypass the entire Hexi Nature Reserve and go to the easternmost part to pursue Kang Kang.
As soon as I entered the "door", I found that the tiger had already swam over to the other side and was dating Kang Kang.
The sweet date was suddenly interrupted, and the Tiger King gave them a cold look.
Later, Qingqing limped back to his territory, not because he was scared by the tiger.
For the next six months, Qingqing regretted one thing——
“… Ugh.”
If I had pursued Kang Kang earlier, you would be my baby.
When Qingqing thought of this, she felt that her life had become even more miserable.
He slowly turned his head away from the cub born to his beloved tiger and his love rival.
Yu Yijun looked at his tragic back and inexplicably felt a sense of mission.
"Ao!" You are a good tiger, I will help you...as much as possible.
“Ahhh!” Even if you don’t have a partner, you must be strong and live on~!
Qingqing: That was a great way to comfort me. Don’t comfort me next time.
Yu Yiyun watched Qingqing walk away, then looked up and discovered that it was already getting dark. If he didn't go back, Naituanzi would faint from hunger.
He took two steps and heard rapid breathing behind him.
Tiger sister was too attached to him and followed him for a long distance, and she could hardly keep up.
Yu Yiyun stopped and looked back at her tiger sister who was very attached to her, and couldn't help feeling worried.
We are already at the edge of the territory of the Sugar Orange, and it is not safe to keep Tiger Sister here.
If we send her back, six mouths will have to go hungry for a while longer.
Pig thought for a while, made a decision, and lay on the ground, motioning Tiger sister to get on his back.
At this moment, the saying "you will pay for what you have done sooner or later" is fully reflected in Yu Yiyun.
He had been raised by Mulan for half a year, and now he had to raise his aunt's children, six in total.
I have ridden Zhen'an's special express train before, and now it is my turn to ride for Zhen'an's daughter.
Sure enough, no piece of meat in the world is free!
"Oh!" Are you seated?
The tiger sister lay on her brother, clung to him tightly, and howled loudly.
The little fat tiger swung his tail, carried his little tiger sister on his back, and swaggered back to Mulan's territory.
As soon as I stepped into my aunt's house, I ran into Mulan who was wandering around the territory and was unwilling to go home to breastfeed her child.
When Mulan saw Xiaohu, she was obviously stunned for a few minutes, with a lot of question marks in her head.
——My kid should stay in the cave and take care of his younger brothers and sisters, why is he here?
——The little tiger on his back looks a bit like the silly and innocent one that broke into my territory a few years ago...
——Wait! Does that mean the baby I worked so hard to give birth to was defiled by some piece of trash? !
Mulan stopped playing badly instantly and rushed towards Huxue as fast as she could.
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