Chapter 4 South China Tiger (IV)
It took too long to give the stinky tiger cub a bath.
When the rainstorm came, Mulan had not caught any prey yet.
The raindrops soaked the forest and the birds and animals took shelter from the rain.
Mulan was very familiar with the nearby terrain and quickly found an open space where she could shelter from the rain, with a large protruding rock above.
There were traces of tigers sharpening their claws on the ground and the stone walls next to it, which was obviously Queen Mulan's private tiger-cat nest.
Mulan whipped the freshly washed little tiger with her tail, urging him to go quickly to take shelter from the rain.
He rushed into the rain without looking back, continuing to search for prey that had no time to take shelter from the rain.
Yu Yiyun squatted there, looking at her aunt's receding back.
Suddenly, he discovered the reason why his mother was injured.
Adult tigers have great endurance and can go without food for a whole week during rainy seasons or when food is scarce.
But the young tiger can't do that.
In order to provide enough milk for her children, Kang Kang would go out hunting in the rain at the risk of his life.
Rain will reduce the sense of smell and vision of wild animals and affect their judgment.
That's why Kang Kang fell into the poacher's trap.
Now, her own sister Mulan has made the same choice.
Yu Yiyun's nose felt sore.
I must grow up well and become a ferocious tiger that is not afraid of wind, rain, cold or heat and can protect my mother, aunt and this forest!
Fortunately, the powerful aunt did not let Yu Yiyun worry for long, and soon returned to the shelter with a goat in her mouth.
Yu Yiyun looked at the goat. It was white, clean, plump and fat. It was obviously a "city goat" that had never climbed a mountain.
The rewilding team must have been afraid that she wouldn't be able to find food, so they urgently airdropped supplies to prevent the tragedy from happening again.
The camera that I brought with great effort was of great use!
It would be even better if you could take a clear picture of the poacher's face.
Mulan returned to the open-air cat den, expertly ripped open the goat's belly, and threw the first piece of meat to the tiger cub.
Judging from the look on his face, he really treats little Fat Tiger as his own son.
The rewilding team was not too surprised by this.
Generally speaking, female tigers reach sexual maturity after 3 years old.
Mulan is four and a half years old this year. She is already at the age of breeding cubs and has a strong maternal instinct.
Previously, there have been cases where tigresses who failed to conceive or lost their children were willing to take care of cubs that were not their own.
After half a month of close observation, everyone found that this cub had strong survival ability and independence, and was particularly tenacious.
Mulan, who has never been a mother, can learn from Fat Tiger's experience. It will surely be smoother for her to take care of her own cubs in the future.
The problem is…
The staff member looked at Queen Mulan's positioning collar and felt a splitting headache again.
After eating the goat meat, the cleanliness-obsessed Mulan dealt with the remains in the rain.
Then he returned to the open-air cat bed, yawned and prepared to go to sleep.
Yu Yiyun was also sleepy, and yawned as well, preparing to roll herself into a tiger skin cake roll.
Young cats need to feel safe and secure and like to cuddle with each other when they sleep.
Unfortunately, the tiger cub has no brothers or sisters, so he can only provide warmth by himself.
Yu Yiyun had just finished rolling out the cake roll when she was pulled away by the huge claw.
The humble tiger cub dared not say anything and moved to the corner in a wronged manner and continued to roll the cake.
Before it could be rolled into a ball, it was pulled apart by a claw.
What’s the matter? What’s the matter?
Falling out after dinner?
Let the tiger sleep!
[getting fat.jpg]
“Ah…ahhh!”
The tiger cub, whose fur stood on end, had just howled once when it was grabbed by the huge claws and impatiently stuffed under the belly.
The Qinling Mountains have entered late autumn, with heavy rains bringing cold weather.
The mountains and forests are at high altitudes, so the temperature will only be lower.
Mulan is aware of the temperature changes in the Qinling Mountains.
The tiger cub whose lanugo has not yet shed all its hair and has not yet grown a tiger fur coat to keep out the cold will sooner or later freeze to death if he sleeps outside.
"Moo——"
Stop making noise and go to sleep.
Yu Yijun rubbed the soft and warm tiger fur and meowed in a low voice.
I was wrong. Auntie is the best.
The tiger cub is acting coquettishly, and his meow sounds just like a cat.
[Did I hear that correctly? The little fat tiger can actually meow???]
[It’s normal for cats to meow~]
[Kneel down to Queen Mulan! When we first met, she was eating with blood all over her face and biting the wild boar bones with a crunching sound. I thought she would attack Little Fat Tiger.]
[Who isn’t? I didn’t expect Mulan to be such a domineering queen who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. I love it~]
[I have a bold idea, Sister Lan, can you let me sleep under your belly~ (shy)
[Good fellow, you really dare to think]
It rained heavily for two days, and Mulan did not go out hunting. The tiger cub also endured the hunger and did not make any sound to beg for food.
This was the longest time he had been hungry since he came to Mulan's territory, but fortunately it was not unbearable.
After Mulan wakes up, she will play games between wild animals with him and use her paws and tail as toys for the little tiger.
However, every time Yu Yiyun tried to get close to her neck and touch the positioning collar, Mulan would become extremely angry and push the tiger cub off.
Her natural fighting instinct made her always alert and never expose her vulnerable parts to other beasts, even if it was just a tiger cub.
Yu Yiyun was knocked to the ground for the 83rd time and had become a useless tiger.
If this continues, even the king of heaven will not be able to take off Mulan's collar.
[Give up struggling.jpg]
On the third day, the rain finally stopped and the animals in the mountains and forests left their nests to look for food.
Mulan walked out of the open-air cat nest where she had taken shelter from the rain, but did not look for food immediately. Instead, she took the tiger cub and walked to a remote place where few animals were seen.
Yu Yiyun followed Mulan and didn't know her intention at first.
Until Mulan once again stopped in front of a large dead tree stump, crawled into the tree hole to take a look, made a disgusted sound, and whipped the tiger cub with her tail and continued to walk higher.
Yu Yiyun then realized that her aunt was looking for tiger xue.
A single tiger with strong combat power generally does not need to look for tiger students.
Mulan was used to sleeping wherever she went, and no beast dared to attack her within her territory.
Even if it rains, like the past two days, it is enough to find a stone to block your head.
However, a mother tiger with tiger cubs must find a tiger bloodline for her children.
The weather is getting colder and colder, and open-air cat nests can't keep out the wind and cold, let alone protect against danger.
When the mother tiger goes out to hunt for food, the cubs may be attacked at any time.
It’s different with tiger blood.
After some searching, Mulan climbed halfway up the mountain and found a natural cave formed by the collision of two rocks.
She toured the place inside and out and decided to make it her home.
Yu Yiyun followed and sighed again: Mulan and Kang Kang are indeed sisters, they are both great mothers and are very good at taking care of their cubs.
This cave is located at a high altitude and most animals cannot climb up.
Even if he climbed up, there was another hidden exit in the cave that could allow the tiger to escape.
"Hmm?"
Mulan made low sounds, the kind tigers use to communicate with each other.
“Ouch!”
——Is it okay to live here?
——Okay!
Yu Yiyun entered the cave, and found the space inside to be quite spacious.
The biggest problem is that the north-south permeability is an advantage for humans, but for the tiger's nest, it always feels cold and chilly.
Yu Yiyun looked around inside and out and decided to rearrange her own nest.
He walked with his short legs back to the tree hole he had visited before, picked up the branches that were not wet by the rain, and picked up some hay.
Mulan follows Xiaohu, not understanding his intentions at first.
The tiger cub was seen piling branches on the other side of the cave and spreading hay on the cold ground.
Mulan vaguely recalled that when she was a child, humans would also put soft blankets under tiger cubs to make them sleep more comfortably.
Mulan did not hesitate and followed the tiger cub's example, fetching branches and hay and letting the tiger cub work slowly while she went to find prey.
Yu Yiyun worked hard and finally transformed the cave into a qualified safe haven.
The little tiger, having exhausted all his energy, lay on the rock, gasping for breath.
Just at this moment, his ears caught Mulan's roar, calling him to come over for dinner.
Mulan, who became a mother without any pain, still likes to eat where she is.
It would be better to let her throw the cub away than to let her bring back the large prey.
“Ahhh~”
The tiger cub responded happily, then spread out his short legs and rushed towards Mulan.
Along the way, they met the animals that had picked up trash with them before, which made them confused.
etc!
We are all garbage collectors, how come this guy became a prince?
Could it be that they had made a mistake before, and that the generous tiger lord allowed the freeloaders to dine at the table with him?
With this fearless thought, a weasel approached stealthily, and then——
emmm……
Brother, be careful in your next life.
The beasts, who were ready to make a move, returned to their secret ambush until Mulan had eaten her fill and went to the river to drink water.
Yu Yiyun was extremely hungry. She ate voraciously, almost filling herself to death. She then lay down lazily to digest the food.
The beasts in ambush hesitated and did not dare to move forward for a moment.
In addition to being afraid of the tigress leader, they discovered that the tiger cub who ascended to the throne of crown prince had obviously grown larger in size and could already pose a threat to most animals in the mountains and forests.
The beasts were even more confused.
We both pick up the same trash, why are you so outstanding?
After the rainstorm, the animals, who were in urgent need of food, finally overcame their fear and tentatively came to the tiger cub.
Yu Yijun lay on her back, letting them eat her food right under her nose.
My aunt prefers large prey, and she can’t finish all the meat she brings back, so it’s okay to share some with them.
Besides, many of the animals that steal food are nationally protected animals, so one more life counts.
Yu Yijun was just thinking about it when he caught a glimpse of the lynx packing again. He opened his mouth wide and roared at it twice.
“Ahhh!”
You can eat secretly, but you are not allowed to take it away!
Don’t think that I won’t bite you just because you are a national second-class protected animal!
“Woo woo…”
The lynx was startled and the meat in its mouth fell to the ground, where it was quickly snatched away by a crow flying nearby.
It just couldn't understand: You just got the crown prince position, and you yelled at me! What about the revolutionary friendship that once picked up trash side by side?
Guoyi is amazing!
Why do cats have to make things difficult for cats!
In the distance, Mulan, who had just returned from drinking water, heard Xiaohu's "ferocious" roar and also howled.
As expected of the tiger cub I raised, it is really promising and has even learned to protect food.
——If Queen Mulan had come back five minutes earlier and seen this stupid tiger allowing those beasts to steal food right under her nose, she would have been so angry that she would have cleared the door.
Meanwhile, at the edge of Mulan's territory.
An adult male tiger chasing its prey approached its mate's territory, retracted its claws and hesitated to move forward.
He licked the wound on the tip of his nose, thinking back to his 'romantic' date a few months ago, and silently stopped outside of Mulan's territory to sniff the scent left by his mate, the tigress.
--etc! !
I haven't been here for several months, why is there a smell of a little tiger in my partner's territory? !
The adult male tiger looked up and felt the colorful scenery above his head.
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