Chapter 176 Arctic Fox (XVI)
It is not easy to find a fox whose life or death is unknown in the vast Arctic.
Not to mention us Pig Wang, the beast with the worst sense of direction on the entire Blue Planet, it is even more difficult for us to find a partner for Xiao 8.
Fortunately, God closed a window for him, but left many doors.
Yu Yiyun recalled the encounter with Xiao 8's companion last year. Based on the time she arrived at Fox Island and the refresh location, the female fox's wintering place should not be far from Fox Island.
Taking environmental factors into consideration, the place suitable for foxes to spend the winter alone is most likely near the Aurora Hotel that they once explored.
When winter comes, little people will come from all over the world to enjoy the beautiful aurora that can only be seen in the polar regions.
Frequent human activities release heat, causing the temperature of the entire area to be higher than the surrounding area, which is suitable for small animals to avoid the cold.
In recent years, foreigners' awareness of animal protection has gradually increased, and the threats to Arctic life from humans have decreased.
Some smart foxes choose to spend the winter where humans gather, and even learn to act cute and beg for food.
Yu Yiyun left Fox Island and brought the lonely Xiao 8 to the Aurora Resort.
There were still a few days until the spring equinox, and most areas in the Arctic Circle had already experienced the distinction between day and night. Yu Yiyun was finally able to see the Aurora Hotel clearly during the day.
It is not accurate to call it a hotel. It is more of a reindeer ranch that only receives guests who come to enjoy the Northern Lights at night.
Yu Yiyun and Xiao 8 hid in the dark and saw the sleek reindeer eating grass leisurely.
There were several Inuit people who looked like the indigenous people of the Arctic. They were wearing thick cold-proof clothes and had furry deer hair around their necks to protect their faces.
The Inuit are shorter and thicker than people living in warmer areas, which allows them to concentrate heat and maintain body temperature to the greatest extent possible.
Their small eyes protect their pupils from the strong light shining on the snow during the polar day.
Homo sapiens, the organism with the highest brain ratio known on Earth, is at the top of the food chain.
In fact, it has only been 300,000 years since the early Homo sapiens appeared, which is much shorter than the evolutionary history of many animals, and is still in a stage of continuous evolution.
As we all know, evolution is mainly influenced by the environment. For example, the Arctic fox is cold-resistant, and the desert red fox is drought-resistant.
Perhaps most humans do not realize that the natural environment they change will in turn lead to their own adaptive evolution.
Therefore, when humans protect the environment, they should not be arrogant and condescending.
We should be respectful and avoid being harmed by the environment we have created.
Yu Yiyun secretly observed the Inuit and speculated that they were the indigenous people who had changed most significantly after coming into contact with modern civilization.
The Inuit raise reindeer, often for food, clothing, transportation, etc.
The reindeer raised by these Inuit are mainly used as commodities, and they provide photo taking and rental services to tourists from afar.
The cold-proof clothes they wear are of primitive style, with obvious local characteristics.
But the little girl next to her was wearing a pink windbreaker, lace-up snow boots, and a rabbit-ear-shaped hat, and her dress was not much different from that of children in a bustling city.
The child raised his red face and called "Mom and Dad" in the local language, then unconsciously switched to English, probably influenced by the teachers and tourists.
"Dad, Mom, I want to go play with Fiona."
The girl's father was staring at the reindeer eating grass. After hearing his daughter's request, he responded in the local dialect that Yu Yiyun could not understand.
"I don't need a reindeer to take me there. Fiona is nearby. We've agreed to visit Snow White together."
The girl's mother responded, took out a deerskin scarf and tied it around her neck, and gently reminded her to be careful.
The girl skipped away, and Yu Yiyun continued to squat there, intending to wait for the sun to set and observe whether there were any Arctic foxes or other wild animals nearby.
Xiao 8 next to her suddenly moved and followed the girl.
"Hmm?" Where are you going?
"Hmm?" You're not looking for your wife anymore?
Yu Yiyun called out twice, but seeing that Xiao 8 didn't stop, she followed him reluctantly.
The two foxes ran and jumped, following the girl for a while, and then another furry girl appeared in front of them.
She has big eyes and doesn't look like a local.
"Fiona!" The girl immediately ran towards her, and the two hugged in front of a simple stone hut.
Before modern civilization affected the Arctic, the Inuit mainly lived in snow caves or stone houses and were very good at building such small houses.
In order to experience the original scenery of the Arctic, some tourists also ask to stay in stone houses.
But the stone house is simple and small, with an area of only 1.2 meters at most. It is difficult for people over 12 years old to stand up straight inside. It doesn't look like it is designed for tourists.
Yu Yiyun was still analyzing when Xiao 8 smelled something and ran over excitedly.
"嘤!" Yu Yijun couldn't stop him and could only follow Xiao 8.
As they got closer to the stone house, the wind blowing in the opposite direction weakened, and Yu Yiyun smelled the scent of a fox.
He didn't recognize which fox it was, but looking at Xiao 8's excited expression, he knew it must be his partner.
“Ahhh!”
Little 8 circled around the stone house anxiously, looking for a gap to crawl into.
Animals have no concept of "doors". Some animals are put into cages and even though the doors are not closed, they still move around like headless flies.
Yu Yijun couldn't bear it any longer, so she held his tail in her mouth and came to the door, forcibly holding down Xiao 8, who secretly poked his head out to look around.
In the small stone house, two girls were squatting beside a small stone nest, whispering softly.
"Princess, are you cold? I'll give you my scarf. It'll keep you warm."
The rancher's daughter took off her deerskin scarf and carefully wrapped it around the fox lying in the den.
The blonde girl from outside the city looked worried and asked nervously, "Will she die?"
“I don’t know.” The rancher’s daughter shook her head and answered honestly, “Dad said she was seriously injured and might die.”
"I should have saved her earlier." The blonde girl lowered her head and murmured self-reproachfully, "I was too scared."
"It's not your fault. The winters here are too cold, and it's common for Arctic foxes to be eaten. If it weren't for you, she would have been eaten." The rancher's daughter patted her companion's shoulder, and then patted the fox wrapped in deerskin, "Snow White, you must get better."
The blonde girl took two breaths, holding back her tears, and suggested, "Should we go find her some food?"
"Okay, okay~"
The two girls left the stone house hand in hand.
Yu Yiyun then let go of Xiao 8 and quietly went into the stone house.
There was no wind or snow in the house, and it was very warm.
There is a stone nest next to the wall, which is made of stones of almost the same size. Seal skin and deer hair are placed underneath, which are the most cold-proof materials in the eyes of the locals.
The fox, called "Snow White" by the girl, lay quietly in the den. It seemed that she had been taken care of by humans for a while, and her fur had begun to turn black.
It was obvious that she was in a bad condition, and there was water and food next to her.
The female fox quietly closed her eyes and breathed weakly.
Yu Yiyun gently opened the deerskin scarf and checked the fox's injuries.
The vixen smelled the scent of the beast and finally reacted, slowly raising her head.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw Xiao 8's big, white and fluffy face, and his grape-like eyes were twinkling.
Wild animals do not have rich emotions, and it is difficult for them to express their joy or anger through crying.
The female fox looked into his watery eyes, and seemed to suddenly gain strength. She raised her head with great effort and rubbed Xiao 8.
“Woo woo…”
“Wuwuwu…”
“Wuwuwu…”
The female fox told Xiao 8 aggrievedly that she had spent the winter peacefully and had planned to return to Fox Island to reunite with her lover as agreed.
She was so obsessed with the reunion that she set out too early and entered the territory of a lone wolf.
Winter is the season for wolves.
Lone wolves do not count.
Without the support of a group, the lone wolf could hardly find food in the cold winter and became emaciated by hunger.
When it spotted the furry Arctic fox, it ran over without hesitation and bit the female fox.
The female fox was extremely frightened. She tried her best to break free from the wolf and used the skills taught by her brother-in-law to deal with the lone wolf.
However, the gap between foxes and wolves is too big. Even though the female fox has skills, her physical strength and aggressiveness are still inferior to those of the wolf, and she gradually falls into a disadvantage.
It happened that a blonde girl riding a reindeer passed by. Seeing the little fox desperately resisting the ferocious wolf, she quickly made a sound to attract the adults.
The lone wolf had experienced the horror of humans, so he wisely abandoned his prey and left.
But the female fox was bitten twice by the wolf, and her back and abdomen were severely injured. She had no strength to return to Fox Island.
While the couple were chattering and pouring out their hearts to each other, Yu Yiyun quickly checked the fox's wound.
Fortunately, the Arctic fox has thick subcutaneous fat, and the wolf had been hungry for too long and was not very strong, so the two major attacks neither broke the spine nor damaged the internal organs.
The Arctic fox was too small, and the severe injuries and excessive blood loss resulted in the female fox being unable to recover and her condition was actually getting worse.
If we delay for a few more days, the female fox will really die as the rancher said.
For the past month or so, the two girls have taken good care of Snow White.
But they had limited experience and didn't know how to save a life. The most they could do was share their food with her.
The human stomach is different from that of animals and prefers cooked and seasoned meat.
Not only are some nutrients lost during the cooking process, but excessive salt and onion and garlic condiments will increase the burden on canines' livers, damage red blood cells in the body, and make anemia more severe.
Yu Yiyun figured out the reason and immediately ran out to catch a group of lemmings, separated out their iron-rich livers, and fed them to Xiao 8's partner.
Canines are not as aggressive as cats, but their intelligence is slightly higher than that of cats.
Many dog owners have found that when their dogs are sick, they will heal themselves by going outside and finding healing grass to chew on.
Xiao 8 realized that his partner was seriously injured and needed to replenish his blood as soon as possible, so he went to get a bunch of berries from somewhere.
Xiao 8's partner cooperated and ate a few bites. When they heard footsteps outside, Yu Yijun immediately pulled Xiao 8 to hide.
Although the two little foxes saved Xiao 8, they are wild foxes and cannot get too close to humans.
In addition to the fact that being close to humans will cause animals to lose their wildness, due to the special geographical location of the Arctic, the animals living here have full poison resistance attributes and carry more pathogens in their bodies than other wild animals.
They are already immune themselves or to each other, and if they come into frequent contact with humans, it might lead to an epidemic.
The two girls went into the stone house and saw Snow White still lying there, not touching the food, and seemed relieved.
"My dad told me that dogs can't eat hamburger meat, but we've run out of beef at home," the blonde girl said with some guilt. "Our vacation is almost over, and there are only some vegetables left in the refrigerator. I cooked them all."
She poured the carrots and broccoli into the small bowl and lowered her head, not daring to look at the little fox.
Yu Yiyun hid in the dark, feeling very complicated.
The little girl has made some progress, but not much.
Someone tell her that wild animals don’t need to eat cooked food, there are no wild people out there to cook for us.
besides……
Does your family use a refrigerator in the Arctic?
What about insulation?!
Xiao 8 heard the familiar human whisper, looked up at her, and picked two pieces of chopped boiled carrots and broccoli to eat.
Canines have a varied diet and can absorb nutrients through vegetables, thus improving their dietary structure.
When the blonde girl saw that she had finally touched the food, she jumped up with joy and put her head on the stone roof.
"Fiona, are you okay?"
"It's okay, it's okay, that's great!" The girl rubbed her head with one hand and held the rancher's daughter with the other hand. "I'm so happy to see Snow White recover before the holiday ends! Being able to become friends with you is the happiest thing of my trip!"
"Me too!" The rancher's daughter held her hand. "I never thought of saving injured little foxes before. It was your kindness that infected me."
The Inuit have lived in the Arctic region for generations, and fighting against wild animals is commonplace.
Going back decades, they, the indigenous people, were also part of the fight.
The girl grows up in such an environment and does not realize that her hands can not only take lives, but also save lives.
"No, you already have a kind heart, but I just happened to awaken it." The blonde girl blinked and invited sincerely, "I hope you can come to the city where I live and see the world from my perspective."
"Okay, I'll definitely go!" The girl nodded excitedly.
Yu Yiyun looked at this and that through the gap, and was deeply touched by the friendship between girls.
Zhu Wang put away his CP thinking. Through this picture, he seemed to see the collision between civilization and primitiveness time and time again in the long river of history.
Unfortunately, not every collision is so harmonious.
I still remember that in the late 19th century, the American icebreaker sailed to the Arctic for the first time and discovered the Inuit living there.
They stole important hunting tools from the Inuit and brought six native people back to the United States for research.
After they died of illness, their remains were dissected and placed in jars in the museum.
The descendants of the Inuit who were taken away asked the museum for the remains of their ancestors, but were rudely refused by those arrogant and rude people.
Just like Columbus discovered the New World, the wheel of civilization once rolled heavily over the bodies of the Inuit people.
Yu Yiyun blinked and looked at the two little girls who were pulling each other.
She sincerely hopes that as human civilization becomes more enlightened and inclusive, people can truly learn to "be equal to all beings and respect each other."
After the blonde girl left, the rancher's daughter took care of Snow White alone.
As a local, she obviously has more experience in interacting with wild animals. She is not like the girls in the city who are always snapping pictures and holding their faces to express how cute the foxes are.
The girl asked for raw meat from her father and fed it to Snow White along with vegetables.
Yu Yiyun and Xiao 8 took advantage of the night to stuff all the lemming livers they had collected into the female fox.
Wild animals are extremely tenacious. With adequate nutrition, the female fox was able to stand up again in just one week.
The girl came to the stone house for the last time, and Snow White followed her out of the cave, her grape-like black eyes full of water.
The girl realized something and turned around and asked, "Are you leaving?"
“Woo woo.”
The girl smiled and said, "Goodbye."
She has lived in a semi-wild environment since she was a child and has no concept of "pets". She does not think that Arctic foxes are cute and should be locked up to keep her company forever.
The girl knew that the Arctic fox was an elf in the wind and snow and should be able to roam freely on the vast ice field.
and--
Arctic foxes kept in captivity by humans will really become ugly...
“Woo woo!”
Snow White screamed excitedly twice, spread her paws and threw the stone house out.
The girl watched her run a short distance when two foxes appeared from nowhere, surrounded Snow White on the left and right, howling excitedly.
The girl looked at the three foxes running away, and she didn't feel much reluctance in her heart.
That's what a fox should be like, with a free world and companions to play with.
Yu Yiyun and Xiao 8 surrounded the female fox who had just recovered from a serious injury and reluctantly returned to Fox Island.
March is coming to an end, and the cub that Xiaoliu and his partner are expecting is about to be born.
The breeding season of Arctic foxes is from February to May. March is not early, but it is definitely not late.
Some foxes that start courtship late or wait a long time to find a mate will choose this stage to mate.
After Xiao 8 reunited with his lover, he was slow to get married and even stopped going into the nest. He was busy catching rabbits and lemmings every day to nourish his wife's body.
Last year, they were the first couple to bond and give birth, and their cubs enjoyed every advantage, eating the most nutritious eggs and chicks.
The gestation period of Arctic foxes is about 51 days. Even if the couple mates now, the cubs will be born at the end of May, and weaning will be delayed until the end of July, when the seabirds can already fly.
Not being able to eat the chicks is not the worst.
When polar day turns to polar night, the cubs are only four months old and have to face the harshest winter on Earth.
Besides, her partner had been seriously injured, and pregnancy and breastfeeding would consume her essence and blood.
Xiao 8 made up his mind and never went into the den no matter what the female fox said.
When Xiao Liu's cubs were born, Xiao 8 happily carried the lemmings to his sister to raise.
It was in vain that the female fox was so charming and beautiful, but she ended up winking at a blind man.
In a rage... she lost her temper, had a cold war with Xiao 8 for three minutes, and then happily went to catch Arctic hares together.
Yu Yiyun looked at the two of them running together, licking and hugging each other in front of the rabbit, and even began to sympathize with the Arctic rabbit.
At the last moment of life, he was forced to eat dog food.
"Woo."
Yu Yijun was watching with great interest when her youngest sister came over, called out twice, put down a snow goose, and then began to wash its red face with her paws.
"Hmm." Sister, don't catch snow geese when you have a baby in your belly. Wouldn't it be better to catch some lemmings?
Speaking of the baby in her youngest sister's belly, Yu Yiyun became very worried.
It was a good thing that the youngest sister successfully gave birth to offspring.
The problem is, I don’t know if it’s because Yu Yiyun taught her too many cat hunting techniques, or because the youngest sister really doesn’t like the useless male fox.
After the marriage, she actually beat the male fox away and went hunting with her cubs.
Poor male fox, the dog sneaked into the little sister’s territory several times and his tail was bitten so much that it became bald.
This made the male fox extremely depressed, and he squatted near the youngest sister's territory all day thinking about his life as a dog.
The youngest sister, however, was not affected at all. Just like last year, she not only caught prey for herself and her baby, but also fed her older sisters and gave some to her older brother.
"Woo-ing?" Brother, don't you like eating birds?
“…嘤.”…I like it.
The younger sister is too strong, not only is her male fox companion useless, but even her brother Yu Yijun seems redundant.
The foxes' breeding season has not yet ended. In the past two months, female foxes have been showing their affection to Yu Yiyun and want to have puppies with him.
Yu Yiyun always tried to hide whenever possible, staying away from the beautiful female fox, and pushing her own male fox of the right age to the big beautiful fox.
Seeing that the spring equinox had passed and the sun was about to be on duty for 24 hours, Yu Yiyun thought he should be able to take a breath.
Who would have thought that after he had eaten the snow geese fed by his youngest sister, he found a place to take a nap. While drowsily he felt something licking his fur, and in a few seconds he took a bath.
Yu Yijun opened his eyes and was suddenly met with a bear face, which frightened him so much that he shuddered.
Only after seeing Haopengxiong's appearance clearly did Yu Yiyun breathe a sigh of relief.
"Bing!" Bear, you are still alive!
"Roar!" Fox, you are still alive!
The two animals greeted each other, and Bear couldn't wait to show off his one and a half year old little bear to Fox.
The white bear cub is playing in the water on the shore. It has grown into a huge giant and can help its mother in hunting.
After the cubs are over one and a half years old, it is relatively easy for the mother bear to take care of them and she doesn’t have to worry so much about the cubs being bitten to death.
Yu Yiyun asked the mother bear if she wanted to spend the summer on that river this year, but the mother and cubs refused.
They plan to set out with other polar bears to find a new habitat that will allow all of them to survive the harsh summer.
The North Pole of the earth is their home, which they finally conquered after millions of years of evolution.
This extremely cold glacier belongs to the polar bears, and they will not give an inch.
"Bing!"
Yu Yiyun stood by the coast, watching the mother bear and her cubs dive into the sea and swim towards the distant coast.
I sincerely hope to see it every spring, to see this strong and ferocious largest land predator.
Until the polar bear disappeared over the distant sea.
Yu Yijun tilted the dog's head up, looked at the bright sun, and realized that it would not set for the time being.
The polar day of Foxhu Island has come again, and Yu Yiyun has already spent two complete nights here.
Calculating the time, Yu Yiyun suddenly felt a little confused.
If I remember correctly, my mission this time was to 'spend two complete dark nights'.
In the previous worlds, whether he turned into a cat or a dog, Yu Yiyun was basically able to survive for two and a half years and leave at the beginning of the third spring.
Now, two nights are over, and only a year and a half of my fox life has passed. What about the remaining year?
Just fooling around?
Yu Yiyun secretly complained, "This is a crappy system that doesn't work," when suddenly a familiar voice rang in her ears.
[For the third time, I am not the system.]
"……?"
Yu Yiyun looked around, at the coast in front of him and the foxes behind him.
Everything is as usual.
But the voice of the Voice of the World came into his mind extremely clearly.
[Congratulations on spending two full nights. Mission accomplished.]
[Next, you will receive the final hidden mission.]
“…嘤嘤!”
……etc!
Yu Yiyun opened her mouth and made a fox-like sound, but it did not serve any purpose of communication at all.
The Voice of the World says:
[Final mission, you can do whatever you want.]
Yu Yiyun: ???
If you have the ability, open the microphone to communicate! !
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