The mother tiger led her cubs along the riverbank, searching for delicious food offered by nature—a testament to her experience.
A torrential rainstorm swept through the forest, causing the river to swell and surge violently, sweeping away countless fragile lives.
Lin Qian looked at the raging torrent with some worry. In the past few days, he had realized that Tiger Mom planned to live in this forest from now on.
He remembered that tigers constantly change their habitats because this is the only way to ensure a sufficient food supply. If they stay in one forest to hunt for a long time, the forest's food chain will quickly collapse.
Because big cats are not only invincible in the forest, but they also have a huge appetite.
The fact that Tiger Mom brought him and Courage on their long journey to this forest clearly indicates that they were changing their habitat.
Previously, Lin Qian would not have been worried. This forest had lush vegetation and many animals, making it a suitable place for tigers to live.
But the roaring sound of the flash flood in his ears made him worried. Flash floods are most likely to occur during summer rains. Looking at the gloomy sky, he was afraid that the rain would continue for a few more days.
If the water level continues to rise and the floodwaters don't recede, this forest will no longer be a good place to live. At that time, the floods will be devastating, and landslides and mudslides will cause extremely dangerous situations.
Lin Qian's concerns were not unfounded, but Tiger Mom, a seasoned forest native, was clearly already confident.
Past experience tells it that rain and floods are only temporary, and this is normal in summer.
A cute, childlike cry brought Lin Qian back to reality.
Courage was nuzzling his neck, and the little tiger's eyes were slightly narrowed, as if it wanted to lick its brother's fur.
Lin Qian turned her head and nuzzled it affectionately.
Looking up, I saw that Tiger Mom had somehow ended up standing by the river, head down, pulling something from under the trees that were cutting through the floodwaters.
The tree roots were broken, but not completely severed. The branches submerged in the floodwaters swayed with the current, trapping vipers caught in the flow.
Of course, the tiger mother wasn't after the viper. With a forceful pull, she dragged a ibex out from under a tree branch.
The ibex had already passed away, its brown fur swaying gently in the murky floodwaters, its body somewhat swollen from being submerged.
The ibex's habitat is clearly not this forest; the rugged, rocky mountains in the distance are their home.
It is highly likely that this ibex was unable to escape in time when the flash flood occurred yesterday. Not only was it swept away by the flood and lost its life, but it was also carried by the flood to the forest.
If it weren't for the broken tree on the bank that stopped it, this ibex would probably have been able to continue its "long journey".
The mother tiger dragged the ibex to a spot a little away from the river before calling the cubs over.
Courage was already impatient when it saw the food; it swished its little tail and rushed over like a small cannonball.
Lin Qian followed closely behind, his speed no slower than Yong Qi's.
The tiger mother tore open the ibex's abdomen and, as usual, pulled out the internal organs first.
Lin Qian snatched the sheep's heart in one bite, his movements incredibly practiced.
Courage's little head was buried in the pile of meat, and it was trying hard to tear at the liver.
Although the sheep had been soaked in water for quite some time, the meat was still fresh and had not spoiled.
The tender mutton, with its rich, muttony flavor, is incredibly tempting.
Tiger Mom leaned over and swallowed most of the internal organs in a few bites, then quickly tore into the mutton and ate.
Tigers eat very quickly because their intestines are very straight, so they can swallow food directly without chewing it.
The common saying "wolfing down food" means exactly this.
Compared to Tiger Mom's eating speed, the Lin brothers were clearly no match.
Their teeth are not sharp enough yet; it takes a lot of effort just to tear off a piece of meat. The barbs on their tongues are not very powerful yet; even a scrap of meat on a bone can keep the two tiger cubs licking for a long time.
Lin Qian licked a lamb rib until his tongue was sore before he finally cleaned the meat.
It wasn't that he was deliberately trying to compete with bones, but rather that he was specifically training his licking skills.
Compared to Courage, a purebred tiger cub, Lin Qian felt he was lacking in both fighting instincts and licking abilities, so he had to practice more to try and make up for the gap.
Courage was completely unaware of his brother's envy of his 'talent' and was diligently licking the sheep bone.
The Siberian ibex, also known as the Siberian ibex, is a mammal belonging to the order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae, and genus Caprus.
Generally, the body length is 105-150 cm, the tail length is 12-15 cm, the shoulder height is about 100 cm, and the weight is 40-60 kg. The largest Siberian ibex can weigh up to 120 kg.
The animal under Lin Qian's mouth was clearly a common Siberian goat, weighing about 40 kilograms. After removing the horns and bones, the edible meat would be about 20 kilograms.
Therefore, after Tiger Mom had eaten her fill, Lin Qian and Yong Qi really didn't have much left to eat.
If Tiger Mom hadn't intentionally left the meat on the bones, the two brothers probably wouldn't have been able to eat much meat except for their internal organs.
It's not that the tiger mother doesn't feed her cubs meat, but rather that's the rule among wild animals: the stronger ones must eat their fill first in order to provide adequate protection.
Besides, the tiger cubs are still nursing and don't eat much meat, so it doesn't matter how much meat they eat.
During this stage, the tiger mother mainly trains the cubs' biting and other abilities. Taking the cubs out is also to teach them to hunt and gradually get them used to walking in the forest.
The mother tiger, having eaten her fill, lay contentedly to one side, her eyes slightly narrowed, watching over her cubs as they ate, while remaining alert to any movement around her.
Every meal in the wild is hard-won, and the smell of fresh blood can easily attract other predators.
The gloomy sky remained overcast, and once Lin Qian and his courage stopped licking their bones, Tiger Mom growled and prepared to set off.
The mother and her three cubs, having eaten and drunk their fill, strolled leisurely on the damp grass.
The remaining ibex behind them were quickly taken over by small animals that emerged from the grass.
A yellow-throated marten quietly peeked out, its yellow fur slightly damp. It stood up, revealing the fur on its chest, with its long, thin tail standing upright behind its rump.
Its beady eyes looked around, and after confirming there was no threat, it let out a "clucking~ howl~" roar.
The yellow-throated marten's call is rhythmic and very distinctive.
This is how the yellow-throated marten communicates with its own kind; it is calling out to its companions.
The yellow-throated marten is known as the "wolf of the weasel family." It can hunt alone or in packs and has a certain degree of social ability. When hunting, it communicates with calls and supports each other.
Not long after the distinctive call was made, rustling sounds soon came from the bushes, and three yellow-throated martens emerged.
Seeing the fresh remains, the yellow-throated martens quickly claimed their spots and began searching for any remaining bits of meat on the sheep bones.
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