Wang Tianxiao looked ahead, straightened up, took a few steps, then squatted down again, pointing to the two rows of footprints on the ground that stretched into the distance, and said, "Look, these are the real traces."
"Huh?" Wang Tianxin looked behind him in surprise. "Why are there footprints here, but not behind us? Are they covered by snow?"
"Of course not, their footprints were clearly left after the snow. And most animals rarely come out to move around in the snow; even if they are very resistant to the cold, they will wait until the snow stops."
"That's strange, did it fly there?"
“Haha,” Wang Tianxiao laughed, “You’re right, it really did fly over, or rather, it jumped. It’s about three meters from where we set up the cage to here, which means that thing can jump more than three meters.”
"I see. No wonder there were no traces. Without experience, you definitely wouldn't have noticed that," Wang Tianxin said admiringly.
“This is nothing difficult; it’s common sense for hunters in the mountains,” Wang Tianxiao said with a smile.
"So what exactly is this, bro? Is it some kind of cat, like our two little leopard cats at home?"
"It's a weasel."
"A weasel?" Wang Tianxin looked confused; he had never heard of such a creature.
"Oh, that's the yellow-throated marten, or what we usually call the honey dog."
"It's Honey Dog." Wang Tianxin finally heard a name he recognized.
The blue weasel is a small creature belonging to the genus *Sable* of the family Mustelidae. It has a very wide range of habitats, from the Greater Khingan Mountains in Northeast China to the mountains of Yunnan.
They are also particularly adaptable to their environment and can survive well in different environments.
The yellow-throated weasel has a small, triangular head, somewhat resembling a small fox. Its chin and chest area are covered in orange-yellow fur, like a yellow scarf, hence its other name, the yellow-throated weasel. Because it looks very much like a fox, it is also known as the yellow-waisted fox.
However, the most common name for the weasel among the people is "honey dog".
People think that honey dogs love to eat honey, but that's not true. They love to eat anything sweet, and honey is undoubtedly one of the sweetest things in nature.
The green weasel is not much different in size from the stone marten and sable, generally between 30 and 50 centimeters long, with a bushy tail and a weight of about two kilograms.
However, the weasel is a very ferocious species within the marten genus.
Despite their small size and light weight, they are quite adorable except when they are eating greedily.
But in reality, they are true apex predators.
Their diet consists mainly of rodents and small mammals and reptiles, but the upper limit is extremely high, including badgers, musk deer, deer, antelopes, etc. They even prey on wild boars, which can be described as extremely ferocious.
Even more outrageous is that they also hunted and killed other members of their species, such as sable, stone marten, weasel, and tiger, and were among the main hunters of these same species.
Therefore, the common people have always had a bad impression of honey dogs, as they are seen as greedy and cunning, not much better than jackals and wolves.
When a hunter encounters a honey dog, he'll definitely wipe them all out.
If these things are not reduced as much as possible, they can completely change the ecosystem of nearby provinces.
In addition, since the honey badger also belongs to the genus *Merctis*, it also satisfies the characteristic that the fur and tail of the genus *Merctis* are valuable, so the effort hunters put into hunting them is not in vain.
Judging from the current situation, the rabbit in the cage has definitely been eaten by the honey dog.
Both are minks, but stone minks are relatively gentle and timid, and they usually come out in the evening, while honey badger are very active at night, but they are also active during the day.
Judging from the scene, the small footprints left behind are unique to the weasel family. Yesterday, the heavy snow lasted almost until dawn. If it had been moving at night, the snow would have covered its footprints. However, the footprints, which are still so shallow and clearly visible, must have happened after the snow fell and it was light.
This can be inferred from the fact that the bloodstains on the snow were still bright red and had not faded.
Only honey dogs like to be active during the day, so the culprit who stole the rabbit must definitely be the honey dog.
"So what do we do now?" Wang Tianxin asked.
Wang Tianxin was eager to try.
Wang Tianxiao smiled, watching the faint tracks extend into the distance. "Of course we'll chase after them and wipe out their hideout. They dare to steal our rabbits; we can't let them live in peace."
"But how do we find its nest?"
Wang Tianxiao pointed to the footprints on the ground, "Just follow the footprints. Honey dogs usually live near water, and they are very attached to their homes. When they come out to play, they won't stray too far from home. There aren't any rivers around here, only a small stream where mountain springs converge about a kilometer away, so their home must be over there."
Wang Tianxiao called Dafeng over and asked it to smell the footprints on the ground. Dafeng sniffed carefully for a while, then took off running forward, with Dahei following closely behind.
Of the three dogs, Dafeng is the fastest runner and has the most sensitive sense of smell.
Ah Ying is strong in combat, while Da Hei has good endurance. Each of the three has its weaknesses and strengths.
"Big Wind, slow down," Wang Tianxiao called out to Big Wind, then said to the two people beside him, "Keep up, our hunt is about to begin."
Wang Tianxin and Wu Wenhua were both nervous and excited.
Wang Tianxin, in particular, put a steel ball into his slingshot and, imitating the guerrillas in the open-air movies playing at the village entrance, kept watch all around.
"Don't panic, it won't be that fast, hurry up and catch up."
"Yes, ma'am."
The three followed the two footprints quickly forward. After walking several hundred meters, they noticed that two more footprints had suddenly appeared on the ground, and then they all extended forward.
Wang Tianxiao stopped and looked around at the terrain.
"What's wrong, brother?"
"Shh, be quiet, don't speak loudly."
Wang Tianxiao gently stopped his younger brother, then whispered, "Look at the ground. It's not just one hound's footprints. Judging from the situation, they must have come together from several different angles, proving that it's not just one or two, but probably a whole litter."
"That's great?!" Wang Tianxin was overjoyed.
Wang Tianxiao stared speechlessly at his younger brother; this guy really had a big heart.
It's as if other people's honey dogs are waiting to be caught by him.
"Don't underestimate them. Honey dogs are actually very ferocious. When a family of them works together, they can even hunt stags and wild boars. Even if you are human, you are no match for them."
"Brother, don't scare me. I'm not easily frightened. Besides, we have you, our skilled hunter, so what's there to be afraid of? We can't boost Honey Dog's morale and diminish our own."
"..."
Wang Tianxiao was too lazy to continue arguing with his younger brother. He grabbed a handful of snow and flung it into the air. The snowflakes fluttered down in the sunlight, creating a dazzling display of beauty.
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