Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl
Chapter 371 - 369: Catching a Chicken, As If Nobody Else Knows How

Sneaky and furtive, furtive and sneaky.

Not fearing death, the Yellow-throated Marten was slowly approaching.

Chen Ying watched coldly as those little fellows courted death; there was nothing to be done—nature was just that cruel.

He certainly could have scared away those bold martens, but the problem was if they were to fail this time, they'd still dare to try next time.

The saying "having the cutest face, but throwing the fiercest punches" described them perfectly.

Two Yellow-throated Martens lay in ambush, before and after the falcon, but the latter took flight before danger struck, circling in the sky and swooping down, snatching one of the martens that hadn't managed to retreat in time.

That marten was gripped by the throat in the claws of the falcon, carried up into the sky, and then, as the falcon released its hold, the marten fell from the heavens.

Fortunately, Chen Ying dodged swiftly; otherwise, he would have really had a marten on his head.

And who knows if his head would've still been perched on his neck at that time.

The other lucky Yellow-throated Marten hid among the dense tree branches, still in shock. After a while, it hurriedly leaped down from the tree. Before long, the sorrowful cries of a pheasant came from the bushes in the spacious woods.

Moments later, the Yellow-throated Marten, satisfied, dragged its prey away to find a spot to feast on the delicious food and soothe its frightened heart.

(Pheasant: If you've got the guts, catch me! We both have wings, why should I bear it all?)

After being forced to witness the entire spectacle, the onlookers finally let out the breath that had been trapped in their chests.

Though the description took long, the actual event lasted only about ten minutes.

The unfortunate marten lay on the forest floor, its eyes still open in death. Chen thought about it but decided not to move it.

Other animals were still eyeing it hungrily; eventually, this marten would become another animal's meal.

The drama over and their tasks completed, all that remained was the daily monotony of observation, recording, and analysis.

That's why it's said that field research is hard—it's no joke, living in tents, sleeping on uneven forest ground. The food consumed is all about convenience, not to mention any leisure or entertainment; just being able to sleep in is the greatest pleasure.

People like Lin Fang were quite fortunate. Their temporary camp was situated on a route frequently patrolled by forest rangers, not far from the emergency station, which offered them the chance to seek help if something went wrong.

Those in no man's lands on field trips might have to huddle in the mountains for days on end, and to put it bluntly, when they got dirty, there would be nowhere to wash.

Luckily, everyone was in the same boat. Nobody frowned upon the other for it.

People like them could go to the emergency station or the Protection Station every few days to find a place to shower and wash their clothes.

After Chen Ying and the others left, the two Little Tiger Cubs had enough sleep and began to act up around their mother again.

Naughty leader eyed the solar panel camera placed on a nearby rock, curiously going over to try and pull it down for a closer look.

The Tiger mother didn't understand what this thing was, but it was left there by that good-smelling Two-legged beast; it couldn't let the little cub break it.

She bit the Little Tiger Cub's ear and pulled it back, ready to lead them to the river for a drink.

Big Tiger Cub saw the river and hesitated, retreating a couple steps back.

Memories of nearly drowning in the water before flooded its mind, its head shaking like a rattle.

Tiger mother loved her cubs dearly, but she was also very strict.

Without strictness, the Little Tiger Cub would suffer even more hardships when it grew up and lived on its own.

Well-behaved Little Tiger followed behind the Tiger mother, step by step.

Seeing Big Tiger Cub's timid retreat, the Tiger mother unceremoniously grabbed the scruff of its neck, called Little Tiger, and walked along the river for about fifteen meters. Upon finding the stretch of water where the Water Otter Mother had made her home, she placed Big Tiger Cub into the shallow water.

Big Tiger Cub shivered involarily and tried to lie down out of habit, but as soon as it lay down, it choked on a mouthful of water and quickly jumped up.

Little Tiger stood firm in the water; the shallow depths reached only to its belly.

Seeing its companion frightened, it paddled over and bit the other's ear, coaxing it to stand properly.

Big Tiger Cub stood tremblingly upright and realized, hey, it really wasn't drowning!

It took a few steps and sure enough, the water only reached its belly. Big Tiger Cub suddenly felt capable again.

The Tiger mother took them to play in the water for about ten minutes. The Water Otter Mother, too, came back from hunting.

The three Little Water Otters, seeing the Little Tiger Cubs playing, hurried over to join in.

The biggest Water Otter, being especially hospitable, even caught a fish from the water to offer to the two good friends.

Little Tiger bit the fish, planning to go ashore to eat it. But Big Tiger Cub was one to remember the food, not the lesson; seeing the Water Otter Cub catch a fish in the water, it too swam out to the middle and even tried to dive in.

The moment Tiger mother saw this, she acted—what do you do with a disobedient child? Spank them!

She rushed over, grabbed its scruff, and with a twist of her head, flung the Little Tiger Cub onto the edge of the sandbank.

It didn't hurt much, but the blow to its pride was substantial.

Little Tiger gave a howl of protest against the Tiger mother's uncivil behavior, but at a roar from the Tiger mother, Little Tiger instantly cowered, its ears pressed tight against its head, daring not to backtalk again.

Beside them, the well-behaved Little Tiger, holding the fish, sighed, turned, and found a suitable spot to begin its meal.

Generally speaking, tigers do not eat fish.

If mammals and fish were their choices, they would not hesitate to choose animal meat. Fish was merely an alternative when food was scarce.

Of course, occasionally eating a fish to change the taste was still okay.

Among the thirteen types of big cats, it seemed that only lions were adamantly against eating fish.

For lions, even if they were starving to death, they wouldn't lick a fish!

The tiger mother called out several times, and the big tiger cub gradually stopped trembling and slowly approached, hugging the tiger mother's leg and softly crying out twice.

The tiger mother gently touched its body with her head, signaling it to go ashore and wait.

At this moment, another water otter cub, which got along well with the big tiger cub, also caught a fish, circumvented the tiger mother, ran to the big tiger cub's side, and bumped the fish's head into the mouth of the big tiger cub.

The big tiger cub glanced at the tiger mother, saw no objection, quickly bit the fish, and then started eating.

Seeing that both little buddies had food, the three little water otters also started looking for food to fill their stomachs.

While they were doing all this, the water otter mother was watching by the den, occasionally diving for a few seconds.

The tiger mother took the two little tiger cubs to hunt in the woods while the sky was not yet completely dark.

Being cubs, it was their time to learn.

They would mimic the tiger mother's hunting process, follow her teachings, and through repeated failures, they would gather experience and eventually grow into the lords of the forest.

When night fell completely, the tiger mother returned to the cave with the two cubs.

The camera faithfully recorded the images of the tiger family's outing and return.

Comparing the two, one could clearly see that when they left, the stomachs of the three tigers were flat, whereas when they returned, their bellies were noticeably bulging.

The next day was overcast, and the tiger mother did not go out to hunt again.

What they had eaten the day before was enough to sustain them for two or three days without food.

But the little tiger cubs were not well-behaved little friends; after playing at the cave entrance with the tiger mother for a while, the big tiger cub seemed to be attracted by something nearby.

It stood at the cave entrance, eyes burning with intensity as it looked at the nearby bushes, ears twitching as if capturing sound waves in the air.

The little tiger cub, which had been pouncing on the tiger mother's tail, suddenly stopped and pricked up its ears, turning its head toward where the big tiger cub was looking.

The two tiger cubs, backs slightly arched, slowly approached the bushes.

Their little paws gently scraped the ground twice as they timed their entrance, bursting into the bushes.

Rustling and the sound of bushes being snapped echoed.

The tiger mother stood up, unblinkingly watching in the direction of the commotion.

After a while, she lay down again, forelimbs crossed, chin resting on the crossed forelimbs.

Rustling once more, the bushes were pushed aside as the two tiger cubs, one after the other, came back.

The big tiger cub had a fat pheasant in its mouth, while the little tiger cub also seemed to be holding something.

As they got closer, the big tiger cub dropped the pitiful pheasant and haughtily roared several times with head held high and chest puffed out.

The little tiger cub spat out two bird eggs from its mouth.

Poor thing, it was hard to imagine how it managed to hold two eggs in its mouth without breaking them.

From the previous evening, this camera had been switched to a 24-hour slow live broadcast, and those watching in the live broadcast room were mostly researchers studying the tiger cubs.

Seeing the little tiger cub successfully capture the pheasant, the researchers slapped tables and thighs and clapped like seals, wishing they could kiss and hug the big tiger cub and lift it into the air.

Of course, the little tiger cub was also great. In a way, the little tiger cub's cleverness was more apparent than the big tiger cub's, but it certainly did not have the same robust physique as the big tiger cub.

The tiger mother, of course, wouldn't eat the prey brought back by her children.

And the big tiger cub, too, was starting to become possessive of its food, grunting twice at the little tiger cub and taking the chicken aside to enjoy it alone.

The little tiger cub gave it a glance, then looked at the bird eggs, turned around, and lay down beside the tiger mother.

The tiger mother glanced at it, wrapped an arm around it, and gently licked its fur.

She wouldn't intervene in the competition between the cubs; each child had to learn to hunt on their own.

Even cubs from the same litter would face competition as they grew up.

Competition over food, territory, and mating rights would permeate their lives.

The little tiger cub wasn't angry, either; it might have been a little upset, but under the gentle consolation of the tiger mother, it cast that sentiment aside.

A young keeper at a certain base was also watching the live broadcast, and upon seeing this scene, couldn't help but comment that the big tiger cub was not very nice. The pheasant might very well have been captured with the help of the little tiger cub; why didn't it share with the little tiger cub?

Another keeper glanced at him without saying a word.

Protecting food was an innate nature of animals, even more so in the wild; there were no wild animals that did not protect their food, except for mothers who would share with their cubs, and most animals would not allow their children near their food as they grew slightly older.

Of course, leftovers were another story; better to benefit one's own children than another beast.

Brother Leopard and Great Bai, those types of males, were the anomalies in the animal kingdom.

The big tiger cub came back, its face covered in blood and debris, looking for the little tiger cub to play, only to be disdainfully kicked away.

The little tiger cub stood up from the mother's embrace, shook itself, and darted back into the bushes with a sprightly trot.

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