Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl
Chapter 385 - 383: What's the problem, do my clothes smell like something you like?

The comrades from the Protection Station arrived particularly quickly, reaching their camp by the afternoon of the next day.

When they arrived, Chen Ying was playing tug-of-war with the giant panda.

"Don't bite, that's my clothing. If you wreck it, what am I going to wear?"

The giant panda bit down even harder, its two paws threatening Chen Ying, coercing him to let go.

Shu Nan stood quite a distance away, taking pictures with his smartphone.

Thanks to modern technology, their portable solar charging panels, once set up, ensured that lighting and cell phone use were no issue each day.

Of course, there was no way to solve the lack of network, so the photos and videos captured could only be sent out after they returned.

When Shu Nan noticed someone approaching, he quickly stopped them from coming any closer.

The other person was wearing a work uniform with the name of their work unit written on it and carried an ID badge – under normal circumstances, nobody would impersonate them.

"Hello, you must be the Brother Shu who made the call. I'm Little Zhang from the Protection Station. Our director sent me to pick up the sample box. Additionally, I've brought this sample box for you to use temporarily. You can swap it back when you leave."

Little Zhang handed the empty sample box to Shu Nan, then lowered his voice, asking what was happening up ahead.

"This morning, the giant panda took advantage of Brother Ying's inattention and stole clothes from his tent. When Brother Ying came back to get dressed and realized they were missing, he went looking and found this guy wiping his face with the clothes."

Shu Nan was delighted. Before, with no one to share the fun, he could only enjoy the moment secretly. Now that Little Zhang was here, they could all revel in the joy.

He shared with Little Zhang the video he captured via Bluetooth, along with some other footage concerning the water deer herd.

"Brother Ying mentioned that you need to pay more attention to this group of deer. His observations suggest that at least six doe in the herd are carrying little cubs. According to the normal breeding season of water deer, they should be giving birth from the end of this month to the middle of next month."

Little Zhang was taken aback and hurriedly noted this on his phone.

Water deer are a Second Nation priority species. If the deer cubs are born successfully, this small community will gradually grow into a large one.

They couldn't interfere with nature's law of the survival of the fittest, but providing extra security for the water deer so they could reproduce more in the wild was the responsibility of everyone at the Protection Station.

"Thanks for the heads up, Brother Shu. When I report back, I'll ask the director to let me stay here this month to ensure their safety."

Shu Nan initially thought to say it wasn't necessary but then realized that this was part of the Protection Station's duties after all, and maybe this could contribute to their achievements for the year.

While they were talking, the dispute between Chen Ying and the giant panda over the coat came to an end with the giant panda claiming victory.

Actually, Chen Ying wasn't so much reluctant to part with a piece of clothing as he was worried that small accessories on it might be swallowed by the panda and cause problems.

He had quickly felt the clothing during their argument and was relieved that aside from two zippers, there were no other accessories.

He planned to find an opportunity later to remove the zippers from the garment, not giving the giant panda any chance to harm itself.

The giant panda cuddled up with the clothes, rolled into a ball, and gave several "woof woof" sounds while looking upward.

"You're a panda, not a rooster. Have you developed a new language too?"

Unapologetically, Chen Ying slapped the giant panda on the head quite hard and huffed back to his tent.

When he got back, he saw a strange young man standing next to Shu Nan.

"From the Protection Station, brother?"

"Brother Ying, this is Little Zhang. He came to get the samples and also brought us a new sample box. I've told him about the water deer, and he said he would come here to keep watch."

"Alright, standing guard isn't really necessary. Just coming over to check on them more often should suffice."

Chen Ying pulled out a tablet and showed pictures of the shallow river banks they had previously photographed.

"The infrared cameras you set up were mainly aimed at this area to catch animals drinking water from both riverbanks. But now, because there are many pregnant does for safety, they have migrated downstream a bit and are staying longer at this backwater bay."

(Let's see which little rascal has their eyes on my cub)

Chen Ying then pulled up the photos he had taken in the morning and evening, "There's a bear and a few clouded leopards that frequently come here to drink. Adult water deer are not a concern, but I worry about the young ones becoming prey."

It would be unnecessary to intervene at Jiamu Gully since the water deer population there was large and predator losses within normal limits.

But here, the water deer population was clearly a newly formed small group. If the mortality rate for the fawns was too high, it wouldn't be good for the herd's reproduction.

"You don't have to worry if one or two get preyed on, but if they all start targeting the water deer cubs, then you might need to come up with a plan."

Under normal circumstances, they would adhere to the jungle law, but since this was right under the eyes of humans, giving them a bit of protection would help. In the future, with more water deer, those top predators wouldn't have to live too miserably either.

Water Deer: You humans are pretty decent!

As they spoke, they packed up everything.

Little Zhang planned to head back through the night, resting at their fixed patrolling point for the evening, and would be able to arrive at the station by the next afternoon.

Aside from the exchanged sample box, Little Zhang also brought them a few cans of meat and two pounds of noodles.

There were wild vegetables in the mountains, and with canned meat soup and the addition of wild vegetables and noodles, a dash of salt was all it took to make a meal.

After Little Zhang left, Chen Ying took out a pair of scissors, ready to sneak over and retrieve his clothing.

He had not expected the giant panda to approach him first.

Its nose was incredibly sensitive, the moment Shu Nan had opened a can of food and poured a quarter of it into the pot with the water just beginning to boil, the panda was already by his side, drooling over the meat in the pot.

"You can't eat this, it has preservatives and stuff added to it, which could harm your stomach and intestines."

While muttering, Shu Nan quickly covered the pot with a lid.

Upon seeing his actions, the giant panda seemed to become a bit agitated.

Chen Ying hurried over to grab hold of it, ready to take it to the bamboo forest in search of bamboo rats.

He had seen some bamboo rats active when he passed by earlier that morning; for a panda, those creatures were highly nutritious.

Their luck was good, for before they even reached the bamboo forest, the panda's sensitive nose picked up the scent of meat, and with its keen hearing, it dashed into the woods, startling the bamboo rat out from beneath the bamboo roots.

The scene that followed was somewhat bloody, and Chen Ying felt a bit squeamish while filming.

But this footage was important; it would provide important evidence in analyzing the giant panda's diet and chewing capabilities.

True to its ancestral nature, the panda devoured the meat voraciously, consuming a plump bamboo rat, skin, bones and all within two to three minutes.

Then, it snapped off two bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest and gorged on them before finally choosing a tender, green bamboo shoot to chew on leisurely.

So this giant panda did not entirely abstain from bamboo; it probably had a meat-heavy diet and preferred tender shoots over regular bamboo.

Since the feces produced from eating meat differed in color and shape from those produced when bamboo was consumed, it was likely that the panda's Qingtuan had been overlooked.

With fresh and delicious meat filling its belly, the giant panda showed no further interest in the fragrant but less nutritious canned meat.

Chen Ying also took the opportunity while the panda was eating, to cut off the zipper from his clothing.

When they returned to the tent, Shu Nan called him to eat first.

After eating, Chen Ying wanted to take advantage of the remaining light to visit the shallows.

He suspected that the bear he had seen drinking water across the way was a female bear, likely a mother with a cub.

And there were also clouded leopards.

There were four clouded leopards in the area, an unusually high density that might mean they were all from the same litter, not yet ready to leave their mother and fend for themselves. But why hadn't he seen the mother clouded leopard come out to drink for several days? Chen Ying felt uneasy.

After a hasty meal, and instructing Shu Nan to guard the camp, Chen Ying took his equipment to explore the shallows at night.

When Little Zhang came to bring supplies, he had also left two walkie-talkies for the pair, making it easier to stay in touch in the mountains.

About forty minutes later, Chen Ying called Shu Nan on the walkie-talkie, urging him to come quickly and help.

Securely closing the tent, Shu Nan grabbed what Chen Ying had asked for and, torch in hand, ran toward Chen Ying's location, guided by memory.

He stumbled several times along the way but fortunately did not lose his general direction, arriving disheveled at Chen Ying's side, who was kneeling by the shallows with a headlamp, treating a large clouded leopard.

"Brother Ying, I'm here. I've brought what you needed."

Bruises from bumps marked Shu Nan's legs, they throbbed painfully, but he endured and helped Chen Ying treat the leopard's wound first.

"This is..." It was only up close that he saw the pus-infected wound on the clouded leopard's abdomen. "My God, how long has this been hurt?"

"It must have been four or five days. Luckily the weather isn't too hot, otherwise, it wouldn't have survived this long."

Shu Nan's flashlight shook as he saw several silver needles piercing the clouded leopard's neck and limbs.

"Get a syringe of anesthesia from the medical kit, by the dosage I tell you, and inject it."

Shu Nan was extremely nervous, his hands stiff.

"Brother Ying, I can't..."

"It's okay, I'm here. Just do as I say and don't be afraid."

Perhaps inspired by Chen Ying's calm demeanor and tone, Shu Nan steadied himself, took out the syringe, and gently administered the anesthetic by the dosage and location Chen Ying had instructed.

After waiting a bit to ensure the drug had taken effect, Chen Ying removed the silver needles and started cleaning the wound swiftly.

At first, Shu Nan was somewhat flustered, but eventually, he was able to keep up with Chen Ying's pace, quickly passing him the necessary instruments.

Once the stitching was complete, Shu Nan exhaled deeply and sat back, his forehead covered in sweat.

Looking up, he almost screamed.

At some point, four clouded leopards had neatly lined up on the opposite rock, staring unblinkingly at the still unconscious large clouded leopard by Chen Ying's side.

Carefully sprinkling antihemorrhagic and anti-inflammatory powder, he then wrapped the wound with gauze. Chen Ying used the broken waterproof cloth Shu Nan had brought over along with a couple of suitably-sized sticks to make a makeshift stretcher.

After placing the large clouded leopard on it, Chen Ying signaled Shu Nan to help carry it back to the camp.

With such severe injuries, even though it had been cleaned and stitched, without proper care, the clouded leopard's outcome might not be any better than death.

Trudging back to the campsite through uneven terrain, they were greeted immediately by the threatening growls of two leopards.

"Quiet down, you're all leopards, live in peace, got it?"

Chen Ying's head throbbed as if it would burst. He couldn't focus on soothing those two foolhardy leopards, he had to get the injured clouded leopard settled first.