Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl
Chapter 388 - 386: Isn't the Kneeling Too Fast?

Chen Ying indeed did not fool Big Bear, as that area possessed at least over a dozen shoots.

When the Giant Panda started eating, Chen Ying surreptitiously left, planning to check on the mother bear and its cubs.

Upon arrival, he immediately noticed the mother bear disciplining her cubs.

Why linger any longer during this time? Did he really think that bear would not strike a female bear?

Unlike other pandas, the mother bear did not allow Chen Ying to approach her.

With the moonlight, he could only see that not only did the Little Bear refuse to come down from the tree, but it also kept climbing higher—its mother's beating was almost a guarantee.

Luckily, the mother bear firmly grabbed the Little Bear, bit its hind paw, and relentlessly dragged it downward, completely unconcerned that her child was not securely held and might fall and die from the tree.

This tug of war continued for about fifteen minutes before the cub lost to its mother's strength and was dragged down the tree, angrily running away.

The mother bear seemed very angry, rushed to catch the child by the ear and gave a forceful slam.

Although the cub weighed quite a bit and couldn't be entirely thrown into the air, its mother's strength was undeniable. The cub was dragged back and forth across the ground several times, its originally brownish-yellow fur now damp with dew and muddied, looking every bit like a little miner bear.

Mother and child left the Bamboo Forest like that, seemingly heading towards the Lengjian Bamboo forest across the river.

The reserve contains over a dozen types of bamboo, but pandas' favorites include Huaju Bamboo, Da Jian Bamboo, Purple Bamboo, and Lengjian Bamboo.

Lengjian Bamboo is the most widely distributed, whereas Purple Bamboo tends to be scarcer in comparison.

But this scarcity is relative to this region; in other reserves, the number of Purple Bamboos is actually not so few.

It is precisely because of the uneven distribution of Arrow Bamboo and the Giant Panda's tendency not to change territory easily that this overly picky Giant Panda had a dietary change.

Xiong Youming's wife had already started investigating the distribution of bamboo, aiming to create a map of bamboos edible for Giant Pandas. This could facilitate artificial feeding and deduce the cause of dietary changes.

This research required professional personnel and equipment, and Chen Ying's role was to assist.

Based on the current evidence, to definitively confirm or rule out whether the type of bamboo affected its health likely meant sending the Giant Panda to a specialized research institute for examination.

However, the conservation law explicitly prohibits capturing Giant Pandas in good health, which made Xiong Youming's project challenging to proceed smoothly.

But Chen Ying did not need to worry about that—if this research topic couldn't be completed, they would simply switch to another one. Or finding an effective inference would also work; the specifics depended on how their circle determined whether the research was fruitful.

Over the following week, Xiong Youming's team monitored and analyzed the Giant Panda's behavior and feeding patterns around the clock, while Chen Ying split his time, focusing mainly on treating the Large Clouded Leopard.

After about ten days of treatment, the Large Clouded Leopard's injuries had mostly healed.

Currently, only one of the four Little Clouded Leopards remained close by.

Chen Ying took the opportunity to check and found that the remaining Leopard was also female and might stay longer with her mother, possibly even sharing the territory with her.

Despite the others having left their mother prematurely, the siblings coordinated in hunting over this period, significantly enhancing their independence. As long as they don't aim for the impossible, sustaining themselves in this vast forest shouldn't be hard.

During this time, Chen Ying almost confirmed that the two Leopard siblings might have had close contact with humans.

They showed almost no stress response to humans; as long as no one competed for their food, they would even lie down and let themselves be touched.

The majestic Leopards practically lived like big house cats.

Chen Ying discussed with Little Zhang and his colleagues about housing the two Leopards, suggesting, like Chen Ying did at Jiamu Gully First Aid Station, letting the Leopard Brothers live around their Protection Station.

This arrangement would allow the Leopards to live in the forest while providing them some level of protection.

Whether it was feasible remained to be seen; they had to report to the higher authorities after they returned and leave the final decision to the leadership.

"But actually, I think this method might be approved. Weren't there people rearing a batch of Red-bellied Pheasants in the mountains a few years ago?"

"Although the elderly farmer didn't know what exactly they were back then, and he only fed them without restricting their freedom."

"Thus, even though the Forestry and Grassland Bureau became aware of the situation, they didn't punish the old farmer. Instead, they sent people to teach him more scientifically how to rear Red-bellied Pheasants and even helped him to start an agritourism business using the presence of the Red-bellied Pheasants to generate income for him."

"Since our Protection Station is an official state organization and has the responsibility to ensure the safety of wild animals, allowing the Leopard Brothers to live around the station doesn't breach the conservation law. There should be a good chance of the application being approved."

Chen Ying supported his idea, and if the Leopard Brothers could indeed stay around the station, it could also be beneficial for the people at the Protection Station.

After all, being affectionate and top hunters, weren't they just like having two bodyguards?

Moreover, Little Zhang and his colleagues were set to evacuate the next day.

Despite vigilant protection, one of the Water Deer fawns was still snatched away.

The key issue was that neither Little Zhang nor his colleagues knew what kind of large critter had dragged the fawn away.

It felt like they had just seen the fawn born, stable and sound; then suddenly, hearing a deer's cry and upon checking— the fawn was gone!

In the following two days, Little Zhang and his colleague dared not close their eyes at night. Shu Nan couldn't bear it either and helped out for two days, allowing them some rest.

Anyway, after watching over for about ten days, they each lost at least five kilos.

The Large Clouded Leopard was now able to move, but hunting was still a bit difficult.

Fortunately, there was an abundance of pheasants and it was the egg-laying season, so they could get a pheasant just by going out for a stroll.

However, Chen Ying was somewhat worried, with their pace of two pheasants a day, could the pheasant population still thrive this year? Hopefully it wouldn't significantly decline by next year.

With this concern, Chen Ying planned to take advantage of the number of people present and check the surroundings first.

When he set out, the spectacle was not just any spectacle.

Accompanied by two leopards and a clouded leopard hopping around overhead, and the Giant Panda, which had almost driven Xiong Youming and the others crazy, immediately followed Chen Ying upon seeing him.

Xiong Youming and his team had also collected enough sample materials. Aside from not being able to conduct a full-body check-up on the Giant Panda, they had gathered everything they could and were ready to leave. They planned to go back and analyze first, and then collect any additional samples as needed.

After walking three to four kilometers against the stream, a small lake similar to a dammed lake appeared ahead.

The lake's surface was seven to eight meters higher than the stream below, but it didn't fall vertically. Instead, it cascaded down in layers.

(Similar to this, but not so high, with more layers)

Beside the cascading waterfall, on the opposite bank where he was standing, a leopard with smooth, shiny fur and a well-muscled, sleek body was drinking water.

Chen Ying didn't go over, he even kept his two leopards from charging mindlessly.

That leopard was clearly a battle-hardened "society leopard," and sending his own two over would be like delivering free food.

Unexpectedly, they didn't go over, but that leopard came to them.

It didn't get too close, even jumping onto a large rock on the bank, looking down at them from a higher position.

The little clouded leopard in the trees hid herself cautiously, ready to strike.

As for the Giant Panda, it had long since abandoned them and run off to play in the water.

Chen Ying pressed his fingers on the foreheads of the two leopards to prevent them from charging forward. The Leopard Brothers also sensed the prowess of the other, and were torn between fighting or fleeing.

They kept looking up at Chen Ying and their tails smacked painfully on his legs, making him grimace.

"Are you two little guys still alive?"

The other began to speak in an unexpectedly sweet voice, catching Chen Ying off guard enough to almost blurt out something in Mandarin.

If anthropomorphized, this leopard would fit the description of "angel face, devilish body" often spoken of in human terms.

(Beautifully drawn, but the anthropomorphism seems to have failed)

The two silly leopards were so scared that they shivered and hid behind Chen Ying.

The leopard laughed twice, though it remained a mystery how it managed to make that sound.

After giving the two leopards another glance, it shifted its attention back to Chen Ying.

"I've heard of you. I didn't expect you to come into my territory."

The leopard jumped down and slowly approached Chen Ying, stopping a meter away.

"I've seen these two little ones before. Their mother fell ill and died, and I was the one who sent them to the Two-legged beast territory. But those Two-legged beasts didn't know what they were and raised them with other little creatures. When I went back later, they were gone."

So, it turned out to be a leopard raised by humans, even raised alongside cats, which explained the cattiness.

Chen Ying glanced at the beautiful leopard and tentatively made a request.

"Their capabilities aren't nonexistent; they're just very poor. Could you take some more trouble and teach them how to hunt?"

The leopard tilted its head and took a serious look at the two silly leopards, "Okay, I can live with them for a while, but not for too long. I need to find a mate and have little leopards, and they would be too much trouble."

The disdain was evident.

The Leopard Brothers also understood what the other was implying, but they were a bit unhappy.

Things were fine as they were. While hunting large prey was difficult, catching rabbits and small wild boars, and occasionally seizing other young animals sufficed. Why did they need to learn from this disdainful mother leopard?

Chen Ying hadn't noticed their reluctance and was about to continue persuading when the mother leopard came over and, facing the grumbling Han Da, slapped him across the face.

Han Er, a bit more quick-witted, immediately lay down, clasping his head with his forelegs and making a "wuh wuh" sound.

Wasn't this submission a bit too swift?

Didn't the clouded leopard in the tree just let out a snicker?