Chapter 353: Chapter 217: Doing Scientific Research in the Wilderness? (Ten-Thousand-Word Mega Chapter) (Part 4)

The little guy let out a comfortable hum and rubbed his cheek against his palm.

"You little lazybones, look what nice thing I brought back for you."

Lin Yu’an said, taking out the snowshoe rabbit which was frozen stiff, from his backpack. He held the rabbit by its ears and dangled the white fluffy creature in front of December.

He didn’t intend to let December eat it, but he knew it was an excellent tool for environmental enrichment and to awaken its instincts.

At first, December lazily glanced at it, but when the scent, completely different from fish, seeped into its nostrils, its gaze changed instantly.

As if a key had immediately unlocked another part of memory dormant in its genes.

December’s drowsiness disappeared instantly. It climbed up from the sleeping bag and curiously approached the snowshoe rabbit, sniffing the rabbit’s cold fur with its little nose.

Its eyes were filled with curiosity and a hint of excitement that it couldn’t hide — this was the first time in its life it had been so close to land prey.

Lin Yu’an placed the snowshoe rabbit on the ground, and December tentatively stretched out its furry front paw to gently pat the rabbit’s body.

The rabbit was stiff and motionless, which seemed to ease its guard.

What happened next made Lin Yu’an stifle a laugh.

December’s curiosity completely exploded, clumsily hugging the snowshoe rabbit with both front paws.

Like a new plush toy, it lifted the rabbit over its head and then with a "thud," threw it to the ground.

It circled the rabbit twice, then stretched out its paw, continuously poking at the rabbit’s long ears.

After playing for a while, it seemed not satisfied enough and opened its little mouth, trying to bite the rabbit’s fur with its barely grown baby teeth.

Of course, with its current strength, it couldn’t bite through the tough rabbit skin. Instead, it pounced on the whole rabbit, pinning it down, hugging it with all four paws, and rolling around on the ground.

Presenting a mischievous yet slightly clumsy ferocity, it was like an "apprentice killer" practicing hunting.

Lin Yu’an didn’t disturb it; he just sat quietly beside it, smiling as he watched it all. The GoPro on his chest was capturing this precious moment.

He knew December was stimulating and rehearsing its future survival hunting instincts through playing with the already dead prey.

Biting, pouncing, rolling... these seemingly mischievous actions were all preparing it to become a true Arctic ruler.

And he was fortunate to be the first witness to all this.

He solemnly wrote a line in his activity log:

"December 5th, Noon, First encounter with a complete prey (snowshoe rabbit), exhibiting strong exploration and playful behavior, preliminarily demonstrating hunting instincts. This is an important milestone."

The snowshoe rabbit was eventually "confiscated" by Lin Yu’an.

After playing wildly for about ten minutes, December finally exhausted its energy. It lay panting on the ground, sticking out its little pink tongue like a tired puppy.

The poor rabbit had been made a mess with its saliva and paw prints; its once pure white fur was smeared with the shelter’s dirt and grass remnants.

Lin Yu’an shook his head with a smile, packed the rabbit into his backpack to be his dinner for the next two days.

Tired from playing, December felt drowsy again. Yawning, it instinctively wanted to climb onto Lin Yu’an’s sleeping bag, which it considered the second safest and most comfortable place, apart from Lin Yu’an’s embrace.

But this time, Lin Yu’an gently reached out his hand, stopping it.

"Wait a minute, little guy, we still have a very important task to do. Dr. MacKeez personally assigned this mission, and we have to complete it seriously."

December tilted its fluffy little head, its obsidian-like eyes filled with confusion, not understanding why it couldn’t go to sleep.

Lin Yu’an turned around and grabbed the waterproof electronic recorder, slid the screen, and went straight to the "Daily Care" section in the "Polar Bear Cub Emergency Care Guide."

His gaze finally landed on one particular title, which made his expression shift slightly to a more nuanced one — "Excretion Assistance and Observation."

With the recorder leaning against a nearby piece of wood, he cleared his throat and began his field teaching in a voice mixed with a bit of helplessness.

"Alright, now we are about to undertake a... hmm, very down-to-earth research task."

"This may be the segment of the caregiving process that tests the mental endurance of a ’novice caretaker’ the most, but it’s also the most important step in assessing the cub’s health condition."

Pointing to the educational text on the screen, he started explaining word for word.

"According to the detailed instructions in the guide, polar bear cubs like December, which are about two months old, have underdeveloped nervous systems and muscle functions."

"Especially the neural pathways controlling the sphincter are not fully established, which simply means they cannot voluntarily control bowel and bladder movements."

"In the wild, mother bears will repeatedly lick their cubs’ abdomen and perianal area after each feeding, this physical stimulation has two crucial functions."

"First, it stimulates the cubs’ intestinal peristalsis and bladder contractions, helping them to smoothly empty their bodies, which is crucial for preventing constipation and urinary tract infections."