Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl-Chapter 323 - Leopard Group Warms Up

Chapter 323 -323 Leopard Group Warms Up

Upon closer inquiry, it became clear that the leopards had acted out of necessity.

In this area, the most numerous and powerful were still the snow leopards.

Their food sources overlapped with those of the snow leopards, especially in autumn and winter, when accumulating fat to survive the cold was a necessity for all highland animals.

The fewer leopards often got into fights over territory with the snow leopards.

Though leopards were stronger in terms of combat, they couldn’t withstand the snow leopards who fought in tag teams!

Chen Ying listened intently, trying hard to keep his face straight.

He feared that laughing would cause both physiological and psychological damage to the leopard.

It was hardly necessary for Chen Ying to inquire, he could almost guess the reasons for their fights.

Territory, food, mating rights—three vital elements in the lives of beasts, and fighting for these rights seemed reasonable.

But there were still risks involved.

For instance, when the three leopards attacked the livestock raised by humans, although it seemed like retaliation, it was also related to the difficulties they faced in acquiring food.

After all, hunting wild animals compared to preying on herders’ livestock was obviously easier, which any fool could see.

Moreover, leopards had a history of overkilling, and slaughtering so many livestock was nothing out of the ordinary for them.

Apart from leopards, snow leopards and even brown bears had exhibited overkilling behavior.

A research team once found that highland brown bears would bury dead Tibetan antelopes, Tibetan wild donkeys, and other animals.

This wasn’t out of some kind of goodwill to give small animals a peaceful burial; it was purely for hoarding food.

Xiao Song paid no attention to Chen Ying’s “chat” with the leopard; she only took notes on what he instructed her to record.

“Let’s go and get some survey data from them.”

The Forestry and Grassland Bureau had records of the distribution data for snow leopards and leopards.

After obtaining this data, Chen Ying and the veterinarian team circled the activity areas of the snow leopards and leopards on the map.

Surprisingly, near the pasture areas, the leopards were more densely distributed than in the less frequented areas.

Moreover, the survey showed that the number of male leopards was significantly higher than female leopards.

Meaning that every breeding season, the male leopards in this area fought fiercely for mating rights.

Qing Ye, the veterinarian, spoke with a complex expression. He had thought of many things but never imagined that there would be social issues due to uneven distribution and an excess of single animals within the animal kingdom.

“No wonder their hormone levels were a bit abnormal when we checked them; the competition for survival is too intense.”

Chen Ying didn’t join the idle chatter. He flipped through a series of reports and finally found two pieces of evidence about the long-distance migration of female leopards.

Finding the cause made things easier to handle.

The remaining issue was their release back into the wild.

Since it was a case of overpopulation, why not relocate them?

In recent years, the country had established quite a few new conservation areas, and some had a carrying capacity far exceeding their actual populations.

After ensuring there were no issues with the genetic lineage, relocating them was also a means of rebuilding the local biological population.

The severely injured one definitely couldn’t be released yet and needed more time to recover.

The other two leopards that had participated in the overkill were first in line for relocation.

The remaining two leopards that were initially captured were likely to be released locally.

The first release wasn’t arranged immediately; planning was required. One would be released first to test the outcome. If all went well, another location would be chosen for releasing the second.

“The current selection is this area. Within the province, the food sources and living environment are similar to those in Sanjiang.”

The release environment was a crucial indicator in the plan.

After all, they couldn’t just be released to starve to death. It was also necessary to avoid areas with high densities of the same species, so the choice of locations was indeed brain-racking.

“This area then. Currently, there are only three leopards here, one of which is a female with two cubs. The cubs should become independent around next June.”

The leadership of the Forestry and Grassland Bureau participated in the plan’s development, and after consulting with experts and thorough communication with the rescue shelter, the location and time for the release of the first leopard were determined.

The first to be released was the aggressive big leopard Chen Ying had seen on arrival.

It had participated in the hunting of livestock, and the rescue center was also concerned it would cause panic in the pasture areas, so they decided to send it far away.

A collar was essential, and a positioning chip was injected into its ear to track its long-term movement and behavior for further research.

Chen Ying was there for the release.

He even had a few words with the big leopard brother.

However, the brother seemed quite angry, feeling the two-legged beast had taken over its territory, and the leopard struggled to control its fury.

Understandable, for it was almost the local leopard king, and now it had to start all over again—who wouldn’t be angry?

Angry as it was, the big leopard seemed quite curious about the new environment Chen Ying described.

Most importantly, Chen Ying told it that there were two females in this territory, one with cubs and the other likely issuing a mate-calling notice come the following spring.

Territory may be precious, and freedom more valuable, but for the female leopard’s sake, both can be forsaken!

With a longing for the blossoms of future love, Brother Flower Leopard left the transshipment cage quite readily, not looking back as he rushed towards his new territory.

“This leopard seems a bit different from when it was in the cage, freedom really is better,” remarked the leader of the Forestry and Grassland Bureau. He then turned his head to make sure the monitoring personnel’s work kept pace, with the hope that if everything went smoothly, they’d release another leopard before the Spring Festival.

There were also plans to release the first two captured leopards back into the wild.

In short, there was one guiding principle: don’t even think about staying for the New Year and freeloading on food and drink!

Releasing the two flower leopards was simple; one was set free on each side of the Three Rivers Canyon, one in the east and one in the west.

The problem of the flower leopards was easy to solve, but the issue of the Snow Leopard’s high density was not.

The only good news was that Snow Leopards rarely leave their territory to invade human settlements.

Besides, Chen Ying had another idea to let Er Niu take charge and guide the surplus Snow Leopards to live in the uninhabited area.

The two areas were close by, and they would actually be connected if not for the separation caused by railroads and highways.

Compared to flower leopards which are more suited to forest environments, Snow Leopards are better adapted to uninhabited areas.

Xiao Song and Duanmu heard his idea and commented in the group chat, “Brother Ying, does Er Niu know you’re using it as bait?”

“How is this using it as bait? Our Er Niu might not be as fierce as other Snow Leopards, but it has a good temperament. It gets along well with any leopard. It’s the social butterfly of the Snow Leopard world,” Brother Ying retorted.

Moreover, cross-regional communication could also promote gene exchange within the population, which was definitely beneficial.

What Yellow Fur the Snow Leopard thought about it, though, was anyone’s guess.

Upon further reflection, why should that Yellow Fur get all the advantages? Er Niu is such a treasure, shouldn’t it have more options and choose the best among the best?

Anyway, Chen Ying was like a protective father, disliking every male Snow Leopard that came near, seeing them as wild boars ready to uproot his tender greens!

After finalizing the release plan, Chen Ying had a meal with his colleagues from Qing Ye, then returned to the River Source Protection Station with the snacks they sponsored for Er Niu and Jinya.

“Where’s Lynx Sister? Why isn’t she with Jinya and the others?”

“The previously injured lynx has recovered and was released back into the wild. Lynx Sister went back to her territory with it to prepare for winter.”

Xiao Song stifled a laugh, glanced at the surrounding staff members, and only after pulling Chen Ying into his office did he let out a chuckle.

“You don’t know, before the release, we encouraged Lynx Sister to see the large male lynx. Somehow Jinya followed along and led Er Niu over as well.”

At that moment, had Jinya not acted quickly to hold Er Niu back, and had Lynx Sister not swiftly blocked the large male lynx, the two big cats would probably have had another fight across the fence.

“Why? Does Er Niu have some deep-seated grudge against that male lynx?”

“How would I know, I don’t speak beast,” Xiao Song shrugged. “I’m waiting for you, Brother Ying, to come back and figure it out, then tell us about it.”

Xiao Song’s words indeed sparked Chen Ying’s curiosity. Armed with snacks from Qing Ye, he set off to find the animal pens.

On the way, he ran into two young herdsmen, following the staff and transporting supplies.

Though their work was hard, their faces were filled with smiles.

Especially the deaf boy, who looked a lot sunnier compared to his gloomy self before.

Without disrupting their work, Chen Ying casually greeted them and went on his way.

Behind him, two nearly grown desert cats hopped and bounced along.

Inside the animal shed, on the high wooden racks, Little Jin’s territory was clearly marked, and it and Jinya were sound asleep, heads touching.

Underneath the shed was a man-made cave, with Er Niu sleeping cozily in the middle while holding a Snow Leopard cub.

And the Little Lynx?

Chen Ying curiously scanned for a while before finally spotting it amidst the woodpile near the fence.

The little guy was quite impressive, picking out a large tree root with a cavity in the middle and even padding it with some stuff, protected from the wind and rain, sleeping comfortably.

The Little Lynx was a male and its genes inclined it to be solitary, but to choose to rest on its own was somewhat unexpected for Chen Ying.

The first to be aware of Chen Ying’s arrival were Jinya and then Er Niu.

The two desert cats were not the least bit frightened by the two big cats, squeezing in next to Er Niu and lying down on the Snow Leopard cub for warmth.

The Snow Leopard cub opened its eyes, yawned, hugged a desert cat, turned over, and continued to snore heavily in sleep.

“What did they get up to last night?”

Usually, even if the Snow Leopard cub wanted to sleep, it would get up to nuzzle and act coquettishly.

Today’s state clearly showed it could not hold out any longer; it was very drowsy. Like the Little Lynx, not even a greeting was spared, as if to say, sleep is paramount.

Little Jin stood up from the wooden rack, stretching mightily.

“Last night, they followed those two youngsters to catch foxes.”

“What do you mean, did the foxes bother them?”

“Nothing serious, just that the fox stole their prey,” Little Jin said with a hint of schadenfreude.

“They went to dig holes to catch rabbits, but the rabbit got away through another exit. Before the two youngsters could catch up, the rabbit was snatched by a fox that had been lurking nearby for a long time.”

(Tibetan Fox: Intercept, fox style!)