Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl-Chapter 287 - : The Totally Relaxed Wild Bear

Chapter 287 -287: The Totally Relaxed Wild Bear

Ying Bo was packing up early in the morning.

Brother Chi squatted on the nearby hillside, frowning as he measured something.

“What’s wrong?”

“Something seemed to have come by here last night.”

Chen Ying leaned in to take a look, hissing as he took a sharp breath of cold air.

“Are these wolf tracks?”

They seemed similar but, because the leaves covered too much, only a small patch of bare ground showed two footprints, and he couldn’t be sure.

“Let’s leave early today and stay alert tonight. Even if it’s a wolf, it’s probably a lone wolf.”

If there really were wild giant pandas out there, a lone wolf might not dare to approach.

Taking a different path uphill, they would pass by Great Bai and Jiao Jiao’s tree hollow.

Chen Ying stopped to greet them and casually asked if they knew of any pandas up there.

“There seems to be some scent, but I’m not sure. Anyway, I’m not afraid if it comes.”

Great Bai patted his chest, exuding boyfriend energy.

Jiao Jiao, looking slightly puzzled, added, “That bear smell, I think I’ve smelled it somewhere before. I don’t remember, but it was a long time ago, before I had babies.”

Jiao Jiao was a panda released into the wild years ago. If she recognized the scent, it was likely from a panda released around the same time, or she might have passed through this panda’s territory before.

But normally, once giant pandas set their territories, they rarely leave, unless they’re old and can’t compete with younger bears, which might cause them to move to less favorable areas.

Hearing Jiao Jiao say this, Chen Ying asked if she wanted to come along and check.

Jiao Jiao quickly shook her head.

“Bears like it here. There are delicious sprouts and bamboo leaves.”

Without lingering too long, Chen Ying asked Great Bai and Jiao Jiao to keep an eye on the kids and hastened to catch up with Brother Chi.

At about 2700 meters elevation at the edge of the bamboo forest, Brother Chi found a pile of fresh Qingtuan.

Judging from the amount, the giant panda had a big appetite; it ate a lot and hence excreted a lot.

“Brother Chi, Brother Ying, look, isn’t that a giant panda over there?”

Between the branches of the bamboo forest, half of a panda’s face emerged.

Humans were observing it, and it was cautiously watching the humans.

(Wildly released giant panda Taotao, after twelve years in the wild meets the Two-legged beast again)

Their luck hadn’t anticipated, as soon as they ascended the mountain, they spotted their target.

Yesterday, when Brother Chi made a call to report, the leader instructed them to try and collect samples of the giant panda to determine the genetic pedigree of this wild animal.

The giant panda didn’t move, its expression still a bit puzzled.

It didn’t quite understand why this group of Two-legged beasts was fiddling with its Qingtuan. Did they not even know how to eat bamboo?

Fearing they might startle the giant panda, Chen Ying led Brother Chi and Ying Bo to temporarily retreat.

This unexpected encounter significantly cut their intended stay.

If all went well, they should be able to get it done within three days.

This place was somewhat distant from the overnight spot Chen Ying had chosen yesterday. Using the early hour, they decided to pick a new spot nearby to spend the night.

They were fairly lucky; three hundred meters away, there was a cave, dirty but otherwise fine.

The cave seemed to have been left by some fierce beast, as there were animal furs and bones inside.

While it was still light, Chen Ying and the others quickly cleaned up the trash, burying the fur and bones somewhere to let them nourish the mountain forest.

Outside the cave was a slope with rather loose soil. The good news was the absence of tall trees, giving a relatively open view.

The downside was the possibility of flooding if it rained.

They hoped their luck would hold and that it wouldn’t rain, or at least, that it would be light.

But the so-called “true fragrance law” spares no one.

That night, the weather changed abruptly, dropping by more than ten degrees nearly overnight.

Especially in this high-altitude area, every breath felt cold entering the lungs.

Fortunately, they had prepared early, gathering enough dry wood and branches to build a fire pit inside the cave, burning a fire that barely kept the chill at bay.

“This darn weather, the fog is so thick. I hope it really doesn’t rain.”

The fog was thick, blurring the outlines of the trees outside.

“Do you think that giant panda is still around, or has it already left?”

“I hope it hasn’t gone. Chasing it in this weather would be far too dangerous.”

Chen Ying reviewed his notes, filling in any missed details, preparing to go out for a walk.

“Brother Chi, I’m going to take a look outside. You and Ying Bo stay here. The fog is too heavy, and it’s easy to get lost in the woods.”

“Why go out at all in this weather? What can you see?”

“I’ll just go around the place we saw the giant panda yesterday. I’m familiar with the wild; you don’t need to worry about me.”

He wouldn’t be at ease without checking.

Just as he reached the edge of the bamboo forest, he spotted faint movements ahead.

Chen Ying didn’t dare get too close; despite his affinity with wild animals, he couldn’t guarantee complete safety in this thick fog.

As he slowly approached, familiar patterns came into his view.

It was the wild panda, seemingly quite cozy, munching on bamboo and defecating as it ate.

Though a giant panda’s Qingtuan might not smell much, the sight still made Chen Ying feel uncomfortable.

The wild bear had sharp hearing. Without making any noise, it had already noticed him.

“Meow meow, Two-legged beast, you came. I’ve left you lots of Qingtuan, take some, it’s still warm.”

Hearing this, Chen Ying felt like he had been struck by lightning.

“Don’t talk nonsense,” he really didn’t want any “Qingtuan,” ah spit, he wanted Qingtuan, but he didn’t care if it was hot or not, he was researching, not eating!

As if knowing that the Two-legged beast was afraid of it hurting them, the wild bear obediently stood up and walked a few meters before sitting down again.

It stared straight at Chen Ying, seeming to urge him to hurry up and not dawdle, as it would get cold if they waited any longer.

Chen Ying kept his bitterness to himself.

He went over, picked some fresh Qingtuan, put them in a bag, and approached the wild bear.

First, he observed it with the naked eye, and from its appearance, the bear seemed quite young, probably about ten years old.

There was a small patch of skin without fur above the bridge of its nose and between its eyes, possibly from an injury from a fight.

The sizes of its two ears were distinctly different, which was probably congenital.

“Have you ever seen a Two-legged beast like me?”

“It seems I have, and it seems I haven’t,” the wild bear broke off a tender piece of Bamboo and chatted with Chen Ying while eating.

While eating, it lifted its right foot and scratched below its neck.

“Is it very itchy? Do you want me to check it out for you?”

The wild bear looked at him for a while, raised its head, and gestured for him to go ahead.

The fur under its neck was neat and natural, with no obvious scars on its body.

While scratching the bear’s itchy spot, Chen Ying also gave it a massage and checked its body.

His Big Massage Skill was now so strong that one stroke made them quiet, each stroke making a cat pancake collapse on the ground.

After making the wild cat feel good, he also checked its teeth.

The wear was light, which, at its age, was comparable to that of a captive Giant panda.

After collecting the samples, Chen Ying took the opportunity to chat with the wild cat for a while.

“How did you get here?”

“I just walked and walked and ended up here,” the wild cat half-leaned back, a picture of relaxation.

“They were all looking for female bears then, I didn’t want to, so I just avoided them. Without realizing it, I ended up here. There are no others of my kind here, so I, a bear, live very happily.”

With such a large mountain forest and all the Bamboo to itself, how could it not be happy?

Chen Ying touched his nose, “Um, do you know that four bears have come down the mountain? Your kind, two big ones leading two little ones.”

The wild bear stiffened as if struck by lightning, then quickly sat up, “You’re not lying to the bear?”

“How would I lie to you, and there’s no need to lie anyway, you’ll inevitably run into them sooner or later.”

The wild bear’s eyes dimmed a bit.

Sigh, just when he’d found a place undisturbed by other bears, did he have to move on?

“Right, did you run this far just to avoid finding a female bear?”

“It’s not that I didn’t search; my mate and I agreed to meet again next year. It’s with the baby this year.”

Scumbag!

“Is the baby yours?”

“Yes, it’s the cub my mate and I had last mating season.”

The wild bear said as it lay down and continued to eat.

“Why didn’t you help take care of the kid?”

“It can take care of it itself, and when I’m around, it gets irritable. I’ve given all my territory to it.”

Alright, having seen Great Bai and the others, Chen Ying almost forgot that most wild animals are actually scumbags.

Chen Ying mentioned that they might stay around for a few days to observe its daily life.

“Are you waiting for my Qingtuan? I can give you some now…”

“No!” Chen Ying quickly refused, fearing that if he spoke too slowly, he would leave some strange impression with the wild bear.

Like, it might gossip with its mate later that there is a Two-legged beast that can’t find its own food and just waits for it to pull Qingtuan.

If such rumors spread, how would he live?

The wild bear sighed with a bit of regret, “Alright then, I won’t pull it for you.”

Chen Ying sighed: Really, thank you!

The weather was not good; the wild bear mentioned it would not go far as there was a hollow tree nearby where it would rest.

The mountain wind was not strong but chilling to the bone.

Chen Ying dared not stay long and jogged back to the cave.

Brother Chi and the others had already lit a fire and were cooking paste.

“Brother Ying, come warm up by the fire, it’s terribly cold wah.”

Ying Bo also handed him a cup of milk tea.

The milk tea was also something Chen Ying brought back from River Source.

Authentic Highland milk tea, salty, with some roasted rice added to it, could fend off the cold and stave off hunger.

The hot milk tea warmed him up.

“We’re not going out today; I’ve collected some samples, got the physical data. The wild cat must have migrated from the conservation area. I checked the surroundings; there’s a dead tree not far up, the tree hollow underneath is probably where it hides.”

This terrible weather, unbearable for people, is no good for animals either.

Unless desperate, most animals would hide to keep out of the cold.

While the three of them sat in the cave chatting, Golden Cat Lady struggled to follow them, carrying her food.

Seeing the Golden Cat appear with a fine layer of dew condensed on its fur, Chen Ying hurriedly found a towel to dry its fur.

In this terrible weather, if you don’t dry off, you’re just waiting to get sick.

Golden Cat Lady, having run hard with a rabbit, now lay beside Chen Ying, too tired to even talk.