Chapter 219: Chapter 219: Competing in Beast Vein, He Has Never Lost (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
He didn’t care whether he wanted to; what mattered was whether the leader was willing.
This Clouded Leopard had also co from Dian Province, and it was expected that returning it would be acceptable.
Chen Ying was most annoyed by these matters, but ihua understood and reassured him by patting her chest, promising to handle it so Chen Ying wouldn’t need to worry.
Senior Bai got the answer she wanted and left.
She still had to check on the bird banding work, busy as a spinning top.
ihua didn’t linger either, asking Chen Ying to prepare, as they would be entering the rainforest to patrol with M Alliance and the volunteer team as early as that afternoon, or at the latest by tomorrow.
“The whole trip is expected to last seven to ten days. The area we’re responsible for is the largest, and this ti the focus is to survey the populations of Flower Leopards and Clouded Leopards. If we’re lucky, we might even see an Indochinese Tiger that has crossed over.”
ihua handed over the supplies needed for the trip to Chen Ying, along with a satellite phone and a hand-drawn map.
“Our intelligent platform here isn’t as well-developed as on the Mainland, so having a hand-drawn map is essential, especially in case we get disconnected under unexpected circumstances.”
The rainforest environnt was complex; being a newcor and unable to communicate with the locals, a satellite phone would be direct help in case of any accidental separation.
Chen Ying accepted ihua’s kindness and brushed up on so local field research tips, feeling reasonably confident that he could complete the task successfully.
After all, though he didn’t speak the local human language, he understood the language of beasts.
In the jungle, who could compete with his extensive connection with animals? ┓(´∀`)┏
He packed his things and, by three in the afternoon, the team leader announced it was ti to depart.
They headed for their first observation point, where they would also camp overnight.
Chen Ying stuffed a dical kit into his backpack, containing both human and animal dications, and two specially requested anesthetics.
“This ti, we first head southeast, aiming to reach the border area by tomorrow noon. Then, we’ll follow the national boundary line southwest, and finally head north to return to the central base.”
The team leader marked this route on a large map, indicating the approximate locations of each campsite.
Chen Ying realized that coming back within ten days might be a bit difficult.
“We won’t go deep near the border. Beyond this point, entering requires a special permit in advance, and only biologists can apply. At most, we’ll just follow the patrol route once around, which should be enough to gather sufficient signals.”
ihua, a volunteer and major sponsor, had a sowhat special status in the team, likely managing the logistics.
This was Chen Ying’s first ti in a rainforest patrol and he was sowhat excited; he even inford Yin Li, promising to send photos of any rare plants they encountered.
With a mix of excitent, Chen Ying joined the march with the team.
His physical fitness was pretty good, enough to shut up the two n in the team who had been quite critical of him.
People, indeed, seed to bring their vendettas everywhere.
Chen Ying couldn’t be bothered with them. As long as the team leader didn’t object, he could ignore everything else.
By nine at night, they successfully reached the first point.
Everyone skillfully started to set up the camp and prepare dinner.
Chen Ying had been inford beforehand that he would be sleeping alone in a tent, so he brought a convenient one-person tent.
Although not his first overnight in the wild, his proficiency relieved the others.
Chen Ying faintly overheard their conversation and felt irked.
He was a veterinarian at the Rescue Station, not so pet clinic vet; why would they think he, a city person, couldn’t handle the hardships of the wild?
Throughout the journey, ihua had shown no special concern for Chen Ying.
She had been to Jiamu Gully Mountain and knew Chen Ying’s capabilities; it was better to let his actions prove the doubters wrong rather than her explaining.
At night, the rainforest was much livelier than Jiamu Gully.
The myriad small creatures bustling about, mostly busy hunting to fill their stomachs, paid no mind to the extra Two-legged Beasts.
The remaining few opted to observe.
For instance, on a tree in the three o’clock direction, a Leopard Cat was curiously watching them, showing great interest in their backpacks.
This Leopard Cat looked slightly different from the Hua Zai they had encountered before.
In terms of lineage, Hua Zai actually had so dostic cat blood. It was the offspring of a wild Leopard Cat and a dostic cat from the mountain forests.
This usually occurred in the mountains near human settlents.
The Leopard Cat hidden in the tree during the night, however, had a more pure bloodline.
Its pattern was stunning, with large, spirited eyes glistening with the unique clarity and wariness of a wild animal.
Animals in the rainforest rarely interacted with humans.
They differed from the animals on Jiamu Gully Mountain. After all, Jiamu Gully had denser human activity compared to here and was near many famous sights, including nearby villages which were quite populous.
Aside from the high mountain peaks, which few visited, encounters between wildlife and humans were not rare in the lower to mid-altitude areas.
However, the rainforest was different; scattering tens of thousands of people here would see them vanish instantly, without a single hair visible.
After the team leader finished summarizing the afternoon’s work, everyone arranged shifts and hurried to rest.
Chen Ying, however, approached a big tree with a bag of jerky.
“Hey little buddy, are there any big fellas around here with fur similar to yours but a bit larger in size?”
People at the campsite quickly looked over; two of them didn’t say anything, but their expressions spoke volus.
The team leader frowned slightly, just about to speak, when a cute little creature jumped down from the tree.
The little guy directly jumped onto the tree trunk closest to Chen Ying, squatted down, and locked eyes with him.
Chen Ying handed over a piece of jerky; the little guy hesitated for less than three seconds before grabbing it with his mouth.
After chewing a few tis, the leopard cat felt the taste was acceptable, pressed it down with a paw, then murmured softly.
“ow oa oa oa, there’s a big fella wanting to eat , but didn’t catch .”
The little leopard cat grumbled a few more rather dirty words.
Two team mbers approached, hoping to interact closely with the leopard cat, mimicking Chen Ying.
The little leopard cat huffed, snatched up the jerky, and in a few bounds, shot up the tree and disappeared.
“Brother Ying, what did this little guy say?”
“He said there’s a big leopard here.”
“Pfft, he’s just showing off.” A muttering ca from nearby.
The person who asked turned red-faced, both angry and embarrassed, looking at Chen Ying.
He, too, surfed the internet and knew Chen Ying’s nickna; originally, his question was just for fun and also to kindle relationships. Yet, his teammate’s snide comnt ruined it all.
Chen Ying didn’t take it to heart; he figured the leopard cat’s territory wasn’t large, and if it was being chased, then the chasing leopard must also be in this area.
Not sure if they’d see it tonight, but it was better to stay alert.
He pulled out a small notebook from his pocket, logged the location and features of the leopard cat.
Back at the tent, he took out the map Dao ihua had given him, checked the location, and roughly marked the leopard cat’s territory based on his experience.
At 4:30 in the morning, team mbers started having breakfast. Today’s check-point was a large one, not far from a small village where people, though few, used to live off hunting.
Now that hunting was banned, these people refused to leave their village, mainly sustaining on subsidies and so agrarian activities.
“Villages like this used to be more nurous, now many have naturally disappeared. After all, young people yearn for a life outside. Parents don’t want their children to endure the sa fate as them.”
Children leaving and never coming back, village elders dying, and without new blood, the village extinction was inevitable.
According to the records from M league and the Volunteer Association, at least ten such villages had vanished from the map.
Of course, there were also quite a few who opted to relocate and rge into a new village.
As planned, they reached the observation point around two in the afternoon.
From here on for the next few days, there would almost be no place for resupply; the nearest supply station was four days away.
“This is a forr hunter’s cabin remodeled into a resting spot; forest rangers and conservationists occasionally spend the night here.”
After nearly two days of marching together, Chen Ying had a good rapport with the team mbers.
He was physically fit, even helped two female team mbers lighten their burdens along the way.
One woman was an M league mber, responsible for collecting data on the Big Cats’ activity area in the Naban River Basin.
The other was an experienced volunteer, a mother of two, who took out two months every year for volunteer work since her graduation from university.
Under her leadership, her two kids had beco campus wildlife conservation ambassadors.
This was a joint expedition, and with many people in the team, the hunter’s cabin couldn’t accommodate everyone; at least three had to pitch tents outside.
Chen Ying volunteered to stay outside; embracing the chance to chat with wildlife friends, why not enjoy it?
Also choosing to stay outside were one M league mber and the team leader; they decided to bunk up with Chen Ying.
“We’ll try to finish the patrol and sampling in this area by noon tomorrow. Also, you three will handle the replacent of infrared caras; it’s best to stick together, don’t wander alone.”
This area was relatively safe, but since people rarely entered daily, and the infrared caras were checked only every three to four months or half a year for mory and batteries, who knows what cute little thing might appear during that period.
After finishing today’s work summary, the team leader invited Chen Ying to accompany him to search for traces of felines.
“There were records of tigers in this area, but it’s been nearly thirty years since the last sighting, and we haven’t found any lingering signs of them here.”
The team leader, well-experienced, pointed out to Chen Ying the marks on the trees indicating which animal they belonged to.
They walked around the vicinity for about an hour, finding two scats from feline animals.
Thanks to Leopard Sister’s family, Chen Ying could imdiately tell both were from a flower leopard, and the scats were fresh; it seed their poop maker was roaming nearby.
Just as they were about to return to the camp, Chen Ying suddenly sensed sothing amiss, lunged forward, pushing the team leader aside while he rolled to the ground.
When he looked up, he ca face to face with a ferocious glance.
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