The Sahara wolf pack, having road for a day and a night, was unbearably hungry; yet all they could see around them were sparse shrubs, weeds, and endless yellow sand. Apart from grazing like plump lambs, the only thing they could do was dig in the soil for beetles to eat.
The Sahara during the day was as hot as a griddle, with even the beetles burying themselves deep out of sight, leaving only choking dust when the wolves dug.
A few Subordinate Wolves stopped and scratched their hind legs; they nipped at their fur with sharp teeth, attempting to rid themselves of the damned fleas, while their sidelong glances occasionally drifted toward the leading alpha wolf, seemingly harboring discontent but suppressing it out of respect for authority.
The alpha wolf was the strongest and most intimidating in the pack, noticeably larger in size compared to the rest, and enjoyed the undivided attention of the female wolves.
The fur they scratched off floated in the air, wishing they could shed their entire skin to feel so respite, yet thinking of the bone-chilling cold of the night, the loosened hair follicles firmly took root again.
Blistering by day, freezing by night.
This is the Sahara.
Just as a few Subordinate Wolves lagged behind, covertly expressing their dissatisfaction, a deep wolf howl awakened the entire pack.
The pack, small in groups, perked up imdiately and moved quickly to the alpha wolf's side, straining their eyes toward the distance.
There were three cals, two large and one small.
With not a single tree in sight for miles around, the towering cals cast long shadows on the ground, standing out conspicuously.
Opportunity had arrived.
Dust billowed as the wolf pack charged at the small cal family, their green eyes gleaming with hunger.
[These wolves look kind of small]
[Indeed, they seem much smaller than the ones Master Fang encountered before]
[What kind of wolves are these, Desert Wolves?]
The drone could automatically magnify scenes, bringing the stand-off so close it felt like it was right before the audience's eyes, allowing them a clearer view.
While the wolves surrounding the trio of cals were nurous, they seed to be of lesser quality, feeling considerably smaller than the Arctic Wolves.
Being too far away with no sufficient reference points nearby, the only thing the viewers could compare the wolves to were the cals they were attacking, which made it difficult to confirm whether it was the wolves that were too small or the cals too big.
However small the wolves appeared, Bi Fang, braving the sweltering sun, counted them carefully and realized there were as many as seventeen wolves!
Any animal group that exceeds five in the sa space can create a significant visual impact.
Just think how it feels to encounter five dogs at ho suddenly; although the number might be small, it would evoke a sense of "that's a lot" when they actually rush at you.
The increase in the number of animals is not just a rise in numbers; it is precisely why Bi Fang generally disliked sociable carnivores, finding them troubleso whenever he encountered them.
The sheer number of wild wolves made the charge look formidable, showing that this slightly smaller wolf pack should not be underestimated.
For this reason, Bi Fang did not approach rashly; after sneaking a bit closer, he hid 200 ters away, lying low to watch how the situation unfolded. When he saw the barrage of comnts, he started doing comntary for this battle on his own initiative.
"That's the Desert Wolf, also known as the African Wolf. Your intuition is correct; they are indeed smaller in size, and significantly so," he said.
"I ntioned Bergmann's Rule before, which ans that among endothermic animals, individuals of the sa species or closely related species living in cold environnts have relatively larger body sizes."
"Bergmann believed that this is because as the size of an animal increases, its relative surface area decreases, leading to a smaller ratio of heat dissipation from the surface, and therefore better retention of heat to adapt to the cold environnts of high-latitude areas."
"This rule is not a theorem and has many flaws, yet for mammals, over ninety percent of species conform to it. So we might easily deduce that the closer to the equator, the smaller the body size tends to be. The Desert Wolf is a pri example; they weigh less than half of an Arctic Wolf."
"Although called wolves, Desert Wolves are not truly wolves, but are a distinct species within the canine family, Canidae."
Bi Fang lay on the loamy ground and began to explain the origins of the Gray Wolf, providing the audience with a deeper understanding.
As a social predator, Gray Wolves are found almost everywhere in the world, yet they are notably absent from the roads of Africa, for complex reasons.
"Overall, 'wolf' refers to mbers of the species Canis lupus, and the ancestors of Gray Wolves, including their migratory routes, have always been between the Eurasian continent and North Arica, never entering Africa, possibly due to migratory mory and environntal differences, which is why there are no Gray Wolves in Africa."
"Even so, during the early migrations of canids, so did enter Africa, because there are still canids in Africa, with the African Wolf being one of them."
[Then why call them wolves?]
[Perhaps it's just linguistic habit.]
"Indeed, it is a linguistic habit. Take, for instance, the African Hyena; although they are called hyenas, they are not mbers of the Canidae family but belong to the Hyena family within the suborder Feliformia, neither cats nor dogs, but an independent species."
"These are issues of translation and naming. Previous translations and namings were not rigorous enough. Hyenas looked like dogs at first glance, so people gave them a na with 'dog' in it."
There are many similar historical naming problems, such as Cheetahs not being true leopards, and Arican Lions not being actual lions. However, these nas have already been adopted as the official terms and are widely used, so we just continue with them as they are, without making corrections."
It's precisely because they are not wolves that African Wolves have so subtle differences from wolves in their habits, such as their flexible social structure.
The social organization of African Wolves is very flexible; the size of their groups fluctuates based on available food. If there is plenty of food, they can form large groups. If there is a scarcity, the numbers disperse, breaking down into smaller units.
Families of African Wolves charge at cals across the land strewn with coarse sand, raising clouds of dust again and again.
Strangely, they don't rush to attack; instead, they leverage their smaller size for agility, passing by the cals multiple tis as if only seeking to cause panic.
And judging by the cals' helpless reactions, this tactic is quite effective; at least on several occasions, the cals have tried to break out only to be driven back by a few wolves.
"This is a common wolf pack tactic called 'Blitzkrieg.'"
Bi Fang was sowhat excited; such scenes were not common.
"Look how clever they are. By constantly charging, they attempt to isolate the cal family unit. If they manage to separate the young one, it is as good as dead!"
The size of African Wolves varies greatly with geographic variation, being significantly larger in West and North Africa than in East Africa.
In The Country of Honorable Gentlen, located in West Africa, these African Wolves are not that small. So of that perception might be due to the cal's size, making the attack look even more fearso.
The smallest cal was the weakest link in the small family group. At such a young age, it had never witnessed such a scene before. It couldn't help but consider fleeing, but it was securely guarded by two large cals, one on each side. But the large cals were also struggling.
They couldn't hold out much longer.
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