Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl-Chapter 333 - 331 The Species Are Becoming More Abundant

"Want to talk about the law? It’s still up in the air who will be looking for an explanation from whom."

Chen Ying took a look around the first floor.

The newly remodeled surgery area and postoperative care zone had been completed, a significant upgrade—it was like swapping a birdgun for a cannon.

Plus, with the set of equipment he earned from his recent outing, he would probably need to find a room in the new building to install it.

Just in time too, since Miss Dao had moved out, and her room was now vacant—it could be turned into the new post-op care area.

After discussing future development plans with Old Gao, Little Sen came back around at almost half-past eleven.

"Brother Ying, I brought back some vegetables from the Protection Station. How about hot pot for lunch?"

Hot pot was convenient and produced less oily fumes.

They all pitched in, and it wouldn’t be long before they could start eating.

Just as they began eating, they heard someone calling out Old Gao’s name behind them.

"See, what did I tell you? The debt collectors have arrived."

Chen Ying hadn’t met this duty leader before.

The man had a gentle demeanor, not at all like the type who came looking for trouble, as Old Gao described.

He started by apologizing, saying that their students did something wrong yesterday and should not have harmed Jinya.

At first, Chen Ying thought nothing of it, but then something clicked—this guy might look mild with his pale skin, but he seemed to have a dark heart.

What was this, implying Jinya was his animal and insinuating that he had turned a blind eye to Jinya’s ruckus at the Bird Research Institute?

"Look at you talk, we’re friendly collaborative units here, we shouldn’t let a small incident ruin the harmony. Besides, wild animals have their instincts, and holding grudges is particularly natural for felines. You’d better be a bit more careful. For the near future, it’s best to keep your doors and windows well-secured to prevent any chance encounters."

"We’re all here making a living in the animals’ home turf, if you treat them well, naturally, they’ll reciprocate. Look around, the animals and birds here get along just fine."

Old Gao picked up the thread, "That’s for sure. Remember the brood of owlets from last year? Little Owl Mother was teaching the kids to fly in the forest behind us, and a few curious critters even came to watch."

"That’s right, the lynx’s main food source is rabbits, and we’ve got an abundance here they can’t even finish. The birds are small and all fluffy with down—those big cats don’t have the patience to catch birds for food." frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

Chen Ying thought for a moment and added, "Pheasants are the exception, though. It seems like Jinya and the rest have an ongoing feud with that group of pheasants at the back. If they don’t catch a couple each year, it’s like they’ve wasted a year of growth."

To bird conservationists, each bird is a treasure, but they would never interfere with the battles within the animal food chain.

The duty leader forced a smile, "Yes, it was negligence on our part. Mainly because we have several green-tailed rainbow pheasant eggs due to hatch this year, and the students are just too nervous."

Chen Ying smiled and said no more.

The visitor had softened his stance, and it wouldn’t be good to take it too far.

Old Gao watched coldly for a while and then chuckled, "Leader, if I were you, I’d have a drink with Old Chen. With his help, it’d be safer for you to do your birdwatching in the mountains."

The duty leader’s expression briefly showed a hint of rigidity.

He had started working here after Chen Ying left and was always skeptical of the legends about Chen.

Just as he was about to shrug it off, he suddenly saw a black bear approach, and, panic-stricken, he stood up and stepped back, exclaiming in fright,

"A black bear, a black bear’s coming, you guys..."

Chen Ying also stood up but didn’t back away; instead, he walked towards the bear, leading Black Bear Sister off to the side.

"What’s the matter, looking so glum? Where are Big and Small Yueya?"

Black Bear Sister raised her head and growled twice before catching the apple Old Gao threw and biting into it fiercely.

Those two bear cubs now roam all over the forest, seldom returning home.

"You think they’re getting ready to leave here? It’s still winter, and they’re barely over a year old, not even two—can they fend for themselves?"

Bear cubs live with their mother during their first winter, but by summer and fall, they must leave their mother to survive the winter alone.

But it was still winter, and they were so bold, wanting to declare independence so early?

Did black bears also have a rebellious phase?

Black Bear Sister sighed wearily.

"Aw, growl, they want to live up in the mountains, but I don’t really want to leave this place."

It seemed there was a territory dispute between mother and sons.

Black Bear Sister liked the environment in Jiamu Gully a lot, occasionally visiting Bear Garden to see the young female bear recovering.

Because of the presence of the street rat, foreign black bears tended to just pass through.

Big and Small Yueya became fond of the environment in Hot Spring Gully after taking a bath there with their mother.

Moreover, in six months or so, they had to be independent. For their first winter, the brother cubs would stick together, but by next summer, they would part ways to establish their own territories.

Black Bear Sister thought the forest was large enough to accommodate all of them.

Yet, Big and Small Yueya wanted to leave this territory for the future offspring of the young female bear.

Furthermore, both were male bears; they might not feel it now, but as they got bigger, there would be inevitable conflict with their Uncle Street Rat.

After enjoying an apple, Black Bear Sister growled and asked for two pieces of old pumpkin.

Once she finished eating, she patted her butt and left.

"That feeling was like swinging by for a casual visit, just to chat with Chen Ying and poke around in a tree hole."

The duty leader at the observation station, who was witnessing for the first time the barrier-free communication between Chen Ying and the animals, gave Chen Ying a deep look and then swept the two students with a reproachful glance, as a familiar smile appeared on his face.

Old Gao snorted internally but didn’t say it out loud.

Little Sen was always smart, never meddling in the affairs of the leaders.

After dinner, Chen Ying volunteered to go check on the situation at the observation station.

Old Gao went along with him too.

On the way, they found the droppings of a giant panda—a Qingtuan. Chen Ying called Little Sen to ask about Mendun’er’s recent activity, and learned that it had taken its three babies to move to Old Bear Gully. So, the Qingtuan found here were likely not Mendun’er’s and its kids’.

"Brother Ying, send me your location, and I will come over to collect samples right away,"

Little Sen said as he prepared his tools.

When it came to pandas, he was immediately excited.

"Could it be a giant panda introduced to the wild this year?"

Although it was only February, the work of introducing pandas into the wild had already been going on for a while.

"It’s unlikely. Just last year they released two pandas here. Mendun’er and Fufu’s babies are still small and active in this area. The center wouldn’t rush to release more bears to attract other males for mating."

Chen Ying said this but felt a bit uneasy inside because last year Leopard Sister had told him that this forest seemed to be more vibrant than other areas.

Plus, perhaps due to Chen Ying’s presence providing a sense of security, many animals were willing to choose this place as a natural maternity ward for mating and birthing.

Discovering the Qingtuan was a minor incident. When they truly arrived at the observation station, Chen Ying noticed that there were indeed a lot of small animals around that loved to eat birds.

Critters like martens, spiritual cats, and the like—the carrying capacity seemed a bit overwhelmed.

Chen Ying didn’t quite understand why they had placed the egg-incubation room and the chick-rearing center here when it seemed more suitable to do this work at the Bird Research Institute at the foot of the mountain.

In front of the leaders, Chen Ying didn’t ask but intended to have a good discussion with Old Gao about this issue later.

Doing things this way at the observation station was basically like topping up the food dish for the Big Cat, and they were desperately adding to the meal.

Just about to enter the scope of the observation station, Chen Ying looked up sharply and spotted an extremely well-hidden cat’s head among the tree canopy.

"Jinya, you get away from here or Old Gao will skin you tonight."

Old Gao pushed him with a laugh, "What nonsense are you speaking? I’m not that ferocious. Don’t ruin my image in Jinya’s heart."

After Chen Ying spoke up, Jinya didn’t make a sound, but soon, the percentage of cats in the vicinity decreased.

"You’d better remove the soft nets and replace them with Vigilance Nets that can slide or be lifted. The animals can’t easily damage them, and it’s convenient for you to open and close doors and windows."

The windows of the rescue station were all fitted with Vigilance Nets, which could be rolled up when not needed and pulled down when necessary to prevent animals from entering indoors.

"We’ve installed metal netting on the first floor, but the proximity of felines can agitate the birds."

"Leader, I really shouldn’t be the one to say this, but don’t you think you are going a bit too far? After all, it is you who have entered the animals’ living circles."

"Dr. Chen, protecting animals is correct, but birds need protection too. Working in this profession, shouldn’t your biases not be too strong?"

"Of course. Wildlife protection includes the protection of birds, and our rescue station has saved many birds, which greatly outnumber the animals we’ve rescued. Frankly speaking, we never encountered situations like yours when rescuing birds."

Chen Ying said with a calm smile, "But when we rescue birds, we choose a place suitable for their recuperation, release them after they have recovered, and never had your kind of troubles."

Old Gao covered his mouth with his fist, turning his head away to stifle laughter.

He had opposed building the egg-incubation room from the beginning, but these people didn’t listen to him at all. And now they dared come to blame Chen Ying for not keeping an eye on the animals.

Heh, if you can do better, then do it.

After a tour, Chen Ying gave a few suggestions to maximize the security of the aviary.

Whether they would listen or not, that was beyond his control.

After leaving the observation station and walking not too far, Chen Ying met Jinya, who had jumped down from the tree to act coquettishly.

"You little trouble-maker, why did you go scare people?"

Jinya made a discontented purring noise.

"I didn’t scare them, they scared me first."

"Alright, alright, they’re bad, they’re wrong. Stay away from that place in the future, and tell your friends the same."

Jinya hmphed twice and turned her head arrogantly, disappearing into the woods, and soon was out of sight.

Old Gao patted his shoulder, feeling that you really couldn’t blame Jinya. Small animals are just like small children; if you don’t like me, I won’t like you. So very simple.

"By the way, I forgot to tell you, we’ve got a new resident in our woods."

Old Gao chuckled slyly, deliberately holding back.

The new resident had moved in before the New Year. He had stopped anyone from telling Chen Ying, just to surprise him.

Following Old Gao to Huaqiu Valley and down the slope towards the gentler part of the river,

"Look, see it?"

Chen Ying took a careful look and saw three tiny, pitch-black otters lying on the bank of the shallow water, staring at him.

Just as he thought to get closer, a slightly larger otter quickly dashed forward, positioning itself in front of the three littler ones.

"We’ve got otters here now too?" asked Chen Ying incredulously, turning his head to look at Old Gao.