Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl-Chapter 337 - 335: The Daji of Cats

Chapter 337 -335: The Daji of Cats

Having safely seen off the program crew, Chen Ying sorted out his personal social media accounts.

He canceled all accounts except for the one on the Little Broken Station for science communication.

Previously he had thought about promoting Jiamu Gully and wildlife protection.

But he later discovered that there were always some people who would speculate about others with the utmost malice.

Every time he posted videos and science articles on his account, those trolls would jump up and down, accusing him of preparing to sell things, turning a perfectly good account into a mess of smoke and haze.

These people didn’t stop to think, what goods could he possibly sell with a science communication account?

Was he going to sell Qingtuan shaped like giant pandas or the leftover rabbit fur from Jinya’s meals?

Rather than wasting time and emotional energy on these people, it would be better to catch a few more animals for health checks.

The program crew had gone to Hot Spring Gully the next day, led into the mountains by a guide from the neighboring Protection Station, while Chen Ying, carrying his medical kit, went to watch giant pandas fight.

There was quite a bit of fur loss, and Qingtuan was supplied by the pound. Comparing to last year’s records, he found several new pandas this year.

“Last year a few female giant pandas that came here must have had cubs. According to their habits, they will not go into heat again until the cubs are at least a year and a half old, so maybe next year we’ll see them again.”

The entire field staff of the protection center mobilized, with those on leave volunteering to cut their breaks short, forming several small teams to enter the mountain to observe and protect the giant pandas.

Additionally, this year the center made a significant move by sending five captive-bred giant pandas for wild introduction.

Two males, having passed two years of the second phase of wild training, will be released separately after this year’s mating season.

Among the three female giant pandas, two are second-generation wild, and one’s mother is a wild panda, while her father is the captive “Hui Ye.”

Although Hui Ye is a captive giant panda, he possesses a strong wild nature, so this female giant panda is not much less capable compared to the second-generation wild ones.

The three female giant pandas were still released separately in three concentrated areas.

Learning from last year’s experience, this year’s giant pandas were released far apart, ensuring the cubs’ paternal genes did not overlap, avoiding the possibility of inbreeding later on.

As time passed, more and more pandas gathered around Old Bear Gully, reaching a peak of seventeen different individuals in five days.

Such high-density overlap put enormous pressure on the researchers.

How to protect the pandas from getting too injured in fights, how to guide their feeding.

Stacking these problems together almost burned their brains out.

Fortunately, they had anticipated more pandas coming this year, so they planted and introduced more of the bamboo that pandas love in this mountain forest.

At present, it seemed capable of sustaining them.

But another batch would not do.

Chen Ying followed the Panda Men around several places, eventually deciding to let Great Bai and Jiaojiao take the lead, with Chen Ying assisting, to guide the new pandas towards Haizi Slope.

Haizi Slope, located upstream from Old Bear Gully, with two-thirds in the neighboring reserve area, is over two hundred meters higher in elevation.

But the vegetation here is better, the bamboo forest is dense, and there’s only one resident panda that is quite old.

Initially, Chen Ying worried that guiding the pandas there would displace the old bear.

But according to the satellite map analysis, the old panda could walk southwest along the angle between Haizi Slope and Old Bear Gully, where there was a mediocre spot, no problem for it to retire.

After setting up infrared cameras in key places, Chen Ying’s involvement was no longer needed. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

With free time at hand, he planned to visit Xiaozhai Village.

Just as he left the Protection Station, his phone rang.

It was Sister Xiao Wang, the hostess, calling.

Their program shoot was over, and they had left. She called Chen Ying today to inquire about her cat’s litter, which seemed a bit unusual.

“Last year, my mom took Little Sister Ying back to visit our Northeastern hometown, where she roamed around, and we found out she was expecting upon our return. Today, while helping Little Sister Ying clean out the nest, my mom and I noticed the two kittens’ colors and patterns were a bit different.”

Sister Xiao Wang sent over photos and a short video, and when Chen Ying opened them, he inhaled sharply, “Wow, Little Sister Ying is impressive!”

“These two, no, this entire litter must be the offspring of Little Sister Ying and a wild leopard cat. Are there leopard cats where your mom’s hometown is?”

“I’m not sure, my mom’s hometown is right next to a forest farm, and I rarely go there. Especially these past few years, I’ve been too busy with work, I haven’t been there in at least ten years.”

Sister Xiao Wang hesitated for a moment, incredulously asking, “Are these really leopard cats? What should I do now? Is this considered, umm, a wild animal?”

Chen Ying chuckled, “If it turns out these kittens are indeed the descendants of a wild leopard cat, then yes, they are. In that case, you can’t keep them privately. But your cat’s situation is quite rare, it’s not like you intentionally bred a Wild Second Generation. As for what to do specifically, I suggest you go directly to the Forest Grassland Bureau nearby for advice, just follow whatever they tell you to do.”

Hearing this, Sister Xiao Wang breathed a sigh of relief.

Due to her status, she needed to be very careful in her actions. And she had already posted photos of the kittens online before. Back then, the kittens were too young to clearly discern their coat patterns, but now it was obvious they were unusual.

But the kittens were so young; without their mother, how would they survive? If they really couldn’t stay at home, she might have no choice but to let Little Sister Ying take her babies back to the hometown to live.

Chen Ying was planning to do a popularization piece on small felines and casually asked Sister Xiao Wang if she could use a photo of her cat.

“No problem, as long as it’s not for commercial use, feel free to use it.”

After hanging up the phone, Chen Ying clicked on the cat’s photo to take another look and marvelled.

It wasn’t unusual to find domestic and wildcat hybrids in rural areas, especially those close to the wilderness, where such mixed-breed animals were quite common.

Like before with wolves and dogs, wild boars and domestic pigs, wild yaks and domestic yaks, it was all the same issue.

But to be honest, wildcats had high standards when it came to choosing a mate, not just any cat would do.

All that could be said was that Xiao Wang’s sister’s cat, Little Sister Ying, had an appearance and a personality that enamored the wildcat.

“This is the Daji among cats!”

Setting this little episode aside, he strolled around in Xiaozhai Village and discovered that the simple and somewhat backward village he remembered had completely transformed.

At the entrance to the village, they had built a proper parking lot with a scientific layout and a two-story building that bore a sign reading “Tourist Center.”

Extending to the left and right from the small building were arched walkways providing shelter from wind and rain, with a small cement-square plaza in the center, at the center of which was a dedicated fire pit designed for bonfire parties.

The village’s old cobblestone paths had been cleaned and repaired, and water channels had been installed at each household’s doorway, imitating ancient towns.

Initially, these water channels were only found in places like Jiangnan and Lijiang, but now they had become standard for all such towns.

Below the water channels was a ‘living water’ park, stretching about four hundred meters.

The water from the village’s channels, after this living water treatment process, would flow into the river below, greatly reducing pollution.

Crossing through the village from east to west, at the living water park, the path forked, leading upwards to a bird-watching trail that connected several nearby villages.

Going downwards, one could circle the living water park and, via another path that went behind the wildlife rescue and shelter center, back to the village entrance via a viewing walkway.

Many people had inquired about buying or renting Chen Ying’s family’s old house.

Chen Ying had politely declined them all.

He wasn’t short of money and saw no need to sell the old house.

However, looking at it now, the dilapidated house by the roadside did indeed seem to impede the village’s development. Perhaps it was best to take advantage of the current lack of agricultural work and have it renovated.

He would keep the original foundation but tear down the house above and rebuild.

Once resolved, he did just that.

Standing at the entrance, he called Mr. Chen and spoke about it; Mr. Chen immediately agreed, sending him a sum of money and saying that the house was a legacy from Chen Ying’s grandfather and that he should handle it as he saw fit.

Chen Ying couldn’t stay here to oversee the renovation, so he sought out the Village Chief and asked if he could manage the reconstruction.

“I can’t help you with that, but I can introduce you to a reliable construction crew. They built the tourist center outside our village; their workmanship is solid, and they’re trustworthy. You can discuss with them how you want the repairs done, and I can keep an eye on it for you once it’s underway.”

That settled it, and it was a good arrangement. Besides, Yin Li’s sister was also in the village and could help keep an eye on things.

As for Uncle Chen’s house, it had been rented out for a crafts drink shop, retaining the cat dens in the courtyard, although the spiritual cats would likely not return.

The owner simply decided to keep a couple of domestic cats there, which attracted quite a few tourists with children.

Having handled the old house in the village, Chen Ying then headed to the rescue center to collect the quarter’s supplies and subsidies and inquire about the issue of his and Little Sen’s professional titles.

Chen Ying’s Intermediate Level title application had been exceptional; he met three of the four criteria and, with his teacher’s reputation, secured the title with ease.

But Little Sen’s case was different; having just received the Junior Assistant Title last year, he didn’t meet at least two criteria for an exceptional application. He would likely have to wait until their project was completed and he published papers and received awards to apply.

Chen Ying was different, however; he met the criteria for exceptional application for a Senior Level title last year, but applying for a senior level title just two or three years after an exceptionally granted intermediate title could lead to being targeted.

The center’s director told him that it wouldn’t be a problem to apply next year, once this year’s project was done. If anyone else had the ability, let them go conduct projects, develop technology, or create benefits.

From beginning to end, the director didn’t mention the TV crew; instead, he said that his team hadn’t arranged things well, causing Little Sen some inconveniences, and even managed to secure a subsidy grant for him.

The money wasn’t much, but it was mainly to comfort the young comrade.

“By the way, Chen, are you inquiring about Huanan tiger cubs?”

“Yes, I got lucky and received a pair of white tiger cubs on my last trip abroad, but the director knows about my situation, which isn’t suitable for raising white tiger cubs. Besides, I’ve exchanged ideas with M Alliance before and am quite interested in the Huanan tiger reintroduction work. I was thinking of starting from cubs to see if there may be a chance of success in reintroducing them to the wild.”

The director fell silent and smoked a cigarette, “Alright, leave this matter to me. But you have to assure me that, no matter the final result, we need to see some effect.”

“There will definitely be an effect, and I personally think that the possibility of success is at least fifty percent.”

“Alright, go back and wait for news, give me a week at most, and I’ll exchange the little tiger cub for you.”

Chen Ying’s eyes lit up, “Then I’ll wait for the director’s good news.”

After leaving the center, Chen Ying sat in the car, quickly revised his roughly conceived plan, and started rallying people.