Chapter 20 20. The she-wolf who protects her cubs—Hot Mom

It’s still the same swamp, but it’s deeper in Shuipaozi. I waded in and walked a long way. I pushed aside the hidden reeds, and a piece of water surface appeared. Lying two crane eggs.Standing in the nest, the female crane used her long beak to fish out the water plant ooze to trim the nest. The male crane bent its neck to comb the feathers on its back, and shook it against the sun. The splashed water droplets cast a starlight in the waves. "That's great, it's still these two." Black-necked cranes have the habit of laying eggs, but I didn't expect them to still stay in this swamp.The black-necked crane has a fairy posture that does not compete with the world. Standing in the water with the crane, you will feel inexplicable peace and comfort. The light becomes soft and the air is fragrant.

I waded back to the shore quietly, tiptoeing to watch——very good!The crane's nest in the deep water cannot be seen on the shore, and they have learned the lesson of last time. "This nest of eggs needs to be closely monitored, and we have to come and see them every day, and they can't be taken away. Counting the days, they should hatch in mid-July." I dried my feet and put on socks, "Zeren, what are you doing?" What did you find?" "I came back from Tangke early in the morning, and I happened to see black-necked cranes flying into the water bubble. I remembered that you said that you paid too much attention to the movements of the cranes, so I waded in and saw it." Zeren was a little proud, "Also, you Remember that litter of foxes that lived near my house? My daughter-in-law said that we have been away for seven days, and the number of foxes has increased.”

"It has changed a lot?" Yifeng laughed, "You mean they have grown up and changed, don't you?" "No, it's just increased!" Zeren stretched out his fingers and gestured, indicating that his Chinese expression was correct. "In the past, there were four little foxes, but now there are six little foxes, and one mother fox, seven in total!" "Seven? That's strange." I kicked my foot into the shoe, "Go, go and have a look." The two of us were lying on the window of Zeren's house to peek at the fox's den. Until it was almost dusk, the mother fox finally came back with dinner, and the little foxes were looking forward to coming out of their holes in swarms to grab food and play.

"...four, five, six... There are really two more little foxes. Where did they come from?" Yifeng stroked his beard. "I don't know," Zeren's daughter-in-law said, "the second day after you went to Tangke, I found that there were too many foxes." Zeren's daughter-in-law did not go to Tangke because she was pregnant, but stayed in Yuanmu to take care of the cattle and sheep , she especially sympathizes with the mother fox, "I see that it is too hard for the mother fox to raise so many dolls, and she loses weight very quickly, so every time I feed the old dog Moto, I cook an extra piece of meat and put it there. The big fox at night She will take away the meat that Mo Tuo can't finish. She is not afraid of me, and Mo Tuo will not drive her away."

I took a closer look with the binoculars, and the two little foxes that came out were very familiar. Counting the time, I guessed seven or eight points in my heart, and asked Yifeng to identify them, and the two little foxes were indeed them——we first Observe the orphans left by the family of foxes killed by poachers.At that time, the remains of the mother and the two cubs of the litter were found. We always thought that the remaining two cubs were also in danger.My final video captures them waiting for their mother by the den until the wee hours, paws on each other's shoulders, comforting each other before leaving the motherless home.Unexpectedly, a few days later, they found a new home.The female fox in this nest took them in.

The new mother of the little fox licked and combed the hair of the children without any preference. Although she had to raise six children, it was much harder than before, but her behavior was full of maternal tenderness.These seemingly lowly animals have noble emotions. "Foxes have adopted behaviors! This is the first time I have seen it." Yifeng said, "In the past, I only knew that wolves had adopted behaviors." Yifeng's unintentional words suddenly woke me up.That's right, wolves are so motherly that they can even adopt human children.Last time we found that the size of Fuzai and Xiaobudian were different. Does it mean that there are adopted children in the pack of wolves in the back mountain?Could it be that there are wolves in distress in the neighboring territory?Was it caused by poaching?The territory of wolves is larger than that of foxes. If one of Fuzai or Xiaobudian is really an adopted son, did such a small wolf cub come to his new home by himself, or was it picked up by a passing wolf pack?As soon as I thought of this, I couldn't help worrying about Fuzai and Xiaodian: Did they find the female wolf?At this moment, would they throw themselves into the arms of the she-wolf and cry for the reunion, or wander alone in the valley and starve?

Since sending the little wolf back, we have been in fear all day long, but in order not to disturb the wolves as much as possible, we refrained from entering the mountain, and only released the aerial camera to patrol around the mountain every day to confirm that there were no suspicious people in the mountain, and then went to the hut. Use binoculars to keep a close eye on what's going on in the mountains.After all, some time ago, poachers disturbed too much in the mountains, and the wolves needed to rest quietly. Counting the days, it has been four days since Fuzai and Xiaobudian have returned to the mountain, and we are restless.If the pup doesn't find the female wolf, in this cold and oxygen-deficient mountain corner, starving to the fourth day is the limit.

After all, we couldn't help but went to the mountains to check, but we didn't find any trace of the little wolf. One day, a tourist from the county town told us that they saw a wolf, and there was a Tibetan house on the way into the grassland, with a big sign saying "Tibetan mastiff, wolf" to attract tourists. "The she-wolf they were tethering was this big. There are four other cubs to sell," the tourists said. The palms of our clenched hands are sweating, which wolf has been picked out again?Will there be the little wolf "nunchuck" that we didn't rescue?Could it be that Fuzai and Xiaobudian went back to find the wolf mother and sister "Scud", but encountered poachers again, and were wiped out by a net?We hurriedly inquired about the address and drove more than 100 kilometers to have a look, but we all guessed wrong-it was a litter of huskies.

Although it was a waste of time, as long as it is not a wolf, we are still very relieved. On the way home, we detoured into the city to buy rice and eggs.The purchases were complete, and I stood in the garden in the middle of the street, eating the pot helmet, and waiting for Yifeng to drive over to pick me up. Suddenly, my scarf tightened, and someone strangled my throat from behind. Who dares to commit murder in the county town? !I grabbed the scarf in a panic and looked back: "Haha, it's you! Why did you come here?!" Who?The sika deer on Wolf Mountain. He still couldn't forget my scarf, and he grabbed it as soon as he came up, chewed and pulled it, and strangled me to stick out my tongue.

"Hey, you are not allowed to bully him!" The faithful men and women on the side of the road warned me. Conscience of heaven and earth, who is bullying whom?I couldn't afford to be provoked, so I pulled back my scarf and jumped into the car in a hurry. The sika deer pressed against the car door, poked its head through the car window, and then sniffed my scarf. I heard from people in the past that during the puja, this sacred deer has been wandering around the city for many days. He grazes in the pastures near the county town during the day and rests in the city at night. Everyone in the village knew that he was releasing deer and allowed him to roam around.

The sika deer are hiding in the city these days!It's too challenging for my IQ.I held his cheeks and put my arms around his neck: "Young man, I have been worried about you. Now that the poachers are gone, you can go back to the mountains." "This is the divine deer you mentioned?" Yifeng also reached out to touch him, "It's really spiritual." "Of course, and he still recognizes me. He pulled my scarf and greeted me when he came up." Yifeng started the car with a smile: "Don't be smug, in my opinion, he wants to eat salt, your scarf is full of sweat." I turned dark, this is the time Yifeng hates the most, insisting on talking about romantic adventures in such a way. The black-necked crane laid two eggs, the little fox orphan found a new home, and the sika deer took refuge in the city. In order to reproduce and survive, these animals will try every means. This is survival. The days in the grassland are as clear and simple as water, and the time is silent. The little foxes are growing up day by day, and some have already begun to moult.Black-necked crane eggs can hear subtle growth sounds.Fu Zai and Xiao BuDian, who disappeared without a trace, always haunt us, as well as the long-lost Green... At the end of June, there are endless wild vegetables in the mountains. The most pleasing thing is the white mushrooms that grow on the slopes after the rain. You can pick five or six catties just by walking around the mountains. Herdsmen like to remove the stipe and hyphae of this mushroom, leaving only a canopy, turn it over, and put tsampa and ghee in a mushroom bowl, which is shaped like an egg tart.A small bonfire is set up and roasted slowly, the mushroom juice and melted ghee soaked the tsampa, mixed on the flames to form a lingering taste, and then burst out this sweet taste with the heat wave, bubble by bubble, far away can smell.The baked mushroom bowl is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, sticky but not mushy, and the tsampa in the middle is smooth and harmonious. If you add a touch of herbs, holding it in the palm of your hand is like holding a cup of wet land.Roasted mushrooms are the most exquisite field snacks in summer on the prairie. When we went to Zeren’s house to visit the little fox and black-necked cranes, we also used the Han family’s recipe to treat Zeren’s family with sliced ​​mushroom and garlic sliced ​​beef soup. They kept praising: "It's so fragrant, it's delicious just looking at it!" But they really just looked at the mushroom soup and swallowed with a smile, but didn't taste it.Later I learned that people who recite scriptures do not eat garlic.I originally made a special trip to give Zeren and the others a taste of early adopters, but I didn't find out clearly beforehand. Yifeng was very sorry: "Garlic is used to detoxify, even if you eat it once in a while, no one will see it..." Zeren smiled and shook his head: "The sky is watching." We stopped persuading, feeling a little ashamed.For people without faith, they can take advantage of loopholes when there is no one to control them; but for people with faith, inner self-discipline cannot deceive themselves and others. Every time I go to the mountains to pick mushrooms, I do it myself. Yifeng is a rookie who can’t even tell the difference between shallots and garlic sprouts. . Yifeng occasionally finds a wolf or two.As time goes by, the wolves in the mountains no longer deliberately avoid us. They usually walk away slowly or peek at what we are doing from a distance of several hundred meters, giving us more opportunities to get acquainted with and get to know them.It's just that among the wolves we met by chance, we never found any wolf that was our Green. At sunset, I was sitting on a rocky cliff with a boulder in my hand.I picked up this boulder when I went up the mountain to pick mushrooms today. It was white and lying in the grass, the size of a tennis ball. At first I thought it was a mushroom, but when I got closer, I realized it was a stone.There are many flaky stones on Wolf Mountain, but it is rare to see such a white round stone. Such an interesting stone is Green's favorite.In the days when I was away from Green, even if I saw a tiny thing, I would think of him.I remembered that when he was a child, he would throw a stone in his mouth every morning from the window of the hut to wake me up. This was his Morning Call.At that time, I always acted angry and confiscated his stones, not allowing him to be naughty.I confiscated a drawer of rocks, so Green couldn't find anything to play with, so he had to throw dry cow dung at me. I picked up the stone and wiped off the dirt on it. Seeing Shi Silang, my tears dripped down my chin on the stone.I took this special boulder in my arms and stroked it all the way, brought it up the mountain, and sat on the edge of the cliff to rest. This stone cliff is on the top of Zhongfeng Mountain, and a few towering boulders on the edge of the cliff can provide a small shade.When the sun is hot, we will always take a rest under the shade of stones and eat some dry food when we come here.It used to be Green's favorite rest station. He loved to jump on the rocky cliff, shake his wolf mane, and look down at the entire Wolf Crossing Beach from a high position.But I like to sit with my back on the low boulder in front of him, facing the mountain wind, swinging with my feet dangling on the edge of a thousand-foot-high cliff, which is both frightening and refreshing.I leaned the back of my head against Green's chest, letting his wolf shadow loom over me, and I could hear his powerful heartbeat.He would mischievously put his chin on top of my head, like wearing a wolf hat on me, and the hot air of his breath would blow on my forehead, making it itchy.So I tilted my head back and giggled, watching the silhouette of his chin when he looked into the distance, and seeing the fan-shaped sunshine between the two wolf ears when he bowed his head.Green standing on the boulder looks so mighty and majestic, but also looks so alone.At that time, Green was seven months old. He encountered wild wolves twice, but he was not accepted smoothly. "Be confident, you belong to this mountain just like them. My Green has grown up." I raised my hand to stroke his neck hair, "No matter what, Mom is by your side, so be brave!" He put his paw on my shoulder, stood on my shoulder and shouted to the sky, I know, he understands.So, I also accompanied Green to call his companions, and the howling of the human wolf echoed over the wolf crossing beach. At this moment, I sat in the old place, closed my eyes, those howls were still in my ears, and those images were alive.Green, my mother picked up a very round stone today, you must like it.Mom is sleeping here, you can throw this rock over to wake me up, okay?Let mommy open her eyes and see your face... ok?In a daze, my shoulders sank, and Green's paws really came up. I opened my eyes excitedly, and turned my head: "Green!" "It's me." Yifeng's big hand squeezed my shoulder, "Don't sit on the edge of the cliff, be careful not to step on it." I took Yifeng's arm and moved it back to the stone shade on the edge of the cliff. Yifeng took the stone in my hand and took a closer look. The surface of the stone has been rubbed smooth and stained with tears: "Leave this stone here. If Green comes here as often as we do, maybe he can See." I followed the instructions and placed the stones in a conspicuous position on the cliff.When I left, I muttered silently: Son, this is the toy my mother found for you. It has the smell of your mother on it. My mother read your name here. If you pass by here, you will smell your breath and taste your tears. Bitter, please come back soon, let mom see you. One morning, when Yifeng and I were patrolling Ring Finger Mountain, Yifeng suddenly lowered my shoulders and told me to lie in ambush. "Shh, what do you think that is?" He pointed to the water source in the valley. The sunlight illuminated the brook with mercury-like light, and three small black figures swayed in Lu Li's light. "That's..." I narrowed my eyes. "rabbit?" "It's not that big! Otter?" "Action is not so fast!" "...Ah! It's the little wolf! Three little wolves!" Great, this means that Fuzai and Xiaobudian have returned to the wolf pack and reunited with Scud. "Fuzi! Little one!" I stood up and shouted. As soon as one of the little wolves heard the sound, it ran up the hillside as if flying, and burrowed into the hole.The other two wolf cubs, one big and one small, were startled when they first heard the human voice, and Sa Yazi ran towards the hillside. After running for a while, they slowed down and looked back for the source of the sound. "Fuzai! Little one!" I shouted again, waving my hands and jumping high. The two little ghosts found us, and their little heads moved together, so they didn't run away and continued to play. The one that got into the hole was Sister Wolf’s Scud. I knew it was her when she ran just now, because this little girl always runs on one side when she runs—she runs fast on her front legs and runs on her back legs. She was going faster, so her hind legs always wanted to "overtake" the car, so her running posture was crooked. At this moment, Scud was hiding at the "doorway" and poked out half of her head, as if she couldn't believe how the two brothers were so brave. She was hesitating whether she should hide or come out to join the game. "It's the two of them!" My heart was so warm.They still remembered the name that had been called for seven days - Fuzai, Xiaobudian!I remember that during those seven days, every time I called them for feeding, they always looked indifferent, as if they didn't know or accept this nickname at all.Even if I treat them and feed them, they are not as close as we imagined, and they are always guarding against us like they are guarding against kidnappers.However, at this moment, not escaping is already the greatest trust and reward a wild wolf can give to people.There's nothing better than seeing the pup come home and knowing we won't hurt him.Although we can only see the outline clearly from this distance, we are very satisfied. This is the first time we have seen Fuzai and Xiaobudian in peace since we lost contact with them for half a month. We set up a telephoto camera and binoculars to observe the three little wolves: Fuzai, Scud and Xiaobudian. The little ones are three months old and are pumping, their ears are erect, their mouths are pointed, and their legs and feet are elongated.This age has inexhaustible energy, and Fuzai and Xiaobudian are having a lot of trouble by the stream.Scud looked at Fuzai and Xiaobudian for a while, and at us for a while. After observing for a long time, he finally let go of his courage. Yifeng was standing guard in the hidden tent on the mountain, I tentatively went down to the valley, and took a close-up shot of the little wolf with a small DV. After playing with Scud for a while, he had to look at me and Yifeng worriedly.Since his elder brother and younger brother both dared to hang out in front of me, she was not willing to be ridiculed as a coward, but we are human after all, so we have to guard against it.Maybe her mother had taught her that people are a nuisance to the animal kingdom. As Fu Tsai grows up, he looks more and more like Green.I thought to myself, let him be Green, under the eyes of poachers, let us protect them, and don't let Green's tragedy repeat itself. When Xiaobudian was living in our hut, I still thought he was very gentle, but I discovered another side of him when he was by the wolf den.Right now he is angry with the mosquitoes, these mosquitoes specially bite his small nose and hairless stomach, he is so angry that he is waving his little wolf claws and jumping around in the grass, whenever a mosquito passes by his eyes, he will open his mouth Just bite. I was watching with enthusiasm when the walkie-talkie crackled, and Yifeng's voice was anxious: "Oops, oops..." I took out the walkie-talkie from my trouser pocket: "What?" "Look behind... behind you!" The back of my neck felt cold, and I hurriedly turned around.not good!Big Wolf is back! Yes, the wolf's lair has been taken out once, of course the big wolf will be more vigilant and won't be too far away from home.I have never met the "parents" in the wolf's den so many times before, and now, I am so happy that I almost forgot about this potential crisis.This is exactly "walking at night for a long time will bump into ghosts", today I met a wolf in front of the wolf's den.I couldn't run, I couldn't move, I froze into a cordyceps in an instant, and all the fear in my body sprouted from the back of my head. A few tens of meters away, the big wolf emerged from the other side of the hill with a live marmot in its mouth.Surrounded by the cubs, the big wolf trotted up and lifted the marmot up to avoid the cubs jumping up and grabbing food. The big wolf wanted to find an open place to lay down its prey. The marmot screamed and struggled.Maybe it was because the smell of otters was so strong that the big wolf didn't notice the human scent; maybe the jumping little wolf interfered with her sight, so the big wolf turned over the slope and suddenly found me.The big wolf opened its mouth in shock, and the marmot "thumped" and fell to the ground. The marmot turned over and fled down the hillside. Someone is here, these silly children don't even hide!The big wolf quickly glanced at the little wolf, its eyes widened and my gaze collided, and the fur all over its body turned into exclamation marks!She is a she-wolf, slim and delicate.Her lactation period is coming to an end, and the breasts on her abdomen are shrinking and recovering, but there is a striking walnut-sized scar on her lower abdomen, probably where the teat was bitten off by a wolf cub who snatched her milk.There was an old scratch on the bridge of her nose, and the tip of her nose was strangled in half by the scar.The female wolf wrinkled her nostrils sullenly, and the scar became more hideous.She bared her fangs, and the roar in her throat was aggressive, and the sharp teeth were about to come out of her lips at any time. I clenched my teeth, controlling the sound of teeth chattering.I spread my empty hands, trying to show that I was harmless, but my feet continued to freeze there.It’s not that I’m so calm and fearless. My calf has been cramp since the first time I found the she-wolf coming home. Although my instinct kept urging me to flee for my life, my motor nerves were in a state of power failure, and I couldn’t listen to them at all.Humans cannot run away from wolves. Once I show my cowardice in front of wolves, there is only one way to die. I have no choice but to be brave and calm down. Yifeng and I have been in and out of Wolf Mountain many times, and it is common to encounter wolves at close range, but encountering wolves in other places does not make me so frightened, because we know that wolves will not hurt people.Usually wolves will take the initiative to avoid us, but the current situation is different. I invaded the wolf mother's kindergarten, and her baby wolves are by my side. There is nothing more aggressive than a mother wolf who protects her cubs!She rejects all dangerous things, let alone people.If my behavior is slightly wrong at this time, the female wolf's sensitive attack nerve will be triggered. The female wolf looked at the cub, then stared at me nervously.She tucks her tail, baring her teeth while shifting her front paws uneasily, she's tense.I took a sneak peek at the little wolf not far away, and immediately the mother wolf howled in dissatisfaction. She quickly stepped forward to block my sight of the little wolf!Her wolf ears flattened out in preparation for an attack. I was more nervous than her, I always felt that she was looking at my slender neck, I subconsciously retracted my neck to the neckline, every time the female wolf bared her teeth, I took a guilty step back, the string between man and wolf It gets tighter. Running but not daring to run, staying but not being able to stay, such a stalemate is not an option.The little bit of thought left in me reminded me that I was also Aunt Lei Feng who sent Little Wolf home anyway, Fuzai and Xiaobudian must always remember me.With a glimmer of hope, I asked for help in a trembling voice: "Fuzai! Little one!" It's okay if you don't yell, but when you yell, the she-wolf rushes over like putting out a fire.Damn!My heart finally tripped, and as soon as I closed my eyes, I ran away with my head in my arms, and rolled downhill in a tumble. For a while, I didn't feel the pain of being bitten by a wolf. I touched my neck and it didn't break.I boldly opened my eyes and saw that the she-wolf was still on the hillside, and the little one was holding the she-wolf's head. Fuzai kept licking the wolf mother's mouth, and in a short while the angry wrinkles on the bridge of the she-wolf's nose were smoothed away. . But Scud feared that the world would not be chaotic. She hid behind the she-wolf, bared her little fangs and fanned the will-o'-the-wisps at me, as if she was eager to say, "Mom, it's this peeping tom who came to our house twice a day. , I even have to take pictures of my poop. I'll help you drag her to the kitchen!" She is a girl, and her behavior is more inclined to learn from the she-wolf. Once the distance between man and wolf was widened, the mother wolf became much calmer. She arched the waist of the wolf cubs with the bridge of her nose and pushed them home.Fuzai turned to look at me, his little tail shook slightly, and the she-wolf immediately slammed her chin on his forehead, Fuzai let out a painful groan, tucked his tail, and followed the wolf mother obediently. up. Only then did I withdraw my soul and dragged back to the camera trembling. God knows how I teleported to the mountain, I just felt that Yifeng smiled and pulled me into the tent: "You can run faster than a rabbit! This she-wolf is so fierce! She is a hot mother." Yifeng's smile made me even more aggrieved. I lifted up my sleeves and trouser legs, exposed the cut wound when I rolled down the hill, and said angrily: "She wants to kill me! You're still laughing!!" Hearing this, he put away his smiling face, quickly took off his hat and smoothed his hair, and put on a slightly sad and angry expression that his best friend should have at this moment. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, hot mom won't really use you to add food. If she dares to bite you, I'll go down and bite her!" Yifeng smiled, and took out a band-aid to help me stick it, "I'm on the mountain, and the bystanders can see that it wasn't the little wolf blocking me just now." Come on, the female wolf stopped when she rushed in front of you, and the cub came up after that, and you rolled down the mountain by yourself. Think about it, we have been patrolling around the wolf den for so many days, can the nearby Leaving a human smell? The female wolf must have known about it long ago, but she didn't move her den, so she didn't reject us. She just blamed you for being too close. Besides, Fuzai and Xiaobudian will definitely go home With our smell, the she-wolf knows your smell, and will not repay you, but just scare you." I touched the bag on my head, still in shock, and I couldn't accept Yifeng's "after-the-fact" analysis: "The female wolf who protects her cubs does things regardless of the consequences. If I didn't run fast, would she really attack Jue Feng?" Not sure, if you don’t believe me, go down to the wolf’s den and try.” "No, I haven't lived enough yet. Let's not push ourselves too far. From now on, we will observe them from across the valley. Everyone is at ease." After helping me treat the wound, Yifeng picked up the binoculars and continued to look around the wolf den. The cubs were gone, maybe the she-wolf hot mom let them into the cave, and the hot mom sat on the hillside angrily, she didn't go in the cave, she seemed to think that this would be the first time to spot the danger.When we met for the first time, she was also "watching" us. When we thought we were hiding from the tent window and looked at her through the telescope, she would always look at us through the telescope, as if our every move was in her eyes. . I rummaged through my pockets, but couldn't find the walkie-talkie. I might have fallen near the wolf's den in a panic.I looked at the hot mom's look of fire, theft, and human beings, and I also felt a mischievous revenge: I let you scare me, and I will scare you too!With a smirk at the corner of my mouth, I picked up Yifeng's intercom and cleared my throat: "Fuzai! Little one! Green! Aww—" As soon as the roar was over, the three little wolves jumped out of the hole as if they were flying, and exploded their nest! What is the effect?We were immediately overjoyed. It turned out that some mischievous little devil actually took the walkie-talkie back to its nest. My roar scared the little guys away and they ran away in all directions. The hot mom was taken aback, and angrily chased after one of the little wolves - Fuzai was about to be beaten again. Soon, Hot Mom returned to the nest and took out the walkie-talkie, threw it far away, raised her head, and gave us a fierce look.