Back to 1984: Hunting in the Mountains

This bend should not have been on the same mountain originally. It may have been a geological movement that caused the rocks on both sides to collapse and build together here.

After years of continuous erosion and filling, a special triangular stone warehouse was gradually formed.

Yu Qiutang just walked here, saw the terrain on the ground, walked over, and then turned back.

According to his experience, this location is very suitable for a black bear to build a den.

The triangular stone warehouse has a small opening but a large space inside. Once you get inside and guard it, it is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Even a tiger cannot get in through such a small space.

In addition, the location of the outside entrance is low and the location of the cave entrance is high, which can prevent the snow water from being dissolved and flowing into the cave.

Of course, these are all indirect possibilities.

He turned around, found a dead branch, and began searching the ground.

Yu Qiujiang didn't understand what he was doing and didn't disturb him, but the two dogs seemed a little nervous.

"really!"

Yu Qiutang finally breathed a sigh of relief, his voice sounding very excited.

"Brother Jiang, I found it!"

"what?"

Yu Qiujiang then came over and squatted down, watching Yu Qiutang pull out the black thing with a dead branch, and asked, "What is this?"

“Bear poop.”

"what?"

Before Yu Qiutang could answer, Dahei rushed up and started barking at the small pile of things. Xiaohei was braver than Dahei and even tried to scratch them with his claws, but Yu Qiutang pulled him aside.

It is said that a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger, but he is like a newborn puppy that is not afraid of a bear.

"Brother Jiang, look, there are some here too," Yu Qiutang stood up and observed the distance first. Sure enough, he soon found another pile in the crevice of the rocks not far away.

"Before hibernating, bears often set up guards around their caves, using their feces as a tool. Animals hunt or warn mainly by leaving their own scent.

Look at those dogs. When they run out of the door, they want to pee under every tree. That is to leave their own scent.

However, dogs leave marks to help them find their way, while bears leave feces and urine to mark their territory and tell other animals that this is their territory and they should stay away from them.

Animals are naturally alert to danger, and weak animals will automatically avoid it when they smell this smell.

Yu Qiujiang nodded, feeling that he had learned a lot, but he soon thought of another question, "Then let me ask you a question, is there nothing that can cure the bear in the mountains?"

"That's not it."

Yu Qiutang smiled, "Although bears are fierce, living in the mountains is not just about how fierce you are. It's the same as people. Some people are fierce, but no matter how fierce they are, two fists can't beat four hands, right? No matter how fierce a bear is, there are still some risks when it encounters those animals that live in groups, especially bear cubs, which can easily be taken away by wolves and other animals."

Yu Qiujiang asked a question that Yu Qiutang had not expected: "If that's the case, shouldn't the bear try to hide its location as much as possible so that its natural enemies won't find it? Now that it has left its scent in a big way, and you can find it, won't it be easier to find those things?"

Yu Qiutang was slightly startled, then smiled bitterly and said, "Maybe it's to prevent other things?"

"Other creatures don't dare to provoke bears. Even if they do, they won't be able to kill them, right?"

Yu Qiutang was stunned again.

Although he can be considered a semi-expert in animal traces, he is not an expert in studying the logic of animal behavior.

This question really stumped him.

Yes.

Why should they be on guard when the animals they need to be on guard against are not animals that pose any risk to them in the first place?

If it is to warn off natural enemies, it is better to prevent them from finding them than to persuade them to leave after they arrive. Do we still expect that those wild beasts that are determined to cause trouble for black bears will suddenly give up? I wonder how much psychological preparation they must have done before they come.

After thinking it over again and again, he could only tell Yu Qiujiang that its purpose might actually be to mark out the territory and prevent other animals from entering its territory. As for those real beasts, the other party would be able to find them regardless of whether they left any traces.

Yu Qiujiang was thoughtful when he heard this.

After a long time, he said helplessly, "It's just like fucking people. Look at those laws, they can only prevent good people, and can't control any bad people. It's really like putting a padlock on the door to prevent gentlemen."

Yu Qiutang smiled bitterly.

Although... this is the truth, but it always feels a bit inappropriate when used in this occasion.

But he didn't have much time to explain to Yu Qiujiang at this time.

"Brother Jiang, come and help me. We need to shovel all the snow around here and make a path."

"What are you shoveling this for?"

Yu Qiujiang looked at the snow around him and felt that the workload was quite heavy. It was also the first time he raised a question.

"We have to clear the entrance. There is no way we can do anything if the bear is inside. We have to drive it out.

However, bears are not ordinary creatures. Although we don’t know whether it is a female bear or a male bear, since they can hibernate alone, they must be adult bears.

Our ideal situation, of course, is that as soon as the bear comes out, I can shoot it half to death with one shot, and then shoot it again, and the bear will immediately fall to the ground and die.

But if something goes wrong, it will be a disaster, so we must be well prepared for the follow-up. Otherwise, we may not only fail to defeat the bear, but we may even be defeated by the bear. "

"Well... in that case, let's get started. Shoveling snow, right? Just tell me how to do it."

"Let's split up. You deal with the area near the hole. You shovel out a path along both sides of the stone."

"No problem. How long should the shovel be?"

Yu Qiutang closed his eyes and roughly estimated the time it took to fire a bullet, reload the bullet, and then aim and shoot at a distance, which was about ten seconds.

Allow some risk time, maybe fifteen seconds.

During the bear's high-speed reaction phase, it moves about four or five meters per second.

That means about sixty to seventy meters on each side.

Bears can run on the snow without any impact, but humans cannot run at high speed on the snow. Once they fall, they basically have no chance to get up.

"It's about 50 to 60 meters, both sides. So you do the left side first, and when I finish the ones in front, I'll work with you on the right side."

After the instructions were given, the two began to work on their own.

They are all good at their work and do it very well.

Yu Qiutang shoveled away the snow in front of him to ensure that the man and the bear were in the same geographical environment when they trembled against each other. The snow in the mountains was heavy and the temperature was low. The part close to the ground had not melted yet, so it would not slip.

After finishing, Yu Qiutang saw a recessed platform on top of the triangular warehouse, just big enough for one person to squat, so he climbed up with great effort and cleared the snow on it.

He had plans for later. When doing these things, he was not afraid of waking up the bear. It was already deep winter, and black bears were in a deep sleep. Without a very intense stimulus, it was impossible for them to wake up.

If this little noise can affect them, then they are sleeping, not hibernating.

After Yu Qiujiang came back after finishing his work, the two of them teamed up again to clear a distance on the right side of the mountain road for one person to retreat. Yu Qiutang also walked through it himself, clearing the places he thought had not been cleaned properly, and clearing away all the branches that were on the road and under the snow along the way.

Any small link often represents a potential risk.

When running fast, a small branch may cause you to slip, and then you will be in an irretrievable situation.

Seeing that Yu Qiutang was so attentive, Yu Qiujiang naturally did not dare to underestimate him. He followed him and at the same time realized the importance of the matter again.

After everything was confirmed, Yu Qiutang took Yu Qiujiang around to look for dry branches.

Fortunately, it was winter and there were many dead branches of pine and cypress on both sides.

Although these dead branches fell to the ground and were covered by snow, the snow had not been digested, so the branches were not completely soaked by water, but only slightly damp.

What Yu Qiutang needed was some wet branches.

He doesn't want it if it's too dry.

He wanted to use smoke to smoke out Brother Black Bear.

This is the most common way hunters deal with black bears in stone warehouses.

Yu Qiutang had also seen this in his previous life with other people, and it was very effective.

Pile all the branches at the entrance of the warehouse. Don't go in, but don't go too far away from the entrance.

If you go too deep into the fire, the bear will be frightened and may not dare to come out through the fire, and will be suffocated to death in its den.

If it's too far away, the northwest wind here is very strong, which will change the direction of the smoke and make it ineffective.

This is all accumulated experience.

After piling up the branches, Yu Qiutang asked Yu Qiujiang to take his slashing knife and go up to the top of the warehouse. Then he also brought up a millstone-sized stone nearby and placed it next to Yu Qiujiang.

"Brother Jiang, if the bear comes out later, I will shoot. Don't worry about anything else. You must put the stone down immediately to block the bear's way in..."

"Wait," Yu Qiujiang looked at the stone beside him, "I understand what you mean. You're afraid that the bear will go back in after being smoked out with great difficulty, right?
Then you should change the stone.

The bottom of this stone is not flat at all. If I throw it from this position, it will definitely not block the door. I think it will just roll away."

"It's okay," Yu Qiutang smiled, "As long as we can keep the bear out at that critical moment, it won't get in the first place, and it won't have a chance to get in later."

"Is that so? Okay, I know that. But what about the invasion knife? How do I use it?"

"The Qindao is a backup. Just in case... I mean just in case, a bear wants to attack you. A long-handled knife like the Qindao can temporarily block it."

"I see. No wonder you insisted that I bring an iron handle this time. In the past, I had to find a wooden stick on site to make a handle."

"That's what I mean. Wooden sticks are more convenient. The iron handle is too heavy to carry all the time. But in the past, our goal was to hit whatever we could, not specifically bears.

The bear is heavy and strong. Once it attacks, the wooden-handled knife cannot withstand its weight and will be of no defensive effect at all.

This iron one is much better. If it dares to charge directly, you can just hit it directly and give it a cold shoulder."

"You are very thoughtful." Yu Qiujiang said with a smile.

Yu Qiutang also smiled.

In fact, he didn't think through many things, it's just that he had different ideas and abilities from ordinary people, so he deliberately used methods that seemed unreasonable to ordinary people.

For example, the iron shoulder pole he used to build up his strength was based on this principle.

According to general understanding, a shoulder pole is best made of bamboo boards or tough wood. It is light, easy to use, elastic enough, and will not hurt the shoulders.

But Yu Qiutang insisted on making an iron shoulder pole.

This is because he is using the shoulder pole for himself, he will be stronger and his body will be taller. An iron shoulder pole can bear more weight, and if it is replaced with wood or bamboo boards, it would be a waste of material.

If it were done to an ordinary person, he would definitely not do it like this.

After completing the preparations, Yu Qiutang exited the cave and lay down on a protruding rock not far away.

Check guns, ammunition, daggers, and make sure all equipment is in ready condition.

Then he signaled to Yu Qiujiang, asking him to light the paper and slowly place it on the dead pine and cypress branches.

Pine and cypress are oily woods that easily catch fire, and they covered them with a layer of pine needles to accelerate the burning of the dead branches. At first, thin wisps of green smoke came out, and after a few minutes, the green smoke turned into thick smoke, rolling into the stone warehouse.

The smoking process officially begins.

This kind of smoking is a very common method used by mountain people to deal with wild animals.

A few years ago, when a clouded leopard took away its baby, people suffocated it to death in its den in order to exterminate the leopard.

Otherwise, these guys will get into their nests and there will be nothing we can do.

After the cigarette is lit, all that's left is to wait.

It is difficult to say how long this time will be, as it depends on the physical strength of the bear inside.

A bear's breathing rate drops significantly during hibernation.

以黑熊为例，它们的呼吸会从原来每分钟6-10次下降为1次左右，心跳也会从原来的每分钟55次下降到每分钟9次。

Smoke enters the bear's body mainly through the respiratory system. If the breathing slows down, the effect of the smoke will be weakened or slowed down.

There may be some differences between different species of bears and between individuals.

Bears hibernate to reduce energy consumption in the winter when food is scarce, and maintain life activities by lowering metabolism, body temperature and respiratory rate. This special physiological state is a survival strategy for them to adapt to the environment.

However, bear hibernation is not a deep coma. They are still conscious and alert during hibernation, and can wake up and respond as quickly as possible in an emergency.

This wait lasted for more than ten minutes.

Yu Qiutang's situation was fine, after all he was lying down, but Yu Qiujiang was squatting in a very small space. He was tall and strong, so he could only curl up his body and couldn't stretch out at all.

But no matter how painful it was, he persisted.

Instead, the two dogs beside Yu Qiutang kept looking over there vigilantly, appearing to be becoming more and more anxious.

Dogs' sense of smell and hearing are stronger than humans', and they can smell and hear things that humans cannot feel. Yu Qiutang only ensures that the dogs do not move around, but does not restrict their emotions.

Allow them to maintain their original functionality.

Sudden.

He saw the thick smoke that was rolling in slowly suddenly rolled out as if someone blew it, and he immediately put his finger on the trigger. (End of this chapter)