Snow Leopard Elegy

Chapter 17 Wild Cheetah (2)
We haven't fed these cheetahs for a whole day. They are already hungry, but they don't know that hares and red horned pheasants are edible.This is like an urban child who has never been to the countryside and does not know that rice is rice that can be made into rice.

They were looking at us dissatisfiedly in front of the grille iron gate, and complained from the back of their throats. They were blaming us, why didn't they feed them meat?
Guarding Jinshan, still begging for food as a beggar!

According to surveys, wild cheetahs are not fed by their parents for a long time. They are weaned at about three months after birth. After half a year old, they go out to learn to hunt with their mother leopards. One year later, they parted ways and started to live independently.Now the oldest of the seven cheetahs is eight years old, and the youngest is three and a half years old, long past the age of self-reliance.

When a life is used to being fed, used to eating what is available, and has never supported itself by its own efforts, never shed blood and sweat to obtain the necessary means of living for itself, then this must still be a childish immaturity s life.

And that certainly doesn't just refer to wild animals of all kinds.

The ancestors of human beings lived by hunting. In the big forest, they used primitive wooden sticks and axes to fight ferocious beasts, and opened a bloody path in the cruel competition for survival.Today, society is becoming more and more civilized and progressive, and we no longer need to be like primitive people with long hair, bare copper chests, and spears and crossbows to deal with wild beasts.Occasionally, someone would go hunting in the forest with a double-barreled shotgun and an off-road jeep. It was not at all to obtain food to make a living, but more to appreciate the excitement of hunting, to show their masculine demeanor, and to spend time in the forest. A wonderful and fun holiday.

However, the connotation and essence of hunting have not withdrawn from the stage of human history, but have just changed their appearance and appeared in our lives in another form.We call hunting a job, hunting is going to work, hunting weapons are tools or instruments, hunting skills are professional knowledge, and various hunting grounds are factories, shopping malls, institutions, schools and laboratories. Of course, it is colorful banknotes.Although there is no smell of gunpowder or the sound of fighting in the hunting grounds in modern cities, there are also intense struggles and fierce competitions, and they are also governed by the law of survival of the fittest. There are also risks of failure and joy of success, and they are also capable Those who get big prey are unable to get small prey.

Of course we will not feed these seven cheetahs any more meat.Cheetah Cheetah, as the name suggests, should be an expert in hunting. Since fate no longer allows you to continue to make zoo decorations, you should show your sharp claws and teeth, and rely on your own strength to obtain food and survive!You have this condition, you have this ability, you should no longer rely on human beings to eat and drink.

In the evening, the seven cheetahs were so hungry that their eyes turned green, and their belly was stuck to their spines. Two older male cheetahs were lying on the ground weakly from hunger, while Ma Xiong and Duanhunwei wailed in hoarse voices like mourners.

I don't know what's going on, but the red-horned pheasant that once threw itself into Broken Soultail's arms in a daze, and was pushed away by Broken Soultail's leopard claws, became confused again, and even used Broken Soultail's back as a springboard , trying to escape the wall.Of course it couldn't get what it wanted, its crippled wings shook a few times in the air, and its bulky body fell back to the ground involuntarily, just in front of Broken Soul Tail.

Perhaps it was the pain on the back from being scratched by the sharp pheasant claws, or perhaps it was because of his agitation, Duanhunwei raised his right paw and grabbed the back of the red-horned pheasant fiercely.Cheetah's paws are not vegetarian. Although they are not as powerful as bear's paws and not as lethal as tiger's paws, they are powerful enough to be caught on a small wild pheasant.The red-horned pheasant's feathers were falling apart, the skin on its back was ripped open, blood was flowing, and it clucked and groaned, squatting on the ground and unable to get up.There was a faint smell of blood in the air.Hungry, Duanhunwei stared at his puzzled eyes, and stuck out his tongue to lick the back of the red horned pheasant.It was originally a carnivorous beast drinking blood, and the hot blood plasma awakened its long-sleeping killing wildness.It tasted wild pheasant blood with relish.The injured red horned pheasant struggled to move into the grass, the eyes of Duanhunwei shone in horror, and howled in excitement, the long leopard tail swung in a circle in the air, and whipped it towards it. The red horned pheasant twitched like a top, and collapsed on the ground, with its head drooping weakly on its wings, and its mouth opened, but it could no longer scream.Duan Hunwei hugged the red-horned pheasant with his forelegs, pulled off the chicken feathers one by one, and greedily tore and ate it.

This is undoubtedly the best example and the most effective demonstration. The other six cheetahs, Mao Sai, woke up from the chaos and got up to look for and chase the red horned pheasant. Chickens and rabbits jumped in the rewilding center.Soon, the remaining two red horned pheasants were captured by Ma Xiong and another female cheetah.

Four other cheetahs failed to get food. They approached Duanhunwei, Maxiong and another female cheetah who were dismembering and chewing the red horned pheasant, trying to get a piece of the pie, but they got angry roars and Brute driving.

All life is selfish. In the animal kingdom, unless there is a blood relationship, altruistic behavior rarely occurs.

The four cheetahs, who hadn't solved their stomach problems for the time being, were circling around on the rocky beach like ants on a hot pot.A gray-haired hare frightenedly walked along the base of the concrete wall, probably looking for a hole to hide in.An older and gentle male cheetah, nicknamed the old eunuch, jumped up and chased the gray hare like an arrow off the string.This is an awakening by analogy, reasoning from one to the other: since the colorful red horned pheasant can be eaten, the short-tailed hare should also be an available meal!

Although the hare is good at running, it is inferior to the cheetah, and was knocked to the ground by the leopard's paw in a blink of an eye.

Night veiled the barbaric carnage.

The next morning, we came to the rewilding center again. I was surprised to find that the spirit of the seven cheetahs had taken on a new look. Begging for mercy.Their attitude towards us is quite friendly, but they have completely lost the flattery and sweetness of beggars. Instead, they look at us with a very self-respecting expression, walk to the iron gate, and gently shake their tails at us , and then took confident steps, turned and left, standing on a higher rock, looking at the groves and grass with piercing eyes, heroic, majestic, and out-and-out demeanor of a beast.

They have experienced the joy of preying on their own, and they don't bother to beg for food from us anymore.

On the surface, self-reliance can fill one's stomach, and relying on others to feed one's stomach can also fill one's stomach, but the spiritual harvest is not the same.It is difficult for you to straighten your spine if you are fed by others. Like a soft vine, you can only survive by clinging to a big tree, eating what you get, and acting on the face of others. Your fate is in the hands of others, and you live a humble and insignificant life.Self-reliance, in the process of hunting for food, the potential of life is constantly exerted, while obtaining food, it also gains rare self-confidence, self-esteem and self-love, and develops an independent and uninhibited noble character.

Passively receiving food or actively hunting for food is really the most important criterion to measure the value of a life.Passively accept food, and you bow down before the world; actively hunt for food, and the world bows down before you.

There is a point of view that teenagers aged fifteen or sixteen, as they mature, will develop a rebellious psychology, contradict their parents who raised them, and mentally try to get rid of the influence of their parents.Psychologists call this second weaning.But I think there should be three weanings in life, the first is the weaning of the baby, the second is the weaning of puberty, and the third weaning is to end the feeding relationship and become a self-reliant person.

That afternoon, we released an adult ostrich, an argali and a male wild boar with terrifying tusks into the rewilding center.

In the diet of wild cheetahs, hares and pheasants are like a piece of tofu, while running ostriches, argali with horns and powerful wild boars are their staple foods.They have to learn to hunt these large herbivores in rewilding centers.

Ostriches can be called giants among birds. Although they cannot fly, their two iron legs are powerful defensive weapons. A little carelessness can cause harm to predators.The horns of the argali are as hard as iron. If you don't have superb hunting skills, you can't even think about subduing it.Wild boars belong to beasts. There is a saying in the forest that there is one pig, two bears and three leopards. They have a violent temper and dare to fight to the death with the tiger who is known as the king of the forest.

While attacking the ostrich, Ma Xiong whined and howled at his companions. The intention was obviously to warn other cheetahs not to come and fight with it. This ostrich belongs to it!

Duanhunwei took aim at the argali, and also blew his beard and stared at his companions, arbitrarily classifying the argali as his sphere of influence.

The old eunuch ran towards the wild boar and grinned at his companion maliciously, which was tantamount to showing a yellow card warning to other cheetahs.

Struggles for power and profit often occur in the animal world. In the face of interests, carnivores often show a greedy and selfish nature.

The ostrich fluttered its feathers, fled to the grove, circled around the tree, and Ma Xiong chased after him.Seeing that the leopard's paw was about to fall on the ostrich's back, suddenly, the ostrich turned around quickly, raised one leg, and kicked hard towards Ma Xiong.Ma Xiong was inexperienced in catching ostriches, so he didn't expect this big, stupid-looking bird to dare to resist. He was taken aback for a moment, and was kicked on the shoulder blade by the ostrich's paw. He howled miserably, fell to the ground, and rolled Son.Fortunately, the kick did not hit the vital point, otherwise, the bones would have been kicked to pieces.The ostrich flapped its wings and danced a samurai dance, advancing step by step, and wanted to continue kicking Ma Xiong's neck, but Ma Xiong was at a loss and jumped away in embarrassment.

The broken soul chased the argali, and forced it to the dead corner formed by the concrete wall and a rock. The argali had no way to escape, so it turned around, hooked its head, showed its hard horns, and used a kind of death together. In a tragic posture, he bumped into him head-on.The soul-broken tail didn't know the depth, and opened its mouth foolishly, waiting to bite the sheep's head. Boom, the wide argali collided with the leopard's forehead. Had a concussion and had to back off.

The old eunuch was even more miserable. He got into a ball with a wild boar nicknamed Desperate Saburo. He didn't eat any pork, but his ear was bitten off by a wild boar. His face was covered in blood, which was horrible.

Even cheetahs that have grown up in the wild can hardly deal with ostriches, argali and wild boars alone.

In desperation, Ma Xiong called out to his companions for help.A female cheetah circled behind a smug ostrich and swooped violently, killing the ostrich half to its death.Another male cheetah rushed over to help Duanhuntail, jumped up the rock lightly, jumped down and pressed on the back of the argali, breaking the back of the argali.There are also two male cheetahs and the old eunuch together, one bites the back leg of the wild boar, the other presses on the wild boar's body, and the other bites the wild boar's neck, and they work together to calm the wild boar.

Self-reliance means to rely on one's own efforts to obtain living conditions, but the ability of an individual is always limited. In many cases, multiple individuals need to cooperate and help each other to form a joint force to achieve the goal. In many cases, collective strength is needed to achieve the goal. Overcome difficulties to succeed.In this process, individuals are closely connected and communicate frequently, and their selfish nature is forced to converge, and gradually cultivated, and a group concept is established.

There is a point of view that human beings are not very gregarious animals in the primitive stage, lonely and selfish. They often hold repulsion and guard against the same kind other than blood relatives. At most, they collect leaves and fruits or dig out bird nests on a family basis Catch some critters for a living.In order to hunt large animals such as takins and mammoths, one family is powerless. Several families must unite, dozens or even hundreds of people gather together, holding wooden sticks and axes, in order to put large prey to death. .It was this hunting that became the first form of human union and created a sense of unity.

As the sun was setting, the seven cheetahs, except for the old eunuch who suffered serious facial injuries, gathered together to enjoy a delicious dinner.After eating their bellies, they cuddled together and licked and groomed each other. This scene of close cooperation had never been seen in the cage before.

Three people are not angels

After living in the rewilding center of Yuantongshan Zoo for a period of time, the seven cheetahs have gradually adapted to life in the wild and are able to hunt prey by themselves. However, they cannot be released into the virgin forest of Xishuangbanna because there is still a key problem that has not been resolved. That is, they are too affectionate and attached to people.

(End of this chapter)