Chapter 14: ◎Prairie Model Working Leopard (14)◎
After experiencing a battle, Shi Qiao realized how well he had been placed.
As a minor, she didn't have to fight or hunt, and her life was relaxed and comfortable, which gave her the illusion of being a good person.
In fact, it's just the thighs that are huggable.
The sizable zebra hung on the tree and ate several times, and cheetahs came here to eat every day. In the past, Klein would have pursued the victory to find the injured spotted hyena leader and kill her, but now he just wanted to cuddle up with the leopard cub and sleep well for a few days.
During the driest period, they spent most of the time sleeping to conserve their energy. After catching large prey, their rest became more comfortable.
The male leopard closes his eyes and rests while swaying his tail from time to time. At noon when the sun is at its highest, the tail movement brings a bit of coolness to the little leopard.
The little leopard felt cool and unconsciously fell asleep deeper and deeper. She turned over in the other person's arms, revealing her pale belly.
It was quiet in the afternoon during the dry season. The animals all found shade to avoid the scorching sun. Even humans were affected by sleepiness when they saw the scenes of people falling asleep. They took a few frames and quietly left without disturbing them again.
Because of this unusual pair of leopards, Andrew worked overtime to post more photos. Each photo was not refined but could show the charm of the wild animals to the greatest extent.
The dual combination of struggle, fighting, physical strength, and skills makes people feel like they can't wait to see the documentary completed just by looking at the pictures.
——Klein is really the best among leopards. It stands to reason that leopards would not dare to challenge the second brother of the grassland. Why did he start a war directly?
——It's really incredible that few animals will fight directly with hyenas.
——When you think about him even adopting a cub, you feel that there is nothing unacceptable. This leopard is really wild.
——Little cute Thea must have been frightened by the hyenas, purring in the air.
——Look at the second picture, she was very excited in the tree, she didn't look like she was scared hahaha.
——Yes, it feels like the little cub is cheering for Klein.
——She is a cub raised by Klein, and she will probably inherit the "good tradition" of doing whatever she doesn't want in the future.
——No! Thea looks so cute, don't fight like those males.
——Klein shouldn't let the other party fight, right? After all, she is a little baby who needs to be fed bite by bite.
A certain little baby who had to feed her every meal was currently fighting in her dream. She dreamed that the leopard fighting the hyenas had become her. Without the ease that Klein had when fighting, she was suppressed by the hyena leader.
The little leopard was kicking her claws wildly in her sleep, and even Klein couldn't hold her down. She was so angry at herself in the dream.
It turns out that after a certain level of cooking, even dreaming is so frustrating!
Shi Qiao also wanted to reverse the situation for herself in her dream, but she was licked a few times by a rough tongue outside her dream and had to struggle to wake up. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw that she was using her four paws at the same time, treating the boss's head as an enemy.
Putting down her paws guiltily, the little leopard licked the opponent's head. Fortunately, she was held in his arms and did not kick the wounds on the opponent's back, otherwise she would have been even more upset.
Klein looked at the little leopard and rubbed her eyes, looking like she hadn't had a good rest. He guessed that the little leopard was having a nightmare.
Cubs are really fragile creatures.
He couldn't help but begin to wonder if his combat education was a little too early.
When he was as old as the other party, he was already in a semi-free-range state. Most of his survival experience was accumulated through hard work, and he did not enjoy the care and attention of being held in the palm of his hand for too long.
It's too difficult to raise children, and he doesn't know how those leopard mothers teach them.
Seeing that the other party was staring at her, Shi Qiao was about to explain that she had just dreamed of fighting a hyena and accidentally kicked the other party. Before she could speak, she was taken back and comforted.
? ? ?
The other party looked at her like he was looking at a small vase that he couldn't help but touch, which made Shi Qiao completely confused.
Thinking about how vulnerable she was in the dream, the little leopard offered to go down to Cudi to practice fighting, but the other party shook his head.
Shi Qiao felt like the boss was making up something in his head, but she couldn't figure it out.
She thought about it and felt that the other person's injury was not yet healed, so he might not be suitable for walking around on the ground, so she could only have her belly wrapped around him and let him rub it.
The little leopard has grown up much more than before. It is no longer the weak look that fell when the wind blew when she was a child. It is much tougher than before. At least she no longer has to worry about belching with the slightest exertion.
After experiencing the joy of having a cub, the male leopard will lick her when he has nothing to do like now. The chubby little leopard is easier to lick than a skinny one, and the fur on her body is shining with the warm color of the sun.
It looks like a glutinous rice dumpling covered in leopard skin, soft and glutinous, and feels great in the hand.
Shi Qiao felt like her face was going to be deformed by being licked. If she continued like this, her face would probably become asymmetrical when she grew up.
She moved a little distance with difficulty, rolled half a circle on the opponent's paw, and switched to the other side of the face.
Although big cats live in a cruel environment, they also have their own ways of entertainment and stress relief, such as licking their fur, smoothing out their fur, and exchanging scents.
After living with the boss for so long, Shi Qiao has long been accustomed to the smell of the other person's licking hair. It smells like being in a vast grassland, except that the fragrance of tall trees and grass, enhanced by the opponent's aura, makes it even more unruly, and there is also the sharp smell of blood after a hunting fight.
After resting and being in the sun, it will become a bit softer. Just like now, she can tell that the other person is in a good mood just by smelling it.
Feline pheromones are affected by mood. Shi Qiao has mastered the skill of distinguishing the boss's mood by smell and laments her keen sense of smell.
She knows that the smell of her own body will also change. She has nightmares or is restless. Some male leopards can tell it just by smelling it. Normally, the smell of a small leopard is much sweeter.
The milky smell gradually faded as the other person grew older. Klein thought of the St. Paul flowers he had seen when he was a child. He could smell the fresh and sweet fragrance without getting very close.
Shi Qiao was enveloped by the reassuring smell emitted by the other party and felt sleepy again. She only ate or slept, and did not train for several days in a row, living a comfortable and leisurely vacation.
The territory of the leopards is peaceful, but the other side is not so peaceful.
After the battle, the hyenas were forced to retreat to the lion territory near the Mara River. The two power groups that threatened the leopards restrained each other, which made the little leopard feel a lot more stable and made it easier for the cheetah and leopard to join forces for hunting.
Shi Qiao also got the opportunity to occasionally go to hunting sites to watch.
The first time she followed Klein to search for food, Shi Qiao was in high spirits. After coming to the grassland for most of the time, she had been waiting in the trees for soft meals. Now she was excited and curious.
It was obviously a common grassland, but because of the purpose and companions, it became extraordinarily different from usual.
Shi Qiao was surrounded by a male leopard who was still domineering and strong even after recovering from his injuries. There was also a cheetah following behind him. She felt like she was walking with her own gang, and she was not afraid even if she encountered a lion!
The boss is the leader of the hunting activity. He is fully responsible for where he goes and what he eats. They quickly
The boss is the leading leopard in the hunting activity. He is fully responsible for where to go and what to eat. They soon arrive at the lake, where a pink flame gathers on the lake, which is the flamingo resting in the shallows.
Shi Qiao secretly wondered if she could catch flamingos and eat them. She hadn't eaten yet, but she saw that the large leopard beside her had automatically slowed down its steps, lowered its body, and entered stealth mode in advance.
It was the first time that she had witnessed the whole process of hunting with her own eyes. When Shi Qiao was about to follow suit, Klein turned around and winked at her, signaling the little leopard to stay in the tree hole under the sawtooth tree.
After catching a glimpse of the impala grazing in the shade by the lake, the little leopard knew that the boss had chosen today's prey.
Although she wanted to learn how to hunt up close, Shi Qiao still moved obediently to the bottom of the tree hole. Her figure was getting longer now, and it was a bit cramped to get in. She could only turn around and expose the front half of her body and head.
The tall grass in front of her blocked half of her sight. The little leopard raised her head hard to see the faint leopard spots.
The cheetah heading from the other direction also tiptoed close to its prey, and when Klein started charging, he surrounded and outflanked him.
Compared with cheetahs, which are lighter and less likely to alarm their prey, leopards need more patience. If they are not careful, their whereabouts will be exposed and their prey will be alarmed. The sun has set now, and the diurnal animals have returned to their strongholds.
The green baboons were also looking around vigilantly in the tree. Shi Qiao saw a few baboons in the tree from a distance and secretly prayed that they would not see the boss.
Fortunately, the distance was far enough, and the two males were very cautious and did not make any abnormal noise. Klein took the lead to approach the edge of the impala group and targeted the lone male impala.
As the distance continued to shorten, the heart of the little leopard watching also started to rise.
From her angle, she could only see the opponent's right rear. Shi Qiao relied on her unusual vision to catch the leopard's suddenly sharp eyes, and that was now.
At this moment, Klein exploded, and the feline's power, speed, and ferocity reached an extraordinary peak, and the beast's wildness was fully reflected in the opponent.
When the impala heard the noise, the leopard had already closed the distance at a terrifying speed, and a cheetah was waiting for the opportunity on the other side.
Being treated as food by predators with obvious differences in strength, the male impala ran away without having time to think about why two beasts of different species appeared at the same time.
Other similar species around it were also frightened, and the hooves under their feet trampled the tall grass to the ground. The fleeing herbivores can display extraordinary speeds when their hormones rise sharply. Unfortunately, their enemies are experienced.
Seeing that the male impala used the obstacle of the bush to leap up and distance itself from the prairie bully behind him, Klein decisively gave up on the opponent, turned around, and pounced on the female impala who was a few steps behind.
As soon as Shi Qiao's eyes flashed, a certain big guy caught up with the impala like a ghost and snapped its neck cleanly.
At this time, the cheetah had just arrived.
If the leopard has its own evil spirit when fighting, then the opponent will be more confident when hunting. Shi Qiao got out of the tree hole and ran over happily to admire the freshly baked prey.
Blood was gurgling from the impala's neck, and it had already expired. Sometimes killing it with one shot was a mercy to the prey, and it was better than struggling in pain for a long time.
The little leopard was right at the hunting site, so there was no need to go to great lengths to drag the carcass back. The three had their meal on the spot.
Shi Qiao glanced at the cheetah who was happily eating meat, and lamented that the family couldn't survive without the boss. She thought that a certain cheetah could contribute one-third of the strength, but she didn't expect that he would just chase after him.
While he was eating happily, he noticed the little leopard's gaze, and Cudi felt indignant.
That's not just an ordinary run around, it also requires vision and speed!
The middle brother shot back a "you go, you go" look. The little leopard nuzzled the male leopard next to him and made a unilateral agreement with him.
"I'll hunt with you next time too!"
Before Klein could answer, the cheetah who deliberately confronted her mocked her mercilessly. Letting the little brat follow him would definitely cause trouble. Hunting was not just a training game to play with her.
Shi Qiao was not sure whether she could do it or not, so she could only treat the other party's ridicule as if she didn't understand and took a dejected bite of the impala meat.
Being looked down upon by a cheetah who is a bastard of war, even the food is no longer delicious.
The little leopard didn't make a fuss even after being wronged. She continued to eat her food quietly and didn't ask to take her with him next time. It was obvious that her self-confidence was severely damaged, and her amber eyes dimmed.
Originally, he didn't want to let the other party fight so early. Seeing the little cub so disappointed, Klein felt uncomfortable.
He slapped the talkative Cudi with his paw, and then slapped the cheetah's head into the impala's belly, making the opponent's face covered in blood.
"I'll take you with me next time."
When she got permission, Shi Qiao's eyes immediately lit up, "Okay!" She had been on a soft diet for several months, and she was finally able to test the usefulness of the little follower!
The impala is much smaller than the zebra. After the three had eaten a full meal, there was not much good meat left. Shi Qiao asked the boss to find a tree and hang them up. If they were still there to drink water at the lake tomorrow, they would eat. If they were gone, there would be no big loss.
With the opportunity to hunt with the big boss, the little leopard was extremely excited for the next few days and asked them several times a day when they would go hunting again.
What she didn't know was that the other party didn't promise her to catch any big and difficult prey, but instead asked her to try to catch small things like guinea fowl and warthogs.
Shi Qiao, who was self-aware, also knew that she probably couldn't keep up with Klein, so she happily agreed after hearing what the other party said.
No matter how big or small the prey is, just catching one at random will give her a lot of confidence!
At night when two leopards, one big and one small, set out to find prey, humans also grabbed the tail of the dry season and followed them.
After the rainy season, the roads are muddy and slippery, and the place will be closed off to tourists and vehicles. This is probably their chance to take photos in the last few days of the year.
Putting on the night vision camera, Andrew fell far behind the two leopards and discovered that their route was not to drink water near a water source, but was probably going to hunt.
"Today's hunting operation actually brought Thea along," the photographer was a little surprised. "The little cub looks particularly energetic."
Compared with the male leopard, the little leopard next to it is much thinner, and its tail sways behind it from time to time, showing the owner's good mood.
"Thea is only seven months old and will be taken to hunt by Klein. We humans are still breastfeeding at seven months old..."
"But even from a leopard's perspective, it's too early to start actual combat at this age."
Of course, humans don't know that this is the practical lesson that Shi Qiao has been looking forward to for a long time and must be grasped firmly.
If it were other ordinary small leopards, it might be too fast to hunt independently at this stage, but Shi Qiao saw the shortage of resources in the dry season and the big bosses running around outside and wanted to replace the cheetah as the opponent's right-hand man as soon as possible.
She didn't want to wait until she was fully mature before taking action step by step. If she had to have a specific reason, that would be it.
Want to repay the other person.
Shi Qiao could feel that a certain male leopard was becoming more and more serious about raising cubs. He not only gave her some food to feed her and shared some territory to protect her safety, but also taught her all the survival skills he had honed in the grassland.
This is more complicated than simply feeding.
The so-called raising of a cub is not just to make her eat and drink as easily as possible, but also to pay attention to every move, so that the other person has a clear understanding of the world, and even can be independent no matter where she goes in the future.
If it wasn't for the awkwardness, Shi Qiao would have wanted to give the other party an award for the most beautiful male mother.
But Klein would probably bite the trophy into pieces with a shameful face.
The little leopard was thinking about something in her mind and didn't notice that they had walked out of the beech forest and came to a place with several sausage trees and big rocks.
When the other party stopped, Shi Qiao noticed a medium-sized pit not far from the big rock. This was probably the warthog's nest.
She has eaten warthogs several times and has also chased the small warthogs brought back by the boss. She saw in the documentary the scene of a lion hunting a warthog. The predator waited at the entrance of the cave, waiting for the prey to stick out its head, and then dragged it out of the hole.
It seems like it doesn't require any skills, but it's actually a big test for Shi Qiao.
Just waiting at the entrance of the cave without saying a word requires a lot of patience.
Klein took the little leopard to the top of the cave, lay down, and waited for the warthog to come out of the cave. How long it would take depends on luck.
Fortunately, the goddess of luck favored Shi Qiao and did not let her wait for three days and three nights like other leopards. Shortly after dawn, she vaguely heard noises in the cave, and the warthog was preparing to come out.
Every muscle in Shi Qiao's body was tense, and she pushed her hind legs back slightly, preparing to pounce at the right moment. This process was short and long, and she counted the seconds in her mind.
Finally, a warthog about the same size as her exposed half of its head. The little leopard also held its breath and arched its body forward. When the other person exposed the front half of its body, Shi Qiao jumped down, clung to the warthog, and bit its neck.
She could feel the canine teeth penetrating the rough skin and touching the flesh. The little leopard gritted its teeth and exerted force again, trying to imitate the male leopard and bite off the vertebrae with a bang.
However, she was too light, so she still bit the warthog's neck and the prey that had not been fatally struck and still had the strength to struggle was flopping around.
Shi Qiao was dragged by the opponent and jumped several meters. During this period, almost her body was lifted into the air by the opponent's struggle. Her chest and abdomen were hurt by the impact, but the only teeth that could clamp the opponent still did not relax.
Just when Klein was about to step forward to help, the little leopard stretched out its claws to scratch the prey's face before being thrown away. By accident, the warthog was stabbed in the eye. The warthog ran wildly and hit a rock. Shi Qiao took the opportunity to let go and gathered strength to bite the wound again.
A warthog as big as her died.
When Shi Qiao got off the prey, she didn't dare to let go, for fear that the other party would pretend to be dead on purpose.
Klein called out to her, indicating that the prey was dead, and the little leopard relaxed.
She was hit in the stomach by the warthog just now. When the warthog hit the stone, her head was hit hard at the same time. Now she felt pain and nausea, and she felt like she had been concussed.
After exerting too much force and losing her ability, Shi Qiao slumped next to her prey like a rag doll. She didn't know whether she was losing or gaining.
This achievement was something he never expected.
His standard at the beginning was that the opponent could pounce on the warthog when it came out of its hole. If it was not strong enough to break free, he would go up and make up for it in time to prevent the little leopard from being injured by the warthog.
As a result, the other party actually killed the prey by herself.
Klein did not hesitate to praise her at all. He lowered his head and rubbed the other person's little head hard: "Thea is great."
Shi Qiao felt like she had been knocked unconscious by a warthog. Otherwise, how could she hear tenderness in the voice of a bully leopard?
The little leopard stared unblinkingly at the male leopard's face so close to her. When she saw the other man's proud eyes, she felt that the little novice had finally gained his approval!
Her heart was filled with excitement, her adrenaline surged to the extreme, and white dots and gold stars suddenly began to appear in front of her eyes.
Shi Qiao was on the verge of fainting, and finally couldn't hold on and fainted.
She was still thinking before she lost consciousness.
She was probably knocked unconscious not by the warthog, but by the boss.