Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

The second meal, the third meal, the fourth meal...

Over the course of the day, Bi Fang fed the cheetah four times, coming every three hours to feed it until it ended at ten o'clock at night.

From sheep to deer to rabbits, they were all the cheetah's favorite types of food, and by the fourth time, Bi Fang brought sheep blood sausages, so the staff didn't even have to stand outside the wire mesh.

The cheetah had also put aside its vigilance towards this man who was almost constantly moving in front of its eyes, simply treating him as a fierce new "breeder," just still a bit unclear as to why its feeding routine had changed so much.

In the past, it only needed to eat once a day and would be full from one meal, but now that had completely changed.

Early the next day, Bi Fang got up at six o'clock to continue feeding, and the sound of the dragging chain woke the resting cheetah.

Harley, seeing the unexpected visitor, was alert and locked on to the edge of the wire mesh; upon seeing the person entering, it still didn't relax its guard, but compared to the bristling fur as soon as they met yesterday, it was much calmer, merely pacing near the wire mesh.

"A cheetah generally can eat 2.5 kilograms of food per day, and if it can't catch prey for a long time, it can even consume an amount equivalent to one-fifth of its own weight in extreme conditions."

"In some areas in The Middle East, tamed cheetahs hunt for hunters, and just giving them a spoon of blood is enough. I changed Harley's food to a half kilogram each time, feeding it five times a day, frequently appearing in front of it and extending the time we spent together."

"You see, today Harley is already very familiar with my presence."

After each feeding, Bi Fang would stay for a while while being watched by Harley.

From ten minutes the first time, to twenty minutes the second time, and an hour by the fourth time, the relationship between the two was rapidly progressing.

[I get it, Master Fang is actually a Druid!]

[A brilliant survival master, and also proficient in beast taming skills, no doubt]

[I always fantasize about being as strong as Master Fang, so that even without money, I could travel all over the world without worrying about getting lost or starving to death]

"After a night apart, today is our first feeding, so let's just stay for half an hour. Today I brought it ostrich liver, hoping it will like it."

"On the grasslands, larger cheetahs prefer to chase antelopes, and those slow, dull-witted antelopes get easily eaten."

"Then there are deer, which, along with antelopes, are the cheetah's targets. In grasslands with no antelopes in sight, cheetahs will shift their focus onto deer."

"And young cheetahs, still not strong enough to eat antelopes and deer, can only chase small ostriches on the grasslands."

"There are also smaller cheetahs that like to eat rabbits. I chose the food according to their preferences, which is very helpful for getting animals to approach you."

After finishing the food, Harley licked the blood from the bottom of the bowl with relish, and finally licked its whiskers all around, pacing back and forth under Bi Fang's gaze.

It wasn't until a quarter of an hour later that it chose a spot as far away from Bi Fang as possible to lie down, basking in the morning light, and yawned several times.

Seeing this, Bi Fang smiled and said to the live-streaming audience, "Actually, there's something you might not know—that of all wild felines, cheetahs are probably the most affectionate to humans."

"If there are older people in the live stream, they might remember that back in the nineties, many cubs in the wildlife park of Magic Capital used to roam freely, including cheetahs."

Affectionate to humans?

Upon hearing this, the viewers' curiosity was instantly piqued.

[Really?]

[What's the reason behind this?]

[Is a life with a cheetah in each hand going to happen?]

[Old Fang talking about Magic Capital's zoo, I actually have some memory of it. I think I was in elementary school and saw little cheetahs running around in the zoo.]

[Holy shit, is that for real? Isn't that going to drain us dry?]

[Isn't that just blissful?]

[Too bad it's not possible now.]

[Spill the beans.]

"There are mainly two reasons, one is because the cheetah belongs to the Felinae subfamily, and the other is because cheetahs have a social structure."

"Let's start with the first point."

Bi Fang sat down in the same manner as the cheetahs, lounging lazily in the sunshine.

"Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species, those who have studied biology should be familiar with this universally acknowledged species classification, but this is just the most superficial classification. Those who specialize in biology would know that there's another classification between family and genus called subfamily."

"Subfamily is also a level in the biological classification system, with Latin taxonomic names usually ending in -inae. It is a family-level classification rank situated between family and genus."

"A family can be divided into several subfamilies, each comprising a unique genus or several genera that differ from others in certain attributes within that family."

"The existence of subfamilies isn't meaningless; they help us further delineate some significant differences between animals."

"Take the cat family, for instance; it's quite a large classification that includes lions, tigers, leopards, American lions, clouded leopards, cheetahs, lynxes, wildcats, and domestic cats."

"But since the cat family is a large group, it contains two subfamilies: Felinae and Pantherinae. The differences between these two species are vast!"

"The most apparent difference is that members of the Felinae subfamily have retractable claws, are generally smaller in size, don't roar, and include 12 genera; Pantherinae members also have retractable claws and are typically larger, capable of roaring, comprising 2 genera."

Bi Fang's lesson on biological classification piqued the curiosity of the audience.

Lions, tigers, American lions, jaguars—all well-known hunters with numerous superficial admirers—are well aware that these are the cream of the crop in the cat family. However, when further divided into the Felinae and Pantherinae subfamilies, the distinctions become less clear to the uninitiated.

The audience was oblivious to the differences and how they were related to cheetahs being friendly toward humans.

What Bi Fang was about to explain next was crucial.

"The cheetah is actually quite a peculiar creature."

"Although its name contains 'cheetah,' it's not a true panther and doesn't belong to the Pantherinae subfamily; instead, it's a member of the Felinae subfamily."

"Even some years ago, the cheetah didn't fit into either subfamily and was instead a subfamily of its own, called the Acinonychinae."

"But now, that subfamily has been abolished, and the cheetah has been moved to the Felinae subfamily. Thus, in the entire cat family, there are only two subfamilies left, meaning the cheetah is categorically a big cat, truly a cat in every sense."

"What I said earlier wasn't nonsense; even disregarding their combat capabilities, from a genetic and behavioral perspective, cheetahs are indeed very close to domestic cats."

"And creatures like tigers and lions, those real top-tier predators, belong to the Pantherinae subfamily. Do you understand the difference now?"

[A bit confused, but I'm starting to get it.]

[So you mean cheetahs are related to cats, while tigers and lions belong to another family, right?]

[Man, calling it a panther when it's not; isn't that misleading?]

"Pretty much. Cheetahs are genetically closer to slender cats, their call goes meow~meow~, they have delicate limbs, and weigh less than fifty kilograms."

"Leopards, on the other hand, are true panthers. They're fierce, with a deep, low growl—going 'aoow aoow'—the kind of bass that cat animal enthusiasts love. They weigh between 50-100 kg, have thick legs, and sport rosette patterns, resembling ancient coins, which is why they're also called panthers."

"Cheetahs can run fast but aren't strong, so adult humans aren't on their food list. Hence, they're relatively friendly to people. Of course, that doesn't mean they're not aggressive. Even domestic cats scratch and bite, and wild animals are fiercer."

"Leopards are different. Their speed is only half that of cheetahs, but they often bully cheetahs with their overwhelming strength, are highly aggressive, and are deadly to humans."

"Here's a little aside, there's another animal with a rather intimidating name that's also a big cat, and that is the American Lion."

"This is a big cat too, roughly the same size as the cheetah, a bit stronger in combat but only marginally so."

"Contrarily, its relative which seems to hold a lower status based on its name is a member of the Pantherinae, also known as the Jaguar. This creature ranks as the third-largest feline predator in the world."

"Of course, the Jaguar also has a less well-known but still somewhat indicative name of its combat prowess, called the American Tiger."

[Lion: Can't even defeat a leopard, you're bringing shame to our family (Dog's head)]

[Learned something new]

[That's very detailed]

"Of course, there's a slight issue with my argument, but indeed, you can't expect the beastly members of the Pantherinae to be any more sociable than a cheetah. Not one among tigers, lions, leopards, or jaguars is easy to get along with. A single slap from them could spell the end of your life."

"For feline predators with an innate hunting instinct, it's hard to resist attacking and testing out creatures weaker than themselves."

"Meanwhile, the cats in the smaller Felinae subgroup have a comparatively smaller size and limited killing power. To put it bluntly, whether they are sociable or not, you wouldn't really care much because, to creatures as massive as humans, they don't have any special designs on us."

[That hits hard]

[Be a little more subtle with your words]

[What about the second point?]

[Yeah, what's the second point? Hurry up and tell us.]

"The second point is..."

Bi Fang glanced at the time and realized that half an hour had already passed, so he unlocked the chains, stepped out of the cage, and joked.

"Sorry, let's talk about the second point with our second meal of the day, or what will I do if my goods are all taken by you guys in the coming days?"

The audience was dumbfounded.

[Man, you can't just cut the story off like that!]

[You've no sense of propriety!!!]

Luckily, they only had to wait three hours.

Moreover, Bi Fang did not choose to turn off the live stream and restart; instead, he fixed the drone above the wire fence, ensuring the camera was aimed at Cheetah Harley before walking away.

At nine in the morning, Bi Fang reappeared in front of the camera, continued feeding, and then sat directly in the cage, resuming the morning's topic.

"This morning we talked about the differences between Felinae and Pantherinae. Now, for the second reason, that's the cheetah's social nature."

"Here, I can't help but mention two representative creatures, one is the tiger, a well-known solitary predator, and the other is the lion, a familiar social predator."

"And of the social creatures domesticated by humans, there's one particularly excellent example, and that is the dog, and the wolf is probably the social creature most familiar to everyone."

The dog, Bi Fang would say, is the most successfully domesticated animal by humans, without any equal.

And the dog's domestication is intrinsically linked to the social nature of its ancestor, the wolf.

"Remember the necessary traits for animal domestication I mentioned when taming Alpha?"

"In 'Guns, Germs, and Steel' by Jared Diamond, one point he mentions is that the species needs to have a social structure that enables them to accept a subordinate role, or in other words, a hierarchical system."

"Dogs were the first animals to become familiar with humans and are recognized as the first species domesticated by humans, long before other livestock, and are the only species domesticated by humans before agriculture emerged."

"[I remember this]

"[That is, to animals, humans became part of their community.]"

"In the process where wolves were domesticated into dogs, the most critical first step was initiated by the wolves themselves; they chose us first, not the other way around."

"Due to genetic mutations, the 'safe distance' some wolves maintained with primitive humans shortened. These special wolves dared to approach the tribal camps of primitive humans in search of food from the garbage dumps surrounding the camps."

"Initially, some wolves may have followed hunters to pick up leftover food and bones. Thus, some less threatening wolves, particularly their pups, were taken in by humans and bred, starting the domestication process."

"In the life of primitive people, dogs could help with hunting and serve as sentinels, while dogs received protection from humans. Most importantly, they had a relatively stable food source. Over time, each generation of increasingly docile wolves was selected by humans, and thus dogs came into being through this mutual effort."

"[I know this, like humans and wheat, there is also a view that wheat domesticated humans to propagate itself all over the world.]"

"[Ssss!]"

"[Is that so?]"

"[A bit creepy upon deep thought, huh?]"

"[It's always been mutual selection, with everyone choosing each other to survive better.]"

"The social structure of wolves living in packs was a very crucial condition for domestication. Dogs' ancestors, the wolves, had a clear social hierarchy, and each wolf had its status within the group."

"Each wolf pack had a leader, who managed all of the group's affairs, including food distribution, dispute resolution, and even reproduction."

"The alpha wolf held supreme authority, and the other wolves were absolutely obedient, content with their place in the hierarchy."

"Although long-term evolution has led modern wolves and modern dogs to no longer have a direct kin relationship, dogs still retain the social nature of wolf packs."

"However, there is one difference: the social grouping of dogs is no longer just limited to their own kind but has expanded to include the humans who care for them."

"This means that dogs have come to treat every family member as part of their pack and typically see their owner as the alpha. This allows humans to manage these animals and establish a leadership relationship with them."

At this point, Bi Fang suddenly remembered something.

"Oh, there's one thing I feel I need to mention, and that's in the dog world, kissing cheeks and mouths is a sign of submission. The kisser often has a lower status than the one receiving the kiss."

"Everyone can try it, lean your cheek towards your dog, and you'll find it'll come over and lick you, showing that you're the boss, as a sign of submission."

"Conversely, if you lean in to kiss it, you'll often find the dog's expression confused."

"I've seen many people express affection by kissing their dogs, which is fine in itself. If the owner doesn't see a problem, then there is no problem, but over time, it can make the dog think it's the boss."

"You'll find that it becomes more and more difficult to manage, with an increasingly short temper, especially with some larger aggressive breeds. They're liable to cause issues when taken outside, not obeying your commands, because it sees you as the one who should be obedient."

"So, even if you think kissing dogs is harmless, you should still be prepared not to let them cause trouble."

"[!!!]"

"[Damn, no wonder my dog has become increasingly disobedient!!!]"

"[Kissing dogs... Doesn't that feel dirty....]"

"[I can't understand.]"

"[But, what does this have to do with lions and tigers?]"

"Because if you look at it from the perspective of sociality, you'll find that raising lions is actually somewhat safer than raising tigers."

"The same logic applies to cheetahs."