Forest protection starts with picking up a lynx girl

Chapter 563: Cat with One Ear

"This mangrove forest is quite large."

Out of boredom, the assistant started chatting with two students in the group.

"In the past, the mangrove forests were much larger, and locals would take wooden boats to fish there. Later, everyone went to plant rubber trees, and the wetlands gradually degraded. The wetland park in the provincial capital also has mangroves, but the area is so small that it is not worth seeing. They even built some kind of transparent boat inside and developed a project to take a boat tour of the mangroves."

The locals also wanted to learn how to develop mangrove tourism before, but it didn't work out. Too many tourists will cause various problems, the biggest problem is garbage pollution, which will damage the natural environment here.

Fishing is not allowed in the mangroves now. Specific persons in charge have been designated for each area. They are responsible for patrolling the wetland environment, collecting garbage and other tasks.

As they were talking, they heard the sound of water. Everyone was startled and stared at the dark water in front of them.

Two minutes later, a hovercraft came over.

There were two children rowing the boat, the girl was older, about eleven or twelve years old, and the boy was at most seven or eight years old.

There were two kittens fighting between the two of them, and at the bow of the boat, a big cat without an ear was squatting there gracefully.

Chen Ying didn't know why she used the word "dignified" to describe a cat, but apart from these two words, she couldn't seem to find a better adjective.

The big cat was very alert. As soon as the assistant moved slightly, its eyes instantly turned over.

After thinking about it, Chen Ying turned on the camp light.

After all, they are just two children, and there are four adult men on their side, so they must not scare them.

Sure enough, as the light came on, the two children stopped instantly with vigilance, holding the oars across their chests, and nervously stared at Chen Ying who came out of the tent.

"Kids, what are you two doing? Why are you out playing in the middle of the night?"

The assistant also came out and asked the other party in the local dialect.

When the two children looked at the two men, their faces became even uglier. The little girl bit her lip and wanted to turn back.

"Don't be afraid, we are from a scientific expedition team, here to study the ecology and animal behavior of the mangroves."

While talking, Chen Ying signaled her assistant to contact the local contact unit, so that people would not mistake them for bad guys. This place is not far from the border, so it is a good thing for the children to be vigilant.

Perhaps it was because Chen Ying's temperament did not seem like that of a bad person, and the two people who came out of the tent next to them had clearer eyes, so the two children did not leave in the end, but they did not come closer either.

Chen Ying didn't say much, just looked at the cats carefully.

They had not seen it clearly from a distance before and thought it was a domestic cat, but now under the illumination of the camping lamp, it was clearly an leopard cat, or even the fishing cat they had been working so hard to find.

"Little sister, your cat looks different from ordinary cats. Do you know what breed it is?"

The little girl looked at them warily for a long time before she spoke reluctantly, "This is our cat that my brother and I rescued from the field."

After the little girl said this, Chen Ying almost understood. This is a wild leopard cat (or fishing cat), which was rescued by the little girl and raised as her own cat. There is no such thing as captive breeding in the countryside. The only thing that separates captive breeding from wild is whether the owner feeds it.

Regardless of whether they are domestic cats or wild cats, they are free to move around. They don’t have luxurious cat villas, but they have natural cat climbing frames, and all the woods are places for them to frolic.

"Little sister, does your cat eat fish?" Student No. 1 next to her asked, trying to get information.

"You are so stupid, what do cats eat if not fish?" The little boy couldn't help but choke out loud, "Cats eat fish here, and even dogs eat fish."

Student No. 2 turned around and laughed, his shoulders shaking.

After a few words, there was another noise in the woods. This time it was a boat patrolling the river, and it was painted. The brother and sister knew their uncle who drove the boat. When they saw each other, they breathed a sigh of relief but lowered their heads in embarrassment.

The uncle heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the brother and sister were safe and sound. He then cursed a few more words in the local dialect, and finally stopped at the shore. He greeted Chen Ying and the others and checked their documents. Only then did he visibly relax.

"Yanhan, go back with your sister. You have to go to school tomorrow. If the teacher calls your parents again and your mother beats you, I won't beg for mercy for you."

Seeing the brother and sister rowing away, Chen Ying quickly spoke up to stop them.

"Little sister, can you let me see your cat?"

The uncle frowned, looked at his assistant and wanted to speak, but was stopped by the assistant. After the two of them chatted for a few words in the local dialect, the uncle suddenly realized and waved for the two siblings to come over.

The big cat was very calm. Apart from holding the two children under its body for protection, it did not show any signs of panic.

Chen Ying reached out and rubbed the cat's head, "Good job, you're a good cat."

"Good cat, can you let me see your claws?" Chen Ying did not take action directly, but communicated with the cat in a negotiating tone.

The uncle next to him looked at him as if he was a fool, but the little girl's expression was very serious. She watched Chen Ying examine the cat without blinking.

"Hmm, this claw..." Chen Ying frowned slightly. It didn't seem like a fishing cat, but it was different from the claws of a normal leopard cat.

Chen Ying looked up and was about to speak, but was startled by the little girl who had come very close to him.

The little girl blushed, pursed her lips and took a step back.

"Come, take a look at your cat's paws. Are they a little different from normal cats'?"

Chen Ying smiled, asked the brother and sister to come closer, and turned on the flashlight so that they could see the cat's paw clearly.

"See? Cats' claws can't be completely retracted into their claw sheaths. They look very narrow, and there are webbed feet between their toes. This structure helps them swim in the water, so they must be very good at catching fish, right?"

"Yes, Yunyun is very good at catching fish. When my mother gave birth to my little sister, it was Yunyun who caught fish every day and made soup for her to nourish her body."

The little boy Yanhan's words made his sister and uncle smile awkwardly.

It is a principle that fishing is not allowed in wetlands. What the little boy Yanhan said meant that they were exploiting policy loopholes.

"Really? Yunyun is so amazing. But you can't eat the fish Yunyun catches. Yunyun feels sorry for your mother who has to raise children, so she takes the trouble to catch fish for her. But if Yunyun is also responsible for feeding you, she will be very tired."

Yan Han suddenly realized, "I was wondering why Yunyun didn't want to play anything except fishing these days. It turns out she is tired."

He squatted down and hugged Yunyun, looking apologetic, "Yunyun, don't catch fish for my mother. My father will take good care of her and my sister. Just take care of yourself and the two kittens."

Chen Ying watched him flirting with the big cat with a smile on her face, then asked for the opinions of the little girl and the cat, took pictures of them, and drew a little blood for testing.

An hour later, the brother and sister left with the three kittens, and Heduan Changyan Wenyan stayed to help.

It was also Chen Ying's idea to ask him to stay. They had overlooked this point before, and it was not too late to make up for it now.

Sure enough, with the guidance of Uncle Yan Wenyan, after they changed the observation point, they saw several groups of animals coming to drink water and hunt in more than an hour.

Just when Chen Ying and his men were about to withdraw their troops and return to the camp, Yunyun, the ear-eater, came to the water's edge with its two cubs.

(End of this chapter)