Deep affection knows no origin; remember the polar bear's love for you.

Chapter 14 Fishing Master!

Guo Mi lost count of how many times she had failed, but it didn't matter. As the number of failures increased, she became better at timing her attacks and increasing the speed at which she could unleash her claws.

Several times my claws had already touched the fish!
At this rate, she believed she would be able to catch the fish soon!

Brown bears have a unique skill: slapping fish out of the water. During salmon migration season, brown bears gather in groups at shallow waters, streams, or small waterfalls to slap fish out of the water!

This is a rare time when brown bears will restrain their aggressive intentions, because any qualified hunter can enjoy a good meal during this period without having to fight for food.

Of course, this is also a crucial time to store up fat, which can help people survive longer.

Guo Mi was quite skilled at catching fish back then!
Now that she can strike the fish with enough speed to knock it out of the water, what other factors could cause her to fail in her hunt?

Caesar lay lazily on the snow slope, watching as the round-faced bear below suddenly stopped moving and sat blankly by the lake, idly pawing at the snow around him.

Is she finally giving up?
However, not long after this thought crossed his mind, he saw the round-faced bear below suddenly stand up, lower its head, and press its nose against the water's surface!

Caesar narrowed his eyes, watching her sometimes twitch her nose, sometimes stop moving, and then quietly raise her paw and move two steps to the side.

Her nose remained pressed against the water's surface as she performed these actions, which looked somewhat comical.

Caesar's interest, which had almost completely vanished, was rekindled, and he found himself sitting on the snow slope, intently watching her.

Two more minutes passed, and just when Caesar thought that the round-faced bear was going to continue this action for at least two more hours, Guo Mi, who had been patiently waiting, suddenly struck out with her claws!

"Splash—" A sound of water!
A fish covered in bluish-black scales was slapped out of the water, struggled in mid-air, and finally landed on the lakeside!

The two little bears beside her were shocked, and their eyes were filled with deep admiration as they looked at Guo Mi!

Even Caesar was surprised!

He didn't understand how Guo Mi managed to do it either!
Guo Mi sat by the lake, puffing out her chest and raising her head, basking in the admiring gazes of the two little bears, her round ears twitching proudly.

She had been thinking about why she failed to catch fish, and then she figured it out.

When catching fish in the forest, most of the time it's done in shallow waters and streams.

The bear's paw has a wide striking range, and most fish have no way to escape, eventually being slapped out of the water.

But the pool is too deep; the fish can dive down!

Before she could even take a picture of the fish, it had already dived back underwater.

So she had to find a way to get the fish closer to the surface of the water, so that their diving speed couldn't keep up with the speed of the bear's paw slapping, and that she could successfully slap the fish out of the water!
The only problem is that she doesn't have any artificial lures for humans, and she can't find anything else to attract the fish's attention, so she can only try using her nose first.

Guo Mi watched the fish repeatedly jumping around on the shore, trying to jump back into the water, and decisively slapped it unconscious with her claws!
It seems the Arctic has its advantages; at least there aren't ubiquitous anglers here, and most of the fish seem quite "simple-minded," easily caught by simply sniffing them.

Caesar sat on the snow slope, more patient than ever before.

Watching the round-faced bear continue to use that strange method to catch fish, from occasionally succeeding once or twice at the beginning to occasionally failing once or twice at the end, only three hours had passed!

Even he couldn't help but marvel at the round-faced plate bear's learning ability!

As evening approached, "Master Guo," who had been busy all day, finally finished his hunt and began to enjoy his feast.

She didn't consciously collect her prey while catching fish, and now there are more than thirty fish scattered all over the edge of the lake, big and small!
Two little bears followed behind her, but they didn't eat a single fish.

Guo Mi didn't miss the way they were drooling as they watched the fish. She was so focused on fishing that she might not even notice if the two little furballs sneaked in a bite or two. Were they waiting for her to eat with them?

As she thought about it, she gathered the fish that were scattered in different places into one spot.

The two little bears hesitated for a moment as they watched Guo Mi's actions, then ran out from behind her and tentatively bit the tail of one of the fish. They then looked nervously at Guo Mi, and only seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when they were sure that she didn't react. They then followed her to gather the fish together.

With the help of the two little bears, the thirty fish were gathered quickly and piled up in no time.

Guo Mi sat in front of the pile of fish, very satisfied with her achievement. She picked out the biggest fish from the pile and took a big bite!
Arctic fish look no different from those in the forest, and some even have less oil than migrating salmon. Of course, it could simply be a difference in species.

The two bear cubs didn't come up to share the dinner; they just sat obediently behind Guo Mi, swallowing their saliva incessantly.

Guo Mi was busy enjoying her food and didn't pay attention to them at first. She wondered if the two little furballs weren't hungry.
Only after they had finished their delicious fish meal did they hear the little male bear's faint voice:

"Sister, can I go eat the leftover fish bones?"

After a brief silence, Sister Bear's hesitant voice finally rang out:

"Wait a little longer, until she's finished eating, then we'll ask if we can have some of the leftovers."

Even though the little male bear was starving, he still obediently said:

"Okay..." He seemed a little hesitant.
"But would she be willing to share with us?"

Sister Bear's voice was also hesitant:

"She should... be willing, she's a very good bear."

Hearing what the two little furballs said, Guo Mi was both amused and exasperated, finally realizing that she had been overthinking things.

Waiting for others to eat together is a basic social etiquette in the human world, but bears don't have that many social interactions.

No wonder the two bear cubs looked so nervous when they were helping out; in a bear's world, all those fish are her prey.

Touching another bear's prey without permission is considered a provocation by that bear and can easily provoke a bloody battle.

The two little furballs helped her just now, and they probably had the intention to help as well, but it was more of a test.

I wanted to see if she was very possessive of her prey. If she drove them away, it would mean she didn't want to share her prey with other bears.

If she hadn't driven them away, they might have dared to try and get some scraps from her.

Guo Mi looked back and saw that the two little bears thought they were being chased away. They quickly got up, ran a few steps away, and then sat down with their little ears flattened, trying to make themselves look as obedient and harmless as possible.

Their two tiny eyes were practically glowing with hunger, yet they still looked at her pitifully, as if begging her not to send them away.

Guo Mi sighed inwardly, her heart softening after all, and beckoned the two little ones over:

"Come to me."

The cartoon illustrations are by our beloved reader, Rabbit Loves to Eat Plums!

Killing onions and adding watermarks

I drew Guo Mi catching fish, it's so cute I couldn't resist posting it, thank you Bao~