Live Cat Appraisal: Starting with a Beast That's Got a Long Prison Record

Chapter 180: The Appearance of a Top Predator!
Inside the tent, Gesang and Xu Dafei were looking at a simple map, discussing moving the sign warning tourists to a more prominent position.

To prevent a recurrence of tourists accidentally wandering in and causing yaks to get lost.

Upon seeing Chen Nian lift the curtain and enter, Gesang immediately flashed a warm smile.

"Teacher Chen!"

"How is the butter tea? Is it to your liking? Let Zhuoma pour you some more?"

"That's enough, Brother Gesang, your stomach will burst if you drink any more."

Chen Nian smiled and waved her hand.

His expression immediately turned serious, and he sat down next to the two of them: "Brother Gesang, there's something I'd like to ask you."

"Teacher Chen, just keep talking."

"Have you noticed anything unusual or suspicious around your ranch lately?

Upon hearing this, Gesang and Xu Dafei looked at Chen Nian with puzzled expressions.

"An unusual situation? Professor Chen, what do you mean?"

"Is such that."

Chen succinctly described the abnormal stress response of the meat.

He emphasized, "A tabby cat that roams freely on the plateau and still carries wild blood is usually very bold and has a strong hunting ability. And for it to be so terrified, it is definitely not as simple as seeing a Tibetan fox or a marmot."

"Therefore, I speculate that there is likely a predator nearby that it finds extremely dangerous!"

Xu Dafei was the first to react, and his expression instantly turned serious.

"Teacher Chen, do you mean there are large wild animals active in this area?"

This was his first reaction as a protection worker.

Gesang was puzzled and pointed to the quiet herd of cattle outside: "But why don't my yaks react in any particular way?"

"Or did Rou Rou eat something bad?"

“No.” Chen Nian shook her head: “Brother Gesang, have you forgotten my job? I checked, and Rou Rou’s body is perfectly healthy. It is precisely because there is nothing wrong with it that such drastic behavioral changes are more alarming.”

“Captive yaks are huge, and adult individuals are a deterrent to many predators. Their threshold for feeling threatened is much higher than that of cats, and their reactions may be slower.”

Seeing Chen Nian's certainty, Gesang's expression also became serious.

Chen Nian is the person he has met who knows the most about felines.

If that's the case, then something unusual might indeed be happening in the neighborhood.

If it is indeed a large, ferocious beast, then not only are the yaks in danger, but people are also in danger!

He immediately stood up: "I'll go get Zhuoma right now! I've been leading tours most of the past two weeks, and she's been taking care of things at home. She should know something!"

Soon, Gesang brought his wife, who was cooking, over.

Chen Nian repeated the conversation from earlier.

"Sister Zhuoma, have you noticed any strange footprints near the pasture recently, or any unusual movements of the cattle at night?"

Zhuoma wiped her hands on her apron and sat down thoughtfully.

The tent became completely quiet.

The only sound was the faint gurgling of tea boiling in the copper kettle.

Zhuoma frowned and pondered for a long time before finally remembering something: "Now that you mention it, there really is!"

“It was probably the week before last, one night when I was sound asleep, when I suddenly heard some commotion from the herd of yaks outside. They seemed to be frightened by something and were running around. But when I went out to check with my flashlight, they were gone.”

"And then there was last week."

"My body hasn't been feeling well for several days in a row."

"It's the 'mouse-catching king' of our area, but for the past few days it kept hiding in the innermost part of the tent or under the bed, and wouldn't come out no matter how much we called it. Even its favorite dried meat strips didn't taste good to it. It's only in the last couple of days that it's slowly getting better."

Upon hearing this, Gesang couldn't help but say.

Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?

Zhuoma smiled gently: "You work so hard outside, I'm afraid it will affect you."

"Besides, nothing happened, there was no loss."

But Chen Nian and Xu Dafei's expressions suddenly darkened.

Sure enough there is a problem!
According to Chen Nian's guess, the problem is quite serious!

A typical wild cat might cause unusual behavior in yaks, but it would never cause the entire herd to behave this way.

Something has clearly set its sights on the yaks!

And those who have the courage to fight and scheme against an animal the size of a yak are few and far between on the entire grassland!
Chen Nian pressed further, "Sister Zhuoma, when you were patrolling around the ranch afterwards, did you find any strange footprints?"

"Or leftover animal bones? Like marmot or pika bones?"

"No."

Zhuoma shook her head: "Our ranch is quite large. I mainly check the fences and the water source every day to see if they are sturdy and if the water source is clean. It's impossible for me to check every corner carefully. I didn't notice any special marks."

Chen Nian and Xu Dafei exchanged a glance.

"No, we need more clues to make a judgment."

The two of them stood up abruptly and walked outside, with Gesang following behind.

He quickly asked, "What exactly happened, Teacher Chen?"

As Chen Nian walked out, she quickly stated her speculation: "Brother Gesang, based on the existing clues, this 'uninvited guest' that can disturb the cattle herd for a long time and cause extreme fear and even abnormal behavior in cats is very likely a large ferocious beast!"

"And it's an apex predator!" "What?!"

Gesang's heart skipped a beat.

As a local, he knew all too well what this meant.

"Could it be a pack of wolves?"

He had heard when he was a child that a pasture on the next mountain had been invaded by wolves, causing huge economic losses to the herders!

Sometimes they will even kill them but not eat them!
It bites and kills multiple animals at once, but doesn't eat them all.

Of all wild beasts, wolves typically cause the most livestock losses.

Xu Dafei shook his head: "It shouldn't be a pack of wolves."

“According to our recent monitoring data, the known wolf activity areas near the county are all far from human settlements and summer pastures, and they generally avoid them. It is unlikely that they would risk approaching this area for the sake of these few yaks.”

"The snow leopard?"

Gesang glanced at Chen Nian.

He still remembers Sherry's beauty and that special little snow leopard.

But no matter how docile it appears in front of Chen Nian, the 'King of the Snow Mountains' remains one of the biggest threats to the herders' yaks!

Chen Nian was aware of this as well.

When wild prey numbers decrease, or when snow leopard territory overlaps with summer pastures, snow leopards will also come down from the mountains to prey on livestock.

They tend to attack calves and smaller yaks.

Attacks are usually launched at night or in the early morning, using the terrain to carry out ambushes.

"That possibility cannot be ruled out." Chen Nian nodded slowly, her tone cautious.

"But there are other options, such as lynxes, which, while they don't usually attack adult yaks, might frighten cats. Or even brown bears?"

Brown bears occasionally prey on livestock.

"But I prefer to search the surrounding area first. If we can find any trace, we can make a further judgment."

"Okay! Let's look together!"

The group, including Zhuoma, quickly dispersed.

Centered on the tent, they carefully searched along the ranch fence and outer edge.

Little Gesang, holding the now-calm-down Rou Rou, stayed close to Chen Nian, her big eyes filled with curiosity and a hint of nervousness: "Brother Chen Nian, what are you looking for? Can I help?"

Chen Nian smiled.

Just as she was about to politely decline, her gaze fell on the chubby baby in his arms, and a thought suddenly struck her.

If it really was a trace left by a large feline, Rou Rou, who is also a feline, might have a more acute sense of it.
So Chen Nian squatted down.

He crouched down, looking at Little Gesang at eye level: "Little Gesang, can I borrow Rou Rou for a while? I'd like to ask it for a favor."

"Okay!"

Xiao Gesang could tell that Rou Rou really liked Chen Nian.

Before it was even handed over, the little guy started making gurgling noises in his throat.

After nestled in Chen Nian's arms, it obediently rested its head on Chen Nian's shoulder and rubbed against her, appearing extremely at ease.

The meatball carries a pleasant, fresh scent of the grasslands.

Xiaomi, who had been lying on top of Chen Nian, tilted its head and glanced at Rou Rou, then curled its lips and secretly swept its tail across Rou Rou's nose.

A sneeze!

Rou Rou suddenly sneezed.

It pricked up its ears alertly and looked around, but found nothing, so it had no choice but to shrink back into Chen Nian's arms in confusion.

There's a ghost, meow!

'Hehe~' Little Mi covered her mouth and chuckled after her prank succeeded.

Chen Nian didn't notice the little movement above her head.

He carried Rou Rou and led Xiao Gesang slowly forward along the fence, carefully observing any unusual things on the ground and the fence.

He paid particular attention to the soft soil, sandy ground, and damp muddy banks of streams.

These are the places where traces are most easily left.

When they reached the stream that nourished the pasture, Chen Nian clearly felt the little chubby body in his arms stiffen slightly, and the little paws on his shoulder tightened instinctively.

Is this here?

Chen Nian immediately stopped and began to examine the ground around the stream with extra care.

Little Gesang followed his example, widening his eyes as he searched in the grass and mud.

Suddenly, at the bend in the stream, where the water flowed under the fence, little Gesang cried out with a mixture of surprise and nervousness:
"Brother Chen Nian! Come quick! Come quick, look here!"

He pointed to a section of the creek bank that was clearly trampled and slightly muddy.

"What huge footprints!"

"It's much bigger than my chubby feet!"

(Meow whispers: We're only 200 more monthly tickets away from 2000! Cat lovers, let's go! If we break the 2000 mark, we'll have an extra chapter!!)

(End of this chapter)