sjar Chapter 186 The Red Fox's Tricks Are Full of Knowledge
Chapter 186 The Red Fox's Tricks Are Full of Knowledge
Li Ju'an picked up the flying bear and examined it closely. This creature was quite fierce, known as the "scavenger" and "little tyrant" in the Xing'an Mountains. Its body resembled a badger, its tail a weasel's, its paws a bear's, and its mouth a dog's. But given the flying bear's appearance, calling it a "four unlikes" wouldn't be an exaggeration.
He picked up his shiny, slick fur and shook it. It was covered in dark brown fur with light brown stripes on the sides. It was round, fluffy, and quite cute at first glance.
Song Desheng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, jogged over, and said, "My goodness, this little rascal managed to make such a commotion. I thought it was a bear, capable of taking on several stags by himself."
Small animals can usually be killed by a single pounce of a hunting dog. If it's a medium-sized animal like a deer, a tiger leading its hunting dogs can also pin it down in a few bites.
Fei Xiong, who is only 1.2 meters long and weighs no more than 60 kilograms, doesn't look very big, but he can make the pack of hunting dogs bark for so long. With Xiao Gangpao and the white mastiff helping Da Hu, it took them a long time to take him down.
Li Ju'an said, "Don't underestimate the Flying Bear. In Mongolia, this thing is also called a mountain dog, and it's very fierce. It wouldn't be afraid even if several wolves surrounded it."
Lu Zhiqiang laughed and said, "You're not a mountain dog, how do you know it's not afraid when surrounded by wolves?"
The three men caught a flying bear as their prey. Although the flying bear pelt wasn't as valuable as a large pelt, it could still fetch around a hundred yuan. The flying bear's sharp teeth and paws could also be sold separately. Its long, sharp canines could sell for three or four yuan. The men chatted and laughed as they parted the nearby bushes.
The flying bear has a diverse diet, ranging from various small animals to scavengers; it can survive even on carcasses. The fact that the mountain dog can survive in this area suggests there must be suitable prey nearby. A careful search along the edges should reveal animal tracks.
The tiger looked up and sniffed, then followed the scent for several dozen meters before scratching at a large tree stump with its paws, digging through the snow.
Li Ju'an ran over with his gun and saw that there was indeed a burnt seedling buried in the snow.
Burnt seedlings are the scorched yellow leaves left after a wild animal urinates. The urine is too rich in nutrients, burning the wild grass and turning it yellow and withered. Trackers usually follow the scent markings of burnt seedlings and can also smell the scent left by the small animal.
Song Desheng exclaimed excitedly, "Well done, Da Hu!" He picked up a piece of burning ember and tried to smell it, which disgusted the two men.
Lu Zhiqiang couldn't help but say, "How could someone like him have a wife? Does his wife even know?"
Li Ju'an shook his head: "Perhaps your sister-in-law just likes this unrestrained personality."
After smelling it for a long time, Song Desheng finally exclaimed, "Fox! This smell is definitely from a fox!"
Li Ju'an used a willow stick to dig through the snow, revealing fox droppings under the frozen soil of the tree stumps. The droppings were frozen solid, and in the dead of winter, it was impossible to tell if they were fresh or not. The only clue was the thickness of the snow, which suggested that a fox had left the droppings there three days ago, and that this area was fox territory.
Lu Zhiqiang also observed the digging and discovered traces of foxes burrowing. Foxes usually dig in search of food, using their forelimbs to break through the topsoil. The fox burrows are quite deep. Inside the burrows, foxes hide uneaten food from their prey, such as various mice, rabbits, small birds, fish, frogs, and lizards.
When Song Desheng saw that the two of them had left marks, his face darkened: "You two are really not fair. Why didn't you say so earlier? I almost stuck out my tongue to taste it."
"Get lost! You're disgusting people."
Song Desheng laughed it off, not taking it to heart. He then began to follow the two men, burning wire and setting up the trap.
Among the specimens Li Ju'an works on is the red fox. Foxes are elusive in the mountains and are already difficult to find. Most hunters are lucky to catch a pheasant or a leaping cat with their traps, but red foxes are rare and agile, making this a truly challenging task.
He heated the wire, then bent the charred wire, making it easy to keep the rope taut. He then used a scalpel to cut the necessary pieces of wood. The choice of material is crucial. For trapping foxes, the wood must be resilient and durable. Dead trees should be avoided.
He chose hazelwood because it is easy to bend, flexible, and strong, making it an ideal first choice.
He bent one end of the thin, deodorized wire. One end had an eye, and the other end was threaded through it, tightly tied to the tree stump. Then he made a slipknot with a rope loop, which could be used to lasso the throat of a small animal or the leg of a medium-sized beast.
When lassoing different small animals, the type of prey must also be considered. If lassoing a leaping cat, rabbits like to sit on higher grass, looking around, and will run forward in leaps. The lasso cannot be too low; it must take into account the ups and downs, and be exactly the distance they can jump in one leap.
The same applies to catching foxes. Foxes are agile, and if the snare gets too close to an obstacle, the fox will push it away.
He narrowed the rope loop to about the width of a fist, raising it about four fingers' width off the ground and a hand's width away from the rocks in the animal's running path. Then, he used two thin tree branches to support the thin wire loop, keeping the movable rope loop open.
After doing all that, he followed the red fox's footprints and set four more rope traps in several directions around the area, securing them to tree stumps and using tree branches to support the ropes.
Song Desheng noticed that this time his trap was different from the past and asked in confusion, "Why are they all stuck to small trees this time?"
He had stepped into two snares on his way here and was still shaken. Now, seeing Li Ju'an's snare, he didn't dare to move, afraid that he would accidentally step into it again and have to shamelessly beg the two men to rescue him. As a fellow hunter, he only knew how to pick up a gun and go straight for the kill, and didn't know anything about traps or snares. He felt ashamed and wanted to learn a thing or two.
Lu Zhiqiang teased him, "Li Ju'an learned these skills from Taozi Wang of Changbai Mountain. Qin Pao's skills have now all fallen into Li Ju'an's hands. In the future, he won't just be Little Li Pao, he'll be the real Li Pao."
Li Ju'an laughed at him: "Lu Zhiqiang wasn't like this before, Auntie. Look how snobbish he's become lately. If I took him hunting in the mountains, he wouldn't even catch a single prey. Let's see if he still calls me that."
Lu Zhiqiang wasn't annoyed at all. His skin was as thick as a city wall, and he actually went along with it, saying, "I'll lead a mule into the mountains later and get as much as I can."
Li Ju'an uses a flexible sapling to tighten the snare, which can lift prey off the ground and hoist it up. He places a piece of dried meat in front of the snare as bait. Once the fox is attracted, the snare will trigger a mechanism, causing the sapling to spring up and lift the fox off the ground.
Hanging them high deprives the animals of the right to break free and also reduces the possibility of other carnivores stealing their prey.
Based on his previous experience setting traps, he carefully changed the location of the bait, jerky. If the trap wasn't triggered but the bait was gone, it was likely because the bait wasn't placed correctly.
He stood up, estimating that once he had set five snares, as long as the fox returned to the cave, he would have a perfect record.
Song Desheng rubbed his hands excitedly, "We'll go snare later. If we run into several prey that fall into the snare, that'll be awesome."
Five snares, hitting even one is considered incredibly lucky. Hitting all five is practically winning the lottery. Li Ju'an laughed at him, "You're so greedy. Setting snares is easy, so if you can get one, great. If you don't hit, just take the wire and use it again next time."
Song Desheng retorted, "If you burn it four or five times, see if the wire ring can still be used."
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the quiet forest ahead.
The three men quickly grabbed their guns and disengaged the safety on all of them. Lu Zhiqiang switched his Ugly-styled revolver to automatic fire and crouched down to find a tree root for cover.