Back in the 1980s, hiking in the mountains was also a way of life

After walking for a while, Wang An looked at the sparsely wooded, open mountain range and couldn't help but say:

"This mountain is perfect for falconry, it's just too steep for a sled to climb. Otherwise, we could come here every now and then to catch a goat and eat it, life would be so damn good, hahaha."

Every time Wang An trains eagles, he has to go to a place where the trees are relatively sparse and the view is relatively open.

The reason for going to such a place is that when a golden eagle spreads its wings, it is about 2.5 meters long, requiring too much space. If it flies in the dense forest, it will be blocked by trees.

The rocky cliffs and mountain range before him, apart from the sparse and not very large trees, even the shrubs were very short, just above Wang An's knees, making it suitable for both falconry and falconry hunting.

After Wang An finished speaking, Mu Xueli chuckled and replied:

"I think this is fine too. It's better than chasing a dog. Anyway, it's hunting, and the distance is about the same, so let's just keep going, hehehe."

It's clear that Mu Xueli is quite accepting of carrying prey over mountains and valleys.

After Mu Xueli finished speaking, Wang Li also said:
"Yeah, I think it's fine this way. The pendant is still valuable, so walking a few more steps is fine too."

Wang An pursed his lips, smiled, and said:

“From now on, we’ll come here for a stroll whenever we have free time. If there are any stag goats around here, we’ll bring our eagles to catch them the next day. If not, we’ll hunt something else.”

It wasn't that Wang An didn't want to follow the route the suspended sheep took to find it, but rather that the places where the suspended sheep disappeared were all rugged and steep, making it difficult and dangerous to walk there empty-handed. If he were to catch the suspended sheep and carry it back, it would be extremely difficult!

As Wang An and his three companions walked and chatted, the two lynxes that had been lazily following them suddenly became energetic.

Immediately afterwards, the two of them darted out together, startling Wang An and his group of four.

Then, Wang An and his three companions saw the two lynxes chasing a small "leopard," which was actually the famous Siberian leopard.

Upon seeing the leopard cub, Wang An was immediately taken aback, his hair standing on end. The main reason was that if the leopard cub had appeared, then the adult leopard must be nearby!
So Wang An opened his mouth and shouted loudly:

"Hey leopard, holy crap, be on guard, be on guard now!"

While shouting "Be on guard," his hands didn't stop moving at all. He casually threw the slung sheep on his shoulder to the ground and immediately pulled out the Big 54.

It's no wonder Wang An acted this way; the main reason is that in these mountains, the Siberian leopard is second only to the Siberian tiger, and for hunters, dealing with it is no less difficult than dealing with a tiger.

Mu Xueli, Wang Li, and Huang Zhong also saw the lynx chasing the leopard cub. After hearing Wang An's urgent and anxious voice, they immediately threw down the sheep they were carrying on their shoulders.

Immediately afterwards, Mu Xueli and Wang Li pulled out their Type 54 pistols, while Huang Zhong immediately took out his Type 56 semi-automatic rifle from his back, cocked it, and released the safety before slinging it over his shoulder.

It must be said that the movements of these four people were absolutely incredibly swift.

However, after the four men looked around with their guns raised for a long time, they found that there was not a single abnormality in the visible area.

The two lynxes, however, had already brazenly killed the "little leopard."

That's right, it bit him to death, with incredible speed, completely disregarding the presence of any large leopards around.

Wang An found this to be quite normal.

In these mountains, tigers and leopards are the natural enemies of lynxes. When tigers and leopards encounter lynxes, they will normally regard them as food, hunt them down, kill them, and eat them.

After all, as felines, lynxes possess the same agility, ferocity, and tree-climbing skills as tigers and leopards.

The most ridiculous thing is that lynxes don't have the strength and bite force of tigers and leopards, and the most ridiculous thing of all is that lynxes can't even run as fast as tigers and leopards.

Damn it, who can a lynx reason with?

Of course, besides tigers and leopards being the lynx's natural enemies, wolves and black bears are also its natural enemies.

Unfortunately, although lynxes are known as "wolf-slaying machines," they must avoid packs of two or even three wolves. If surrounded by a pack, the lynx is almost certain to die.

As for black bears, the same applies. Although they may look clumsy, their agility and running speed are by no means inferior.

Knowing that a black bear cub weighing 80 or 90 pounds can kill a 130-pound dog like Dahei as if it were a toy, you can understand how terrifying the fighting power of black bears is.

Furthermore, lynxes can climb trees, and so can black bears, so if a lynx is caught by a black bear, its fate is basically death.

Despite having so many natural enemies, lynxes still manage to live a carefree and comfortable life.

The reason lynxes can live so freely is that they are incredibly vengeful, holding grudges to their very core. Their motto is, "If I can't beat the old one, surely I can beat the young one!"

Therefore, adult lynxes will not spare any of the cubs, whether they are tiger cubs, leopard cubs, wolf cubs, or bear cubs.

Given the chance, the lynx will kill all their cubs, leaving none behind.

This is what makes lynxes so terrifying! They specifically target cubs.

However, it is precisely because of the existence of lynxes, which are peculiar animals that specifically attack cubs, that the populations of carnivores such as tigers, leopards, and wolves have been perfectly controlled.

Otherwise, if the number of apex predators like tigers and leopards increased, it would be a nightmare for all the animals in the forest.

Soon, Xiao Mao brought back the leopard cub that the two of them had just killed. Wang An didn't have time to examine it closely, but continued to observe the surrounding situation.

The main reason is that these two lynxes were raised by Wang An's family since they were puppies, so Wang An felt that they were far less alert than Dahei and the other dogs, and they might not even be alert at all.

There's no way to compare domesticated lynxes with wild lynxes.

Xiao Mao tossed the leopard cub at Wang An's feet, and then the two lynxes sat there motionless, staring at Wang An as if waiting for his praise.

Seeing that Wang An was only looking around and not paying attention to the two of them, the two of them made a few "anchor" sounds and scratched Wang An's thigh several times with their paws.

That's right, it's the "anchor" sound, not the "meow" sound like a cat.

Finding nothing unusual in the surroundings and hearing no noise, Wang An said to Mu Xueli, Wang Li, and the other two:

“Keep an eye on the surroundings, I want to see what’s going on with this little leopard.”

As he spoke, Wang An released the safety from his pistol, then squatted down and patted the heads of the two lynxes, saying:
"Good, good, you two did a really good job."

Wang An's words and the gesture of patting their heads immediately pleased the two lynxes, who barked happily at him a few times.

But when Wang An looked at the "little leopard," his brows furrowed, and he was momentarily stunned.

Because this "little leopard" that made Wang An and his companions so nervous was not a leopard cub at all, but a small animal that the locals called "mountain cat" or "leopard cat," and whose scientific name is "leopard cat."

Upon seeing this, Wang An's tense mood immediately relaxed.

The main reason is that leopard cats look very similar to domestic cats, and their size is also similar. The key point is that they do not actively attack humans, and they will usually stay far away from humans when they see them.

And because their fur was very beautiful and valuable, and because they were not aggressive or dangerous to humans, they were hunted quite severely by the villagers in the early years.

This has led to the fact that this creature is not commonly seen in the area now, and the vast majority of leopard cats have been frightened away and gone deeper into the mountains.

While its fur is not as fine and expensive as that of a lynx, it is far superior to that of a fox. In the past two years, the purchase price from the supply and marketing cooperatives has already reached over 200 yuan.

However, leopard cats are so rare now that Wang An and the others haven't paid much attention to them.

So, Wang An immediately said to Mu Xueli and Wang Li, with a mixture of amusement and exasperation:
"Don't be scared, everyone. This isn't a leopard, it's a leopard cat, hahaha."

The three men were taken aback by what they heard, but they put their guns away. Mu Xueli walked over, looked at the dead leopard cat, and said with some surprise:
"Oh my god, I haven't seen this thing in years. I thought it had been eradicated by people long ago."

Wang Li also said with some surprise:

"Hey! Do you still have these things? I saw people in the village making these things a while ago. I was thinking they were all gone by now."

Huang Zhong also stepped forward and said:
"This is a mountain weasel. I've heard that these things like to go into the village and eat the chickens, but I've never seen one before."

Wang An grabbed the leopard cat by the scruff of its neck and lifted it up, chuckling as he said:

"I haven't seen it for years. I only know that the fur of this thing is quite valuable. I saw someone selling fur once at the supply and marketing cooperative."

Immediately afterwards, Wang An smiled and said:

"These two lynxes are definitely worth raising. The first time I brought them up the mountain, they brought me such a big one. Great, really great, hahaha."

As he spoke, Wang An praised and comforted the two lynxes, showering them with compliments. (End of Chapter)