From Robinson Crusoe

For predators, hunting is a complex and challenging skill.

From the time they could walk unsteadily, they practiced hunting skills with their brothers and sisters.

Through trial and error, under the guidance of their mothers, and through observation and practice, these fledgling predators gradually learn how to become hunting masters and refine this art of killing to a higher level.

Ambush, approach—

Find a downwind spot to avoid the smell of blood on your body wafting into the noses of your prey;

Keep your body low to the ground so that the patterns on your fur blend into the bushes and grasses, making it difficult for prey to spot you.
Slow down your pace and use your soft paw pads to touch the ground, making your footsteps barely audible and deceiving your prey's hearing.
Step by step, until the prey enters the attack range, then suddenly bursts forth, delivering a thunderous blow.

There is no room for error in the entire process.

Prey are not mindless wooden stakes standing still; they have evolved keen hearing, an extraordinary sense of smell, and an extremely strong running ability. Once they detect you, all your previous efforts will be in vain.

……

The male sawtooth tiger was not an experienced hunter; in fact, it had only recently left its pack.

Like its kind, it formed its own small family and then, following its instincts, worked tirelessly to reproduce.

As a young male sawtooth tiger, it must shoulder the responsibility of caring for the entire family.

Unlike Siberian tigers, sawtooth tigers often live in groups.

The giants of the Pleistocene were far beyond the reach of modern herbivores. They were enormous, with thick layers of fat reserves beneath their dense fur, and their massive organs were full of nutrients. Each successful hunt by a predator yielded a generous reward, enough to make up for their consumption.

An abundant food source determined the sawtooth tiger's survival strategy.

They are willing to risk challenging stronger animals as long as the rewards are sufficient.

Of course, every reward comes with a risk.

The young sawtooth tiger and its small family shouldn't have been targeting the giant ground sloth. This giant prey is very troublesome; even without sharp teeth, its weight alone can give the sawtooth tiger a hard time.

But the young predator's fighting spirit is still burning. The moment the male sawtooth tiger sees a juvenile giant ground sloth, it decides to make the deal, both to satisfy its appetite and to provide for the hungry new member.

As the "head of the household," the male sawtooth tiger, having made the decision, took the lead and attacked first.

……

With a powerful roar, the male sawtooth tiger burst out of the bushes and headed straight for the little giant ground sloth.

The sawtooth tiger family has many members, including both smaller species and "strongmen" with an average weight of over 200 kilograms.

Coincidentally, this male sawtooth tiger belongs to a relatively large breed, and its adult weight is as high as 270 kilograms.

Even so, it still appears exceptionally small and adorable compared to the 4-ton giant ground sloth.

In South America, the little giant ground sloth has hardly ever encountered any proactive attacks from other creatures; its parents have protected it very well.

Faced with the saw-toothed tiger rushing straight at it, the little giant ground sloth was extremely panicked. It quickly adjusted its posture, changing from standing upright to being on all fours, and ran towards its mother while making "hoohoo" sounds.

Despite being larger than a saw-toothed tiger, the little guy is still inexperienced and lacks a clear understanding of his own fighting ability; he is also quite timid.

The cries of the cubs and the sudden appearance of a three-headed saw-toothed tiger made the atmosphere on the riverbank tense.

The female giant ground sloth stopped eating the tender leaves, turned around and ran towards the baby giant ground sloth, while giving a deep growl to warn the three "kittens".

The male sawtooth tiger's sprinting speed was not slowed down in the slightest by the female giant ground sloth's warning.

It knew very well that once the baby giant ground sloth ran back to its mother, its chances of success would be greatly reduced.

If the adult male giant ground sloth reunites with its family members, it will have essentially lost all hope of killing the baby giant ground sloth.

……

The male sawtooth tiger's confidence was not unfounded.

The reason it strives for a quick victory is not only because the rewards of a successful hunt are substantial, but also because the sawtooth tiger is a predator that specializes in attacking large animals.

When hunting mammoths, they would lie in ambush near the herd, and once the calf was freed from the care of the adult mammoths, they would attack it as a group, using their specialized tusks to quickly kill the calf. Then they would either flee or work together to drag the calf's carcass away.

They are very robust and strong; three or four adult tigers can drag a heavy baby elephant hundreds of meters in just a few minutes.

The killing of a member of the herd would certainly enrage the mammoth.

Sometimes they will angrily attack the sawtooth tiger, guarding the dead elephant calf's carcass to prevent the sawtooth tiger from eating it.

But elephant herds always have to migrate, and they can only keep an eye on the sawtooth tiger for a day or two at most. After a while, things remain the same. They can't catch up with the hateful sawtooth tiger and can only watch helplessly as the victorious predator enjoys its spoils.

……

The male sawtooth cat had no experience hunting giant ground sloths; it naively believed that giant ground sloths were as clumsy as mammoths and even less capable of attacking.

Mammoths have huge tusks, while giant ground sloths seem to have no "weapons" at all, which is why they dare to continue charging and even approach female giant ground sloths.

Two female sawtooth tigers cooperated with it, swaying from side to side to attract the attention of the female giant ground sloth.

Seeing that the baby ground sloth was about to return to its mother, the male sawtooth tiger quickened its pace—

Their physical structure is geared towards strength and endurance, and their hunting methods are very different from those of the Siberian tiger, making it difficult for them to catch up with the fleeing giant ground sloth in a short time.

During this time, the female giant ground sloth, restrained, appeared particularly clumsy, waving her long arms but failing to touch the two female saw-toothed tigers. This gave the male saw-toothed tiger some unwarranted confidence—

Now, it not only wants to hunt the baby giant ground sloth, but it also wants to hunt the fiercely protective female giant ground sloth.

If they could kill the mother and child, they wouldn't need to hunt for at least half a month.

……

Being young means having enough courage.

But from another perspective, courage without reverence is no different from recklessness.

The two female sawtooth tigers seem to have the situation under control, but when this unstable "balance" will tip to one side depends entirely on when the giant ground sloth adjusts its strategy.

The baby ground sloth has successfully returned to its mother's side, while the overconfident male sawtooth tiger, with the help of its companions, repeatedly probes the enemy.

The giant ground sloth's counterattack was exceptionally clumsy, and it failed to touch the male sawtooth tiger in several attempts.

The saw-toothed tiger danced on the edge of a knife, repeatedly brushing past death, yet it was unaware of how dangerous its actions were.

The giant ground sloth, with its similarly dark brown fur, is not without its predatory instincts. As the dominant herbivore in South America, its survival without natural enemies isn't solely due to its size. The arrogant, overconfident sawtooth tiger soon paid a heavy price for its overzealous behavior—

When it tried to scratch the female giant ground sloth's hind legs, it was caught by one of the sloth's forearms and pinned to the ground.

Unlike mammoths, giant ground sloths are not purely herbivores. Occasionally, they will try to catch live prey with their forepaws or use their size advantage to intimidate predators who have successfully hunted them and steal their spoils.

Sometimes giant ground sloths will even eat carrion to obtain more energy.

The sawtooth tiger judged animals by their appearance, thinking the giant ground sloth was honest and unassuming, never imagining that they were monstrous creatures that roamed the Americas.

Normally, even the most ferocious predators in the Americas wouldn't dare mess with the giant ground sloth, but the female sloth never expected that she would have prey willingly come to her here.

Meat tastes much better than grass.

A 270-kilogram saw-toothed tiger accidentally fell into the hands of a 1200-kilogram female giant ground sloth. Once hooked by her claws, it was unable to break free in a short time and could only barely twist its body in an attempt to escape this deadly attack.

But once the giant ground sloth's claws firmly bound it, no matter how much it struggled, it couldn't escape this "five-finger mountain".

As the claws gradually tore through the flesh, the female giant ground sloth pressed her heavy body down on the sawtooth tiger, and her absolute advantage in weight brought this deadly game to an end prematurely.

During this process, two female sawtooth tigers tried to rescue their companion, but the female giant ground sloth didn't give them a chance at all, and a male giant ground sloth who had been watching the commotion also came over.

Hearing their companion being pinned down and screaming in agony, the two female saw-toothed tigers hesitated.

In those hesitant ten or so seconds, the male saw-toothed tiger's mournful cries, like the desperate chirping of insects in the cold autumn wind, grew weaker with each utterance, and then abruptly ceased after only a few.

The female giant ground sloth pressed it down into a reddish "blanket".

The strong smell of blood stimulated the giant ground sloth, which stood upright and roared, declaring its absolute control over the territory and showing off its power.

The adult female saw-toothed tiger was terrified at the sight and, no longer caring about her companion, turned around with her tail between her legs and ran away.

The reaction of the other sub-adult female sawtooth tiger, who was still nursing, was completely opposite.

Seemingly enraged by the death of its companion, or perhaps heartbroken by the loss of its mate, it lunged straight at the female giant ground sloth, attempting to tear its throat apart with its sharp teeth.

……

"It's over."

Paul and Chen Zhou stood on high ground, watching the failed hunt from afar. When they saw the female sawtooth tiger pounce on the giant ground sloth, he immediately shook his head and sighed.

The subsequent events unfolded exactly as he had predicted.

The female giant ground sloth, in the heat of the moment, easily dealt with the saw-toothed tiger.

From beginning to end, the entire farce unfolded without the giant ground sloth even lifting a finger; it simply watched from afar as the saw-toothed tigers either died or fled.

For a giant ground sloth of such a massive size, dealing with a predator of this size wouldn't be too difficult, unless there were simply too many sawtooth tigers.

Most of the time, nature is fair.

To complete a successful hunt, one needs not only sufficient courage and boldness, but also a calm mind.

Reversals where the weak defeat the strong are extremely rare, and so-called "miracles" are even less likely to occur.

"Let's go."

Chen Zhou observed the giant ground sloths with great interest, considering the feasibility of using them as mounts—

Giant ground sloths are strong enough to carry heavy loads and possess considerable fighting ability; with proper training, they can serve as valuable allies.

It would be more comfortable to ride if you added a saddle to it.

Unfortunately, the giant ground sloth moves very slowly, which inevitably wastes time when traversing mountains and rivers, especially when competing for airdropped supplies; a slow start leads to a slow finish.

In addition, giant ground sloths take a long time to mature, so their intelligence level is probably not high. After all, their close relatives, sloths, are a type of stupid creature. From this perspective, giant ground sloths have an irreparable fatal flaw and are not suitable for domestication.

……

The sawtooth tiger's hunting and the giant ground sloth's one-sided crushing victory presented Chen Zhou and Paul with a unique and primitive battle show.

Because of this, the two paused briefly on the mountain, and only continued onward after realizing there was no chance to kill the giant ground sloth or steal the carcass of the sawtooth tiger.

The mountain range does not extend upwards in a gentle curve; along the way there are natural obstacles formed by landslides, as well as gullies carved out by floods.

The higher you go, the sparser the trees become. Occasionally, you can see animal footprints and insect droppings being decomposed in the woods.

Throughout the journey, Paul acted as if his injuries had not affected him at all, and was in high spirits, talking incessantly to Chen Zhou, savoring the experience of the battle between the giant ground sloth and the saw-toothed tiger.

It's clear that he's someone who's very interested in wild animals.

Chen Zhou half-heartedly dealt with Paul, stepping on the bare rocks, listening for any sounds in the forest, and silently moving forward.

We are now 5 kilometers from the riverbank where the sawtooth tiger died, and the summit is in sight. If we continue climbing, we expect to reach the top that night or cross the ridge to the other side of the mountain range.

The higher you go, the stronger the wind becomes, and even in summer, the North is quite cool.

Paul was getting bored when he didn't get a response from Chen Zhou, but then he saw Chen Zhou suddenly stop. He almost bumped into Chen Zhou's back because he couldn't stop in time.

"what happened?"

Paul knew that this veteran, who was participating in the challenge for the second time, was no ordinary man. He stopped in his tracks and asked a question, fearing that they might be attacked by ferocious beasts like cave hyenas again.

This time, before Chen Zhou could answer, Paul received the answer—

To their left, at the entrance to the crypt, hidden by tangled bushes and weeds, a fluffy little creature with spotted hair peeked out, its head partially visible.

In contrast to its adorable appearance, it and its siblings have rather terrible tempers.

Upon seeing strangers intrude into their territory, they became increasingly ferocious, some growling and howling, others lowering their ears and opening their mouths to reveal a mouthful of sharp milk teeth, all in a show of defiance.

Of course, there were also some timid ones who were tucking their tails between their legs and crawling into the hole, leaving only a round, plump bottom for Chen Zhou and his companion.

"Is that a baby sawtooth tiger?"

"The first tiger cub at the entrance to the burrow looks remarkably similar to the dead male sawtooth tiger, especially in the facial contours and the spots on its fur," Paul asked uncertainly.

"Yes, and most likely they are cubs left behind by those three saw-toothed tigers."

Two of them died in their failed hunt, and the remaining one disappeared; this is their nest. (End of Chapter)