American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 213 Polar Bear at the Door! (Be sure to read the lottery instructions in the next chapter!)

(Guys, it'll be the 15th after midnight, and the lottery will be drawn tonight. The next chapter has the lottery instructions, so be sure to read them!)

Around midnight, a slight clicking sound, not from the wind, jolted him awake from his light sleep!
His body tensed instantly, all sleepiness vanishing. His ears, however, acted like radar, picking up on the slightest movement outside the shelter.

The sound rang out again, "click..." It was very soft, like the sound of stones gently colliding, and the direction... came from the Yukii refrigerator where he stored his food!
Lin Yu'an's heart leaped into his throat. Was he drawn by something else, drawn by the smell of blood?

He slipped silently out of his sleeping bag and stepped onto the cold ground without making a sound.

First, he touched the sharp hunting knife and gripped it tightly in his hand, and then he picked up the flint spear.

Instead of going out immediately, he quietly moved to one of the observation ports and peered inside.

By the faint starlight in the night sky and the reflection of the snow, he saw a scene that sent chills down his spine.

A white, furry figure was perched on his snow well refrigerator!

It was futilely scratching at the huge stone slab it used to hold down the bucket lid with its claws; the "click" sound was the sound of its claws hitting the stone slab.

The figure was small and round, not nearly as threatening as an adult wolf.

But Lin Yu'an's fear was a hundred times stronger than when he faced that lone wolf!
“Polar bear…” He almost mouthed the word to the action camera, his heart pounding.

On the Labrador coastline, there is only one possibility for an animal that is so pure white and of such a size—a polar bear!

Although it's a "small" polar bear, that usually means something.
Its mother is nearby!
Lin Yu'an immediately began to prepare for the worst in his mind. A mother bear with cubs is one of the most dangerous creatures on this planet.

To protect its children, it will attack anything it perceives as a threat, and it will fight to the death.

This tiny shelter was as fragile as paper in the face of that enormous creature.

He rushed to the equipment area and pulled out two items from a sealed waterproof box that he had hoped he would never need.

An orange high-pressure spray can and a pistol-shaped signal gun.

"Bear repellent spray, whose main ingredient is high concentration of capsaicin, signal gun, and matching explosive and flashbang grenades."

He faced the camera, quickly but clearly demonstrating the equipment, his voice low and husky from the surge of adrenaline.

“In the Labrador region, especially in Newfoundland and Labrador, polar bears are protected by strict laws.”

“Unless faced with the most direct and deadly threat, attacking a polar bear is a serious illegal act! Therefore, the first principle in dealing with it is always ‘deterrence and expulsion’.”

He checked the pressure valve of the bear repellent spray to make sure it was working properly, and then placed it in the most convenient position.

Then, he skillfully loaded a red explosive round into the signal gun.

"The correct procedure is to make a lot of noise if an adult polar bear approaches, such as firing a flare gun into the air or banging on metal."

"The goal is to let it know that someone is here, and make it feel uneasy and leave on its own."

"If noise is ineffective and it continues to approach, showing signs of aggression, then the next step is to use bear spray."

"But its effective range is very short, which means I have to get it very close to use. This is dangerous, but it's a necessary procedure before resorting to lethal force."

After doing all this, Lin Yu'an gripped the cold flint spear again, knowing full well that it was no different from a fire poker and would be practically useless against an adult polar bear.

As for his recurve longbow, he didn't even consider it. He only had two broad-nosed hunting arrows. Was he really going to hunt a polar bear that weighed several hundred kilograms and was bigger than a brown bear? That wasn't hunting; that was suicide.

He glanced at his hand instinctively. The spatial cheat he was unwilling to use in this Frozen Throne challenge was his last trump card for survival.

If all deterrence measures fail and the mother bear persists in her attack, he will have no choice but to resort to this power that does not belong to this world in order to survive.

"I hope it never comes to that," he said silently to himself.

After making thorough preparations, Lin Yu'an forced himself to calm down, returned to the observation post, and carefully observed, collected information, and assessed the threat level.

He observed for a full ten minutes, and the little guy kept struggling with the stone slab. His movements looked clumsy and weak, completely lacking the overwhelming power of an adult bear.

Moreover, and most importantly, apart from the tracks left by this little guy, there was no sign of any adult polar bear on the surrounding snow.

“Something’s not right…” Lin Yu’an frowned.

A cautious mother bear would never leave her cubs so unprotected in an open area when near human structures.

Lin Yu'an remained vigilant, standing like a statue at the observation post, focusing all his attention on the outside world.

But the enormous mother bear he had anticipated, the one that might burst out of the darkness at any moment, never appeared.

The little guy, after struggling with the stone slab for a long time, seemed to have exhausted his strength.

It lay helplessly beside the snow well, its body curled up in a ball. Instinctively, it dug a shallow snow pit and buried itself in it, with only a small tuft of white down sticking out.

"It's digging a snow cave, a natural behavior for bears to protect themselves from the cold wind when they have nowhere else to hide," Lin Yu'an explained quietly to the camera with a serious expression, his attention never wavering.

He didn't sleep; he spent the entire night keeping watch in the shelter.

All senses were activated to the extreme, like a fully drawn bowstring, ready to deal with any possible deadly threat.

As dawn broke, after several hours of surveillance and waiting, the imagined mother bear still hadn't appeared.

The first rays of the pale morning light finally allowed him to see the little guy clearly.

It is very small, estimated to be less than one meter long and weigh no more than fifteen kilograms.

Although its fur is fluffy, it cannot hide its thin skeleton. Its head is large in proportion to its body, and its muzzle is short. These are typical characteristics of cubs.

“Now we can make a more accurate judgment.” Lin Yu’an’s tone became very confident, like an experienced wildlife biologist beginning to provide popular science analysis.

"Judging from its size and development, it is about two to two and a half months old. This stage is the most vulnerable and most dependent period for polar bear cubs on their mothers."

“Polar bears have extremely strong maternal instincts, especially in the first year after their cubs are born. It is impossible for a cub that is only two months old to be separated from its mother for more than a few hours while foraging for food.” “Because it is too small, it has neither the ability to survive on its own nor the means to defend itself against predators. More importantly, it needs to eat high-fat breast milk every few hours to maintain its body temperature.”

“If a female polar bear is only hunting nearby, she will usually hide her cubs in a makeshift snow cave and will never stray far from her usual range.”

"It's impossible for a polar bear to leave its cubs exposed to the open snow all night; that doesn't make sense in its behavior."

Lin Yu'an's gaze swept across the desolate snow outside the shelter, where there were no other traces except for the little guy's messy footprints.

He slowly stated his conclusion: "There are probably only two possible explanations."

"First, and most likely, its mother met with misfortune. She may have been seriously injured while fighting a walrus during a hunt, or she may have fallen into an ice crevasse and never returned."

"The second possibility, which is more cruel, is that this frail cub has been abandoned by its mother."

"In situations of extreme food scarcity, mother bears sometimes make this painful but natural choice in order to ensure the survival of stronger offspring."

"Whichever possibility it is, it all points to the same fact: this little guy is now an orphan."

"It came to dig in his snow well last night only because it was attracted by the smell of food and was making its last struggle for survival."

A complex emotion filled Lin Yu'an's heart, as if he were thinking about his own upbringing. The fear he had felt before when facing apex predators had vanished.

After thinking for a long time, Lin Yu'an made a decision, took out the satellite phone, and pressed the emergency contact button.

This was the first time he had proactively contacted the program team since he started participating in the competition, but it wasn't to withdraw from the competition.

The call connected after a few beeps, and the voice of Mark, the show's executive producer, came through immediately, his tone filled with undisguised shock and a hint of disappointment.

"Lin? Is that you? My God, are you really going to use your only call for help at this time?" Mark spoke very quickly.

"Listen, there are only twenty days left! Twenty days, and you can win this challenge and make history! Are you really sure you want to withdraw now? What happened?"

Lin Yu'an could imagine Mark pacing anxiously in the control room, and calmly interrupted him: "Mark, listen to me, I don't want to withdraw from the competition."

"then you……"

“I just had a reason to make the call,” Lin Yu’an said in a low but unusually calm voice.

“Listen to me, there’s a polar bear outside my shelter.”

"WTF!" Mark's voice instantly jumped eight octaves, accompanied by a piercing noise in the background as a chair was violently pushed aside.

"What did you say? A polar bear? Lin, are you sure you're not kidding?! Listen, stay in the shelter right now and don't move an inch!"

"Do not go outside! You must use a bear gun and bear spray first. Do not shoot it with a bow and arrow!"

"Right now, open the first-aid kit provided by the production team, pry open the hidden compartment, and there's a large-caliber handgun inside."

"Mark! Calm down, let me finish!" Lin Yu'an emphasized, interrupting the other person's panic.

"It's not what you think. It's not an adult bear, it's a cub, very, very small, I estimate it's only two months old at most. But I didn't expect you guys to have a backup plan. Did all the contestants have pistols in their first aid kits?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, Mark was clearly processing the information, "Oh, f***ing, Lin, you scared me to death! A polar bear cub? Where's its mother?"

Lin Yu-an explained, "That's the crux of the problem. I observed her all night, for over six hours, but the mother bear never appeared."

“There were no traces of adult bears on the surrounding snow, only this cub. It is very weak now, curled up in the snow, and looks like it is about to freeze. I highly suspect that it is an abandoned or lost orphan.”

Mark let out a long sigh of relief, but his tone remained grave: "My God, Lin, this is just as tricky. Listen, you did the right thing, absolutely do not go near it."

"At the same time, you must always carry that handgun, and the GoPro must always be on. Never fire unless your life is threatened, and never actively hunt!"

"Polar bears are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and are strictly protected in Canada."

“We will contact Environment Canada and local wildlife conservation organizations immediately, but you should know that this will take time.”

"They need to coordinate and send a professional team over. At the most optimistic estimate, it will take at least two days to get to your location."

"Two days?" Lin Yu'an's heart sank.

“Mark, I don’t think it can last two days. In its current condition, it probably won’t even last two hours.”

“Lin, I know! But you have to hear me out!” Mark’s tone suddenly became extremely serious, and he warned him almost word by word.

“I understand how you feel, but you must understand what you will face if you act on your own. I will only say this once, so listen carefully.”

"If you touch it, you will be in violation of Canada's Wildlife Act. The production team will be prosecuted immediately! You will be subject to a huge fine, or even imprisonment, and then deported, never to be allowed to set foot in Canada again. This is the most serious offense, and there is no room for negotiation."

"Furthermore, as the producer, I am officially informing you that any unauthorized interference will be considered a serious violation, which means you will be immediately disqualified from the competition!"

"All your efforts over the past month will be wasted, and you won't get a single penny of bonus. The entire production team will also have its license revoked due to inadequate supervision, and everyone will be ruined along with you."

"Then, don't think that public opinion will be on your side, or that the whole world will see you as a hero. You're wrong! We'll all be caught in a media storm, and you'll be on the Canadian morning news."

“Countless experts and environmental organizations will accuse us of grandstanding, being unprofessional, and harming wild animals with unprofessional methods. They will call you a reckless person who ignores the rules, and you will be severely cyberbullied.”

"Lin, even if you are lucky enough to gain some support from public opinion, you will be sued and labeled as a troublemaker. Your future path as a wilderness survival blogger will become very difficult."

Mark took a deep breath, his tone softening slightly, but still full of warning.

"So, Lin, I'm begging you, for the sake of all of us, do nothing. Leave this to the professionals. This is an order, and also a piece of advice. Understand?"

“I understand,” Lin Yu’an replied softly, but his fingers gripping the phone tightened unconsciously.

He understood every word Mark said, and he also understood the heavy price behind each word.

When he hung up the phone, he looked again at the small figure shivering slightly in the cold wind outside the shelter.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

(Brothers, what should we do? I'm getting emotional, so I'll stop here. To save her or not to save her? Two outcomes, two different paths. Brothers, please give me some advice.)
(End of this chapter)