Wandering America: My kill threshold is far ahead

Chapter 258 First Encounter with a Black Bear, No Way Out

Having weathered the most challenging infrastructure phase, Ma Jie felt much more relaxed and began interacting with the audience more frequently.

They chatted and laughed all the way, traveling light and stealthily, and soon arrived at the trap zone that had been set up earlier.

"Wow, they actually have some!"

From a distance, he could see a hairy creature hanging from the gallows trap.

It looked like it had just been triggered; the prey itself was still very energetic, its two powerful hind legs kicking back and forth, trying to break free of its restraints.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a robust white-tailed rabbit. This type of rabbit is the most common rabbit species in the forests of northern Canada. It is known for its alertness and speed, and it has explosive power when encountering danger, allowing it to easily escape the pursuit of various natural enemies such as eagles, foxes, lynxes, and wolves.

However, it could only accept its bad luck in the face of humans, the top predators.

After "rescuing" the prey from the lock, tying its head up, and stuffing it into his backpack, Ma Jie couldn't help but beam with joy: "Thank goodness, family, it's not anything weird. Looks like we've got dinner sorted for tonight."

"What? You're saying bunnies are so cute, why would you eat them?" In response to some trolling comments, Ma Jieke laughed and replied, "Everyone loves bunnies in different ways. I just like them braised."

After that little prank, Ma Jie went to check the other traps, and as expected, the pressure plate trap was triggered again.

The one pressed under the stone slab is most likely Jiangdong Jerry again. These rats that are active in the woods seem to have a particular fondness for stepping on traps.

Just as he bent down to lift the stone slab, he suddenly heard a series of heavy footsteps, accompanied by the cracking sound of dry leaves and twigs being crushed.

Upon hearing this unusual noise, Ma Jiek almost instinctively stepped back, one hand already reaching for his hunting bow behind his back.

Ever since his prey was stolen by a fox last time, he learned his lesson and now always carries a bow and arrows whenever he goes out to hunt, both for the convenience of hunting and to ensure his own safety.

But the animal that appeared in his field of vision the next second startled him, and at the same time, made him feel a little dumbfounded.

On the grass not far away, a fluffy little bear was waddling around, searching for food.

It walked slowly and somewhat clumsily, its wet nose always close to the ground, as if searching for something, so much so that it didn't even notice Ma Jack's presence.

Looking at the viewers in the live stream, they were all excited as if they were having an orgasm.

"Go for it, Jack! What are you waiting for? Hit the bear and you're done for."

"Whether you can unlock the bear hunting achievement depends on how accurate your archery is."

"It's time to show off your real skills!"

Seeing these crazy comments, Ma Jieke smiled helplessly: "Don't be ridiculous, this is just a bear cub, not an adult black bear. You're forcing me to make a mistake."

The reason for this attitude is not out of fear or cowardice, but because the production team has a rule that, in principle, no animal cubs can be hunted. Otherwise, it will violate local laws and result in huge fines. If the animal killed is a protected species, it could also lead to imprisonment.

Of course, even without this regulation, from the perspective of hunting ethics alone, Majac would not attack first.

Hunting ethics is a set of guidelines that govern the behavior of hunters before, during, and after a hunt.

It goes beyond simple laws and regulations, emphasizing respect for nature, life, and tradition.

To give a simple example, if prey is wounded and escapes, the hunter has an undeniable responsibility to do everything in his power to track down and kill it, so that it does not die in prolonged suffering.

Abandoning the pursuit of wounded prey is also one of the most unethical behaviors of a hunter.

Not killing young animals is naturally included in hunting ethics. Unless it is for self-preservation, no one with normal thinking and logic would do anything to harm young animals.

After explaining it to the audience, most of those who were initially unaware of the concept quickly accepted it and developed a greater respect for him.

In Ma Jieke's view, he is the only Chinese contestant, and to put it bluntly, he represents the Chinese people to some extent.

Therefore, we must never do anything that would bring shame to the village.

However, one thing is one thing, and he will not give up such a great opportunity to gain fans and record high-quality material.

The camera zoomed in for a close-up, showing the entire process of the bear foraging for food.

The little guy looked like he was starving. He walked left and right, then suddenly stopped and frantically scratched at the rotten wood on the ground with his front paws. Wood chips and dirt flew everywhere. Hidden under the rotten wood was a large ant nest.

It eagerly stuck out its tongue and greedily licked the panicked ant colony.

Black bears are omnivorous and theoretically eat almost anything, but if you had to rank them, their favorite food would be insects.

Many people think that bears love to eat bees, but that's not the case. What bears are really interested in are the high-protein larvae and pupae in the hive. Honey is just a side dish.

After eating the ant nest clean, the little bear cub's face was covered with wood chips and dirt, making it look both disheveled and adorable.

However, for the bear, these ants were not even enough to fill its teeth. It shook its head and moved forward, quickly entering the trap area.

"Oh no, my little hamster!"

Ma Jieke then realized that he hadn't had time to collect the rice yet.

Despite my aversion to rodents, they're still meat, even if they're small, and it's better than nothing.

But it's too late to say anything now. Relying on his keen sense of smell, the guy walked straight toward the trap.

"Hey, get out of here, this isn't a place for you."

Seeing this, Ma Jie became furious and tried to drive away the uninvited guest by shouting.

My buddy went through all that trouble to set up this trap, and just when we were about to get to the settlement screen, you came up here and tried to dine and dash?

Why should I?!

However, there is a certain amount of dramatization involved, which is more about creating program effects.

When the little bear heard the shout, it looked up at him, but instead of being scared away, it completely ignored him.

*Smack!* A hand ripped away the stone slab covering the ground, revealing a peaceful chipmunk lying underneath, smashed into pieces by the slab.

"You fucking can't understand human language, huh? I'm telling you to get the hell out of here!"

Seeing this, Ma Jieke was furious. He picked up a small stone from the ground and threw it at the creature.

Thump... The stone hit the bear cub, but the bear didn't react at all, continuing to enjoy the "gift" from nature.

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This thing has extremely high defense; its thick fur and subcutaneous fat layer can effectively weaken various physical attacks.

Back then, Wu Song was lucky to encounter a tiger on Jingyang Ridge. If he had encountered a bear, he probably wouldn't have been able to break through the shield.

Seeing his exasperated expression, and then looking at the adorable little black bear, the viewers in the live stream burst into laughter.

"Are you trying to make me laugh, Jack? They're completely ignoring you."

"Little Bear: Where did this big idiot come from, spouting nonsense?"

"Hurry up and leave, streamer. Don't make a fool of yourself here. You'll know what's what once you got bitten."

"Haha, who posted this free buffet ad? What good will it do you to laugh at me?"

"Little Bear: I'll eat it, what can you do about it? Come and hit me if you dare, hehehe."

Watching the chipmunk being devoured as a snack, Ma Jie said speechlessly, "Fine, I'll let you off this time since you're so immature. I won't stoop to the level of a brat. Just wait until you grow up and don't mess with me, or I'll make you understand: just because I'm not showing my teeth doesn't mean I'm some kind of Hello Kitty."

After using the bear for the sake of the show's effect, Ma Jieke decided to return to the shelter. He was considering not only the popularity of the live stream, but also how much screen time the editors would give him after the show officially aired.

Simply put, the higher the quality of the materials you submit, the higher your exposure will be—that's undeniable.

"Goodbye, little one, I'm leaving."

Ma Jie waved his hand dismissively, regardless of whether the other person could understand him or not.

Although I had previously acquired a skill called "Animal Companion," after many attempts, I discovered that it was only useful for communicating and interacting effectively with Bruce, and not very useful for other animals.

[Animal Companions]: You can now try to communicate with animals. The effectiveness of the communication depends on your level of intimacy with the animal.

According to the skill description, communication efficiency is directly proportional to intimacy level. In other words, without intimacy, it's like talking to a brick wall.

Just as he was about to make a safe evacuation, he suddenly felt a slight tremor beneath his feet, and at the same time, an ominous premonition welled up in his heart.

In the field of vision, a huge adult black bear emerged from the forest, its thick black fur revealing rock-like muscles.

With each step it took, its large bear paws crushed the thick layer of fallen leaves and dead branches, transmitting the force further to the earth, and a clear resonance could be felt underfoot.

Ma Jieke's first reaction was not fear, but a sense of disorientation as if his cognition had been overturned.

My previous concept of "big" collapsed at this moment.

This isn't a clumsy bear locked in a zoo cage; it's a walking mountain of flesh.

When it saw a strangely shaped, mysterious creature standing not far from the cub, it suddenly quickened its pace and let out a low, angry roar.

It's important to know that bears are solitary animals. Only during the breeding season will males and females stay together briefly for mating, after which they will separate.

If two bears appear at the same time, there is most likely only one possibility: the mother bear is living with her cubs, usually one to three.

The cubs will learn survival skills from their mothers. After about two and a half years of practice, the mother bear will disperse the cubs and let them live independently.

To put it another way, this is no different from how humans raise their offspring. If you approach someone else's child in this situation, who would consider you a friend?

Seeing the mother bear's eagerness to protect her cubs, Ma Jieke's heart skipped a beat. He tried to move his legs and run away, but his feet seemed to be glued to the ground, and he couldn't move at all.

In addition to the suffocating sense of oppression from the massive object, there's also a hidden protective mechanism at work.

Before participating in "Living Alone in the Wilderness," the program team released data showing that the number of black bears on Caribou Island had surged to more than 4.

Therefore, encountering a bear in this place is perfectly normal; not encountering one is a rare occurrence.

To ensure everyone's safety, head coach Lehman Stein devised a self-rescue plan and instructed the athletes to...

It is familiar to me.

The most important of these is overcoming instinct.

When faced with deadly danger, the first reaction of most humans is to turn around and run away.

Little did you know that this played right into the animal's hands. Animals have a chasing instinct, and when they see you carrying them, they will chase after you without hesitation.

Most children who were bitten by dogs when they were young did so because they ran away with their backs turned.

So here's the question: I can't outrun a dog, but I can't outrun a clumsy bear?

This thing doesn't look like a running animal at all. In people's stereotypes, bears are synonymous with clumsiness.

But in reality, black bears can run incredibly fast, completely defying human perception; their running speeds can reach 45-55 km/h.

It can travel at speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour in a short burst, equivalent to a car traveling at high speed in a city.

Usain Bolt, the king of human sprinting, only reached a peak speed of 45 kilometers per hour.

Please note that this data is theoretical only, only calculating his sprint speed and not considering endurance. In reality, the speed will decrease slightly after 80 meters.

A black bear can run 3000 meters at a constant speed!

This means that even if Bolt ran himself to death, he still couldn't outrun a black bear.

What about an ordinary human versus a black bear? To put it bluntly, they're not much different from a snail.

Since I can't outrun them, can I climb trees? Sorry, black bears are born with the ability to climb trees; whether they are cubs or adults, they can quickly climb trees.

Okay, you can climb trees, so can I go into the water?

No, that won't work either, because black bears can not only swim, but also catch fish.

Okay, sprinting, tree climbing, and swimming have all been completely outmatched. It seems there's no other good way to survive except to lie on the ground and play dead.

Movies and TV shows often feature scenes where humans pretend to be dead to fool bears.

In reality, playing dead is an extremely dangerous act, and it only works on brown bears and grizzly bears, not black bears.

This involves an advanced skill: you must be able to accurately distinguish between defensive attacks and predatory attacks.

Defensive attacks usually occur when there is an unexpected encounter, such as when a mother bear with her cubs is encountered at close range, or when a bear is disturbed while it is eating.

In this state, the bear attacks to eliminate the threat, not to eat you.

Specific signs may include: ears pressed back against the head, emitting low growls or hissing sounds, teeth chattering, head bobbing up and down, and feinting attacks such as charging forward and then retreating.

If it is confirmed to be a defensive attack, immediately lie face down on the ground, spread your elbows, and use your arms and hands to protect vital areas such as your head, neck, and face.

Even if you are dragged by a bear, do not struggle, do not move, and do not make a sound.

A bear might come over and sniff you, or even paw at you, to determine if you pose a threat.

If you don't move, it will usually leave on its own once it feels the threat has been eliminated.

This process is extremely long and terrifying; those who are not mentally strong may very well perish in the bear's jaws.

In conclusion, playing dead is a completely unprofitable tactic. It's difficult enough to predict an attack pattern, and even if you do, you still have to lie on the ground and take the hit, which greatly increases the chance of getting injured.

However, if you encounter a black bear, playing dead won't work, because black bears are opportunistic and change their diet according to the seasons.

If a black bear suddenly attacks you, it is very likely a predatory attack; it has mistaken you for prey.

Playing dead in this situation is like packaging yourself as "takeout".