Chapter 234: Peeling off the cocoon
“Yes, sir. This leopard came to our door on its own. Can we just indulge it?”

Xiaowu also became excited. Among the five people in the room, even Yuefeng was seeing a leopard in the wild for the first time. The other three friends had never even seen a real leopard’s fur.

“Uncle, what do you think? This leopard is much more ferocious than a lynx. We have never fought one before, so we don’t know its habits!
You decide how to deal with it, and we will follow your command!”

Yue Feng did not rush to make a judgment, but gave the initiative to Uncle Zhao.

The good thing about Yue Feng is that he is willing to take responsibility for things that he knows about, but when faced with prey that he doesn’t know enough about, he won’t force himself to pretend to be a big-tailed eagle. This is his responsible attitude towards other members of the hunting team and the dogs.

After Uncle Zhao found the half tail, his face looked a little ugly, and he remained silent after entering the house, as if he was hesitating about something.

Facing Yue Feng’s question, Uncle Zhao said in a deep voice: “If I’m not mistaken, this leopard is following the scent to track down these five red dogs at home!
Compared with other fierce beasts like leopards, red dogs are naturally in a competitive position, but they can also be hunted by leopards. So whenever they meet, they usually fight to the death, or until one of them leaves completely!

Just like the relationship between the wolves on the Changbai Mountain and the Siberian tigers, there are no wolves in the tiger’s territory. Once the tiger finds wolves in its territory, it will either drive them away or fight to the death! “

“Do we dare to track this leopard with dogs during the day?” Yue Feng nodded after hearing what Uncle Zhao said and continued to ask.

Uncle Zhao shook his head slightly: “Simply tracking is meaningless! Leopards are very fast and can climb trees. If they are intentionally tracking, they can jump at least five or six meters with a leap after accumulating strength. Unless you are a very stubborn dog, it is very difficult to track a leopard!
In addition, even if the dog’s trail is good enough, human legs and feet cannot catch up with the leopard. The leopard’s five senses are very strong and it can hear the normal walking sounds in the woods hundreds of meters away. As long as it wants to hide, people can follow its trail for a whole day and still not be able to see its shadow!

Even if we have a dog gang, if we send the dogs out, it will basically be a waste!

Yesterday, my red dogs were lucky enough to survive. The leopard just didn’t want to get hurt. If they had only suffered minor injuries, these red dogs would have died!
In front of the leopard’s speed, whether it’s Red Dog or your hounds, there’s not much difference!”

“Then…what about an ambush?” Hearing this, Yue Feng was a little unsure.

Since we can neither release the dogs nor track the leopard, how can we kill it? After much calculation, it seems that the only option left is to wait for the rabbit to come and ambush it.

“If we want to capture this leopard, we have to ambush it! And the prerequisite is that it moves in a relatively fixed area. Otherwise, even if we ambush it, the chances are slim!

In my opinion, this beast has suffered a loss here, so it will definitely come back for revenge. If we want to capture it, it should be a protracted battle and it cannot be done in a day or two!

You guys go hunting in the mountains, you definitely can’t stay away from home for many days, so leave this to me, we’ll work it out!”

After listening to Uncle Zhao’s analysis, Xiao Tao and brothers Xiaowen and Xiaowu all wilted like eggplants hit by frost.

Originally I thought I could follow the old hunter and do something big, like shooting down a leopard. Then when I get back I can brag about it in front of my family and friends.

But now after listening to what Uncle Zhao said, the guys were a little frustrated. Facing this top predator, conventional means were of little use.

“Then…we won’t worry about this leopard anymore? Let’s continue to go to Luming Valley after daybreak?” Yue Feng asked again.

Uncle Zhao shook his head again: “If I want to take down this leopard, I need you guys to help me!
How about this, today during the day, you two will come with me and use the dog to track this leopard. We don’t ask to catch it or kill it, just to circle the area where it moves!

I don’t dare to track this thing alone. What if I get ambushed? I will be useless in front of the leopard!

You guys, stay one more night in the mountains. If we don’t have any useful gains today, let’s just ignore it for now. I’ll take you to Luming Valley tomorrow!”

“Okay, then I’ll follow your arrangements! Let’s circle the leopard’s activity area today! It would be best if we can catch it or get a chance to shoot it, but if not, forget it!” After hearing this, Yue Feng agreed without hesitation.

Seeing this, some people may ask, since dogs can’t track leopards at all, why do we still do it? What’s the purpose? What can we do if we know the activity area of ​​leopards? If we can’t meet them, it’s useless. It’s better to go hunting deer directly, the potential profit success rate is much more reliable.

This is wrong. The purpose of marking the leopard’s activity area is very simple. It is a process of preliminary investigation to demarcate a relatively vague area. In this area, the hunter will conduct a preliminary analysis based on personal experience and set up an ambush position in the most suitable place, so that he has a chance to catch the leopard.

Of course, all this is based on the premise that the leopard’s activity area is relatively fixed and it did not run away after being shot and having its tail broken. If the leopard knows that people are going to kill it in a big way and it runs away decisively, even the most powerful hunter will be helpless against this leopard in the old forest.

“Let’s decide it this way for now. There’s still some time before dawn, so you guys should get some more sleep. This leopard suffered a loss tonight and it will definitely not come again!” said Uncle Zhao.

“it is good!”

Yue Feng responded, put down his gun and lay back on the floor. Xiao Tao and Xiao Wu beside him tossed and turned. Needless to say, they couldn’t sleep.

Yue Feng didn’t care whether his companions were still asleep or not. He wrapped himself in a thick sheepskin coat and soon fell asleep again.

As expected, the leopard never dared to come back until dawn. Uncle Zhao got up in the morning to cook for everyone. Yue Feng heard the noise and got up early.

After going out to get some water, Yue Feng held his hands and walked towards the place where he had broken the leopard’s tail last night.

After all, the dim light of the flashlight has limited brightness for seeing things at night. Now that it is bright outside, Yue Feng wants to observe the scene again for analysis.

Soon, Yue Feng found the bloodstains of the broken tail and the leopard’s footprints. Yue Feng walked around along the location of the footprints and sorted out the approximate movement path of the leopard last night.

It was exactly the same as what Uncle Zhao analyzed. This leopard was definitely coming for the five red dogs in the house.

The leopard’s footprints circled the cellar at least three or four times, and the circle became smaller and smaller. The area near the low fence was the closest to the cellar.

Circling around and observing outside did not attract the dog’s attention, but when it got near the fence, it was discovered by Yue Feng’s dog gang, which led to the dog calling the police in the middle of the night.

In other words, the objective structural conditions of the cellar were not suitable for firing guns. If the cellar had two slightly larger windows, the shooting sight was slightly better, and the three guns were quietly set up and fired together, it would have been difficult for the leopard to escape last night. It would have been destroyed if it had been hit by a single shot!
The tiger is a creature that perfectly combines strength and agility. The older generation praises it for being the best in everything except its inability to fly.

This leopard is definitely inferior to the tiger in terms of strength and size. It has high agility and strong burst, but its overall quality is not strong. Except for its tail, it will be injured if it is shot anywhere on its body!
Back in the house, Uncle Zhao’s rice was almost ready. “How is it, did you find any useful information?” Uncle Zhao asked as he put firewood under the stove.

“I discovered something! The leopard was outside the cellar and circled around it several times before getting close to the fence! There are also footprints behind the cellar!
I was lurking on the east side of the cellar, but I accidentally got too close and startled the dog tied to the door. After escaping temporarily, I returned to the fence! As a result, I was shot by you!
Judging from the traces, it is completely consistent with your previous analysis. This leopard came here to attack Red Dog!” Yue Feng repeated his findings and judgment.

Uncle Zhao nodded and said, “We missed one thing last night. I just remembered it when I was lighting the fire!”

“What’s going on?”

“This leopard has a cub. Perhaps we can take advantage of this opportunity and do something with it!”

“Ok?”

“The cubs of wild animals also have natural enemies, such as adult wild boars. So when the mother leopard goes out to hunt for food, she will find a relatively safe place to hide her cubs! If we can find the place where the cubs are hidden and find a way to catch them or control them, then this leopard will be safe!”

“The leopard cub will climb up a tree. If it really wants to hide, we have nowhere to find it.”

“That’s impossible. It’s over 20 degrees below zero now. Although I can climb trees, it’s too cold up there. It’s OK to hide there temporarily, but I can’t stand it for a long time!

More suitable hiding places are tree holes, holes in the ground, and places where the wind blows from fallen trees!
When we go up the mountain to track them down, pay special attention to these small terrains. If there is any suspicious place, I will set a trap for it!”

“Okay!” Yue Feng nodded, and the battle plan was decided.

After waiting for a while, the corn porridge in the pot was ready. Yue Feng called his friends and they ate normally. Then they fed the dog and the eagle, and went into the forest early in the morning fully armed with guns on their backs.

The four dogs were all tied with ropes around their necks, with the two more adept dogs, Da Huang and Hei Lang, leading the way. They followed the traces and scent of the leopard from last night and tracked it through the forest.

This chase lasted the entire morning.

It must be said that the leopard moved over a very wide range. Taking the main ridge of Woniu Mountain as the base, it made a big circle. Yue Feng and his companions followed the dog over mountains and ridges, and crossed at least four ridges.

Near noon, Dahuang and Heilang led everyone to the place where Leopard and Red Dog had fought yesterday. The bloodstains on the snow had not completely disappeared yet, and if you look closely, you can still see some traces.

“The conflict between the red dog and the leopard broke out nearby yesterday! The red dog with its belly ripped open was found in front!” Uncle Zhao’s words also verified Yue Feng’s guess.

Yue Feng looked around and found no special terrain on the ground. Because of what Uncle Zhao said in the morning about the little leopard’s hiding place, Yue Feng looked up and observed the surrounding trees.

After such observation, Yue Feng actually found a suspicious place.

“Uncle, come and take a look!” Yue Feng shouted at Uncle Zhao, and soon the old man came over with a gun on his back.

“What’s wrong?”

“Look at this tree, this should be an abandoned bear warehouse, right?” Yue Feng said, pointing to a tree hole a few meters high on the trunk of a poplar tree.

Uncle Zhao looked up and nodded, “I killed bears in this barn two years ago. No new bears have come here since then. It’s an old barn now!”

Yue Feng wanted to go under the tree to take a look, but was stopped by Uncle Zhao.

“Don’t move, let me take a look!” Uncle Zhao squatted down and observed it very carefully.

After a night of northwest wind, the snow had blown away most of the slight traces.

However, with Uncle Zhao’s keen eyes, two relatively complete footprints were found.

“You guessed it right! This tree hole should be where the leopard cub is hiding! Now everything fits in!”

“How to say?”

“The mother leopard was worried about her cubs and didn’t want to expose her hiding place, so she didn’t want to fight and deliberately lured the red dog away from the nearby area. Look at the direction of these two claw marks, they are the same direction the two leopards fled after I chased them with a gun yesterday!

In other words, the mother leopard led the red dog away, the little leopard crawled out of the tree hole, and then the two leopards ran away together!”

Everything in the world has its own underlying operating rules. The reason why we cannot see them is probably because we don’t have enough details.

Yesterday, Uncle Zhao was worried about the injuries of his red dogs, so he certainly didn’t look at the traces on the ground very carefully, and naturally missed some information. Now, after reviewing it again, he has completely figured out the whole story.

“Then, will they continue to use this tree hole? The leopard cub is not still hiding in this tree hole, right? Look at the entrance of the hole, there is no frost or snow!” Xiao Tao couldn’t help but ask.

“Leopards are very smart, they must have more than one hiding place! But this place can’t be wasted! I’ll set a few traps for it and try my luck! You all step back and take the dog away! Leopards can smell the scent of dogs, and if you’re cautious, they won’t dare to get close to you!”

While he was talking, Uncle Zhao started to get busy. He took out a few thin ropes with a greasy glow from his bag, and then cut a few wooden sticks that were as thick as arms and more than one meter long in the distance, and set up the lasso bit by bit.

This is a trigger-type lasso, with one end tied to a wooden stick and the other end fixed under a tree. It is lifted up with a few inconspicuous twigs, and then a lasso is set. If the mechanism is stepped on, the lasso will be tightened and the prey’s feet will be tied.

The wooden stick is not too heavy, but it is a bit long. Even if the prey can be dragged away, it will not go far before being blocked by the trees. The design of this noose is much more sophisticated than that of ordinary noose.

I didn’t even have breakfast this morning. I got up from bed and rushed out 4,000 words and posted them first. If everything goes well, I will delay it for another day tomorrow. I will be able to resume normal updates the day after tomorrow.
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(End of this chapter)