Jinya sat a little closer to the fire so the warmth could reach its fur.
It lazily yawned, having rested enough, stood up, shook its fur, stretched its front and back, and after a wonderfully satisfying stretch, dashed into the woods.
The unfamiliar leopard watched for a while, then decisively followed.
A group of people gathered around eating instant noodles, chatting about the topic of the New Year.
This was the last field survey of this large natural reserve before the New Year. From the end of December to February the following year, the mountains would be covered with snow, and even the seasoned hunters wouldn't dare to enter. The vast expanse of white snow wasn't just a risk for snow blindness, but also presented the danger of missteps. If unlucky, an avalanche could get them too, and that would be the end.
Even if all these could be avoided, temperatures below minus thirty degrees and ultra-low oxygen levels could easily cause fatal hypothermia with just one careless moment.
In short, after this survey, until February next year, this would be the most relaxed time for these consecutive natural reserves.
However, the most relaxed time doesn't mean there's nothing to do. On the contrary, Chen Ying and those involved in rescue work might be even busier.
Because animals lacking food could very well come down the mountain and invade human-populated areas, preying on poultry and livestock, which could easily lead to injuries on both sides.
The current investigation data from the M Alliance shows that in sixty percent of the national natural reserves, biodiversity is restoring, and population numbers are also increasing.
However, compared to the top predators of the food chain, the population of rodents and wild boars, rabbits, which form the base of the food chain, are growing too fast.
The rapid increase in small mammal numbers has a significant impact on local plants, and plants are closely related to the natural ecological environment. Therefore, controlling the growth of small and medium-sized mammals and promoting the increase in the number of top predators are issues to be addressed next.
"Currently, one of our suggestions is to increase the number of released animals from other locations."
In the past, rescued animals were typically released back to where they were saved.
But now, with the support of big data, it is entirely possible to carry out similar releases in different locations within the ecological environment to promote the expansion of large carnivore territories.
Especially in some places where only single-gender animals are observed, artificial intervention is entirely feasible, releasing a batch of different-gender predators to promote natural breeding, thereby achieving the goal of natural reproduction and expansion.
The most well-known case before was the "Mountain God Return" in Changbai Mountain.
For several years, there were only bachelor male tigers wandering in the forest.
Until a female tiger traveled a thousand miles in October to this unfamiliar land to breed, continuing a nearly extinct wild Northeast Tiger population.
In fact, other top predator populations face similar dilemmas.
Years ago, the development of human society came at the expense of the environment, fragmenting the animals' habitats.
Highways and high-speed railways cut off the natural reproduction paths that animals followed for millions of years.
Fortunately, in recent years, humans have realized this and started to repair these corridors.
Lately, there have often been news reports about certain animals appearing in certain areas for the first time in many years.
These are all good news, at least showing that efforts have not been in vain.
"Speaking of which, when I came, I heard that the macaques were overpopulated in the neighboring reserve, even gathering around when the villagers slaughtered pigs for the New Year, with peak numbers reaching over a hundred. Those guys not only destroy crops but also injure people, invade homes to steal things, and even kill poultry. I've heard that the villagers there have reported it to the local authorities, hoping for a resolution."
To be honest, monkeys are really hard to deal with, after all, there aren't many animals that eat monkeys.
Like tigers or leopards, do they eat macaques? If they're starving, they might, but generally, they're not keen on hunting monkeys. They're hard to catch, not much meat, macaque troops hold grudges, and there are so many of them. With that effort, they might as well catch a sheep or a deer, better food and less dangerous.
Actually, humans pose the greatest threat to macaques, but even the poorest monkeys are classified as Second Nation creatures, so no one dares to attack these little creatures that invoke both anger and affection.
"Monkeys are one issue, and there are also wild boars." A young man nearby chimed in, "My family is also in Sichuan Province, but near the Qinling border. Wild boars are rampant there, and just the other day nearly hit a school kid."
"Isn't it said that wild boars have been removed from the 'three have' list already?"
"They've been removed, and there are quotas for hunting boars, but the problem is that there are not many people who can hunt wild boars, added weapon restrictions, and the pay isn't much. It's said that the bid went unfulfilled during the tendering process."
At this point, Jiamu Gully's Forest Police, Xiao Liu, looked at Chen Ying, "Brother Ying, if a cat team could be formed and you could lead them, I guess it wouldn't take much effort to finish the task."
"Yeah, with Dr. Chen's skills, if he's allowed to bring the big cats to hunt wild boars, it might really work."
Everyone laughed jovially, making the atmosphere relaxed and lively.
Then the young man from beside the Qinling Mountains came closer.
"Brother Ying, do you have any way to help eradicate some of the wild boars? Our village is really in trouble. If possible, I'll talk to the village to see what we might need, and we can provide whatever we can."