NOVPUBThe Tibetan fox mother had no major issues, it was just that a few days ago, while hunting prey in the snow to feed her children, she caught a cold.
It made sense, after all, a mother eats until she's full and then catches a ground squirrel or wild rabbit to satisfy two kids.
But she had to catch three.
Exhaustion, lack of physical strength, and inefficient hunting kept her lying in the snow for a long time, not catching a cold would have been surprising given her status as the mother of six cubs.
Taking her kids to a herdsman's firewood house, she probably felt it was warmer, closer to humans, and more convenient to obtain food.
The Protection Station provided her with a bowl of minced meat. The Tibetan fox mother gulped it down in one go, but still seemed a bit unfulfilled.
Yet, she didn't ask for more. After Chen Ying placed her on the platform at the doghouse door, she sniffed around, quickly curled up, and fell asleep.
Food and sleep are the best choices for wild animals to restore their energy.
The playful cubs returned, sensing their mother's smell, and each nudged to nurse, but Chen Ying mercilessly locked them up in another small room in the doghouse.
With the door locked, she was done.
A doghouse two stories high was enough for the six cubs to frolic in.
They weren't really hungry; it was just habitual wanting to latch on for a bit.
The Tibetan fox mother had just taken medicine; she couldn't nurse, at least she had to recover a bit more.
In the evening, calling the Protection Station to pick up the fox, the herdsman brought half a bag of meat, saying it was to help the Tibetan fox mother regain her strength.
"Dr. Xiao Liu, once they recover, send them back to our area. With them around, those damned rodents and rabbits won't be able to destroy the grassland anymore."
Although Tibetan foxes also live in burrows, they aren't very good at digging and usually just "borrow" the burrows of rabbits and ground squirrels.
Even recently, Mountain Patrol Team members discovered a phenomenon of Tibetan foxes and Desert Cats cohabitating in a cave.
According to the current regulations, Jinya, Little Jin, and Little Lynx must undergo a thirty-day quarantine upon arriving at the River Source Protection Station.
But quarantine doesn't mean no work.
The day they were quarantined, Chen Ying established observation files, arranging for someone to record their daily food, water, excretion, and activities.
Knowing Jinya was uncomfortable, Chen Ying spent two to three hours every day with them.
Luckily, having Little Jin there made the days not so difficult as they had a companion.
Little Lynx's condition was really bad for the first seven days—back in Jiamu Gully, it was everyone's darling and Xiao Shen clung to it every day, afraid its heart couldn't take the strain.
It was only after Chen Ying returned and "had a talk" that he stopped such rule-breaking behavior.
After living in the isolation ward for half a month, Little Lynx's condition normalized.
The heart specialist arrived the second day they were there, stayed for four days, and gave specific treatment plans for both lynxes and one snow leopard.
Surgery for the younger Lynx wasn't needed yet—the expert also said that even if done, the chance of returning to the wild wouldn't exceed thirty percent.
It wasn't worth the gamble.
But the odds for Little Lynx were much higher; being young and with a different condition, early treatment intervention meant that in three years when it reached maturity, it could survive in the wild.
Though its lifespan might be a little shorter compared to its peers.
It was a philosophical issue. 𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑝𝘶𝘣.𝑐𝘰𝘮
A normal wild animal encountering a stronger one could die young even without illness.
The one to undergo surgery was the older snow leopard.
The operation was very successful; unexpectedly, it would probably live several years longer than its wild counterparts.
Although the expected two surgeries were reduced to one, Chen Ying felt this trip was worthwhile.
He exchanged contact information with the expert, planning to consult further on heart surgery.
Chen Ying, proficient in traditional Chinese medicine care, also provided his recommendations for the recuperation of Elder Snow Leopard.
This integration of Chinese and Western medicine is also practiced in human hospitals, with post-surgery patients choosing Chinese medicine or healthcare departments more frequently.
Chen Ying had to oversee the daily condition, medication, and check-ups for the three animals, keeping a tight schedule.
Unknowingly, it had been almost a month since arriving at River Source.
As the quarantine was about to end, the perioperative care for Elder Snow Leopard was also successfully concluded.
"The final check-up results are out; all indicators are good, just that the blood lipids are a bit high, and there's mild fatty liver."
The keepers couldn't help but laugh while caring for Elder Snow Leopard.
"This big guy is now so lazy, just short of having us feed him and provide water directly to his mouth. The expert advised him to start moving half a month after the surgery, but guess what, he moves for five minutes and rests for two hours!"
"That won't do, we need to get him moving."
Chen Ying looked at the results, smiled, and shook his head, "Being too fat isn't good for him. I'll discuss with Director Yin later to see how we can make sure he stays active every day."
There's no rush with this; Chen Ying is now eager to find Jinya and then, before the New Year, conduct the first phase of the environmental adaptation tests.
Though the quarantine animal shed has an indoor and outdoor structure, the outdoor area is enclosed with iron cages, ensuring they can't leave.
Being confined for a month, Jinya was nearly berserk.
During the last week, Chen Ying moved his bed to the corridor outside the indoor section of the quarantine animal shed, spending each day with Jinya through the glass wall, barely managing to soothe its agitated temper.
"Are you planning to take them to the Unfrozen River Protection Station?"
"Yes, I've promised to check on Er Niu, and I don't know how long I will be gone. I can't rest easy if I don't bring them along. Besides, you can't keep an eye on them anyway."
It's better to bring Jinya and Little Jin along rather than letting them stay in an unfamiliar place and risk danger; it'd be more convenient to help them if something happened.
Yin Li couldn't accompany him, and he also didn't feel comfortable letting him drive alone, so he found an off-duty staff member to drive the car there and then come back, offering a private reward.
Chen Ying was generous and agreeable, and Yin Li was also a well-liked small leader. The staff member he asked didn't even think twice and agreed right away.
It turned out that his wife's parents lived over there. After discussing, he decided to take his wife and child to visit them.
The child was only ten months old and sat in the backseat with his mother, who held him as he looked at Little Jin through the window glass, constantly saying "meow" and laughing with drooling joy.
Jinya was originally sleeping upstairs but came down close to the glass when she heard someone tapping on it and opened her mouth wide in a roar.
The child was so scared that he scooted back onto his mother's arms.
Everyone thought he would start crying, but the little guy paused for a second, then stood up himself and pressed against the glass; his chubby face all squished up.
"Meow, meow, meow~~"
Seeing his anxiousness, it seemed like he wished he could crawl through the small window and bury himself in Jinya's fur.
Jinya had never seen such a small two-legged beast cub before, and it was extremely intrigued.
It squatted behind the small window, making eye contact with the little cub.
When the cub patted the window, it also stretched out its paw to pat it back.
Seeing the Big Cat play with him, the child got even more excited, constantly squirming his little legs and loudly trying to crawl through, his mother nearly unable to hold him.
Upon arriving at their destination and regardless of the child's fuss, his mom firmly carried him away.
Chen Ying had said he would drop them off at the herders' settlement, but right as they reached the Unfrozen River Protection Station, they saw a car waiting there.
Uncle Tashi from Budong River came over to help park the car in the yard and called someone to help push Jinya and Little Jin's transshipment cage to the temporary containment area behind.
There isn't a dedicated rescue and containment area here at Budong River; normally, the animals that are rescued and don't have any issues are directly released back into the wild, and those with problems are transferred to other equipped centers for care.
Chen Ying had already informed them that he would be bringing the lynx and the Golden Cat, allowing Uncle Tashi and the deputy director to prepare the place in advance.
"This year, the conditions have improved a lot, we have solar panels and wind power equipment, and we can now equip rooms with electric heating. However, everyone is still quite economical; during the day, when there's nothing to do, everyone gathers in the lounge for warmth."
Since the power supply was continuous, the small shop's business wasn't affected, and the families who were supposed to have returned stayed.
"The wind and snow have been quite heavy these days, it's inconvenient to travel on the road, and a few trucks are temporarily parked across. I guess they will be leaving tomorrow."
Chen Ying was well-prepared and wore three layers of thermal clothing inside and out; even so, he could still feel the biting cold wind.
I am a bit worried about Er Niu—the silly older sister—and wonder if she has found a place to overwinter.
With such harsh snow and wind, how successful is hunting, and are they going hungry?
After coming out from the warm car, Little Jin seemed completely drained.
Its fur really doesn't keep heat well.
After getting used to it for a while, however, Jinya's innate genes that fear no cold were activated by the snow; seeing the thick ice and snow filled it with an urge to run around wildly.
(She, she. the Big Cat and Bai Xue match the best)
Chen Ying didn't dare to let it run too far and put a collar on it just to get some activity nearby.
Little Jin didn't go out, being afraid of the cold; it directly slept in the insulated bed on the warming panel.
Jinya is a sensible little girl and had never seen such a vast meadow; she was very excited yet hadn't forgotten about the two-legged beasts and little friends back home. She took a stroll outside and returned before it got dark.
Chen Ying recorded Jinya's movement trajectory.
The furthest it ran was less than five kilometers, circled around twice, paused somewhere in the middle, and then came straight home.
Chen Ying came to the animal shed holding a food bowl, only to see Little Jin intently feasting.
Jinya softly called out to him twice, indicating it would take responsibility for bringing prey back for Little Jin and ensure it wouldn't go hungry.
The high mountain meadow in Jiamu Gully also had ground squirrels, but not as plump as on the Budong River side.
Having finished one squirrel, Little Jin was quite full but still piled the rubbish together for Chen Ying to clean out.
In the wild, these remains wouldn't need to be handled, and in no time, not even bone scraps would be left.
Little Jin stayed indoors for most of the day, gradually getting used to the climate.
It didn't venture too far out, just moved around in the small courtyard outside the animal shed.
Jiamu Gully couldn't boast such thick snow. Besides, Golden Cats are tree-dwellers and even if they hunt on the ground, they wouldn't be active in snow where one wrong step could bury them.
Zhaxi came by and watched for a while, then called Chen Ying over.
"Is this the Golden Cat you mentioned? We might have seen such cats on our side."
Zhaxi said that last year during the New Year, he saw this kind of cat while riding a horse at the foot of the mountain.
"I think it looks like one, but I'm not sure."
Chen Ying got a bit curious and asked a few more questions.
From the records, it appears there are Golden Cats in the Tibetan Region, but those are near the lush, sparsely populated Yarlung Zangbo River Grand Canyon area, one of the few regions where animal ecology is well-preserved.
But in high-altitude grassland desert areas, there seems to be no recorded sightings of Golden Cats.
Chen Ying had an idea stirring in his mind.
