Since Zhang Zian was carrying a lot of things this time, it would be very troublesome to call a taxi. After lunch, Wang Qian drove Zhang Zian to Binhai Airport in the Wuling Hongguang.
"Master, do you need me to help you move your things in? It's not convenient for you to do it alone, right? "Wang Qian asked.
The Holy Cat statue was too heavy. In addition, Zhang Zian's own luggage, drone suitcase, accessory suitcase, pan-tilt camera suitcase, and the small bag with the infrared trigger camera were all unloaded from the car and piled up into a small mountain of luggage. It was a headache to look at it. No matter what, it was impossible to move it in all at once. If it was left outside without anyone guarding it, what if it was stolen? Moreover, Zhang Zian still had to go through the pet consignment procedures for Famous.
Zhang Zian glanced around and said, "It's okay. You can go back. Someone is coming to pick me up."
Wang Qian poked his head out of the car window and saw a middle-aged man in simple clothes walking over quickly with three young men of different sizes. It was Professor Wei Kang and his three male disciples. They had arrived first and knew that Zhang Zian had a lot of luggage. They let the only female disciple, He He, be responsible for guarding the luggage in the departure lounge while the four of them came to pick him up.
"Okay, then Master, take care. Have a safe trip." Wang Qian waved his hand and drove the Wuling Hongguang back to the pet shop.
Wei Kang and the others walked in front of Zhang Zian, but the four of them did not look at him. Instead, they all stared at Fina. The look in their eyes made Zhang Zian want to say, "Don't look into your eyes and you can't pull them out …"
Not only them, but other passengers who arrived at the airport also looked at Fina strangely. First, it was because it was too rare to bring a cat to the airport and not keep it in a cage. Second, it was because Fina's fur color and markings were too rare.
Fina yawned lazily. It was used to such looks. As long as they didn't touch it, everything was fine.
"Tsk!"
Wei Kang exchanged glances with his disciples. Although they had not done a complete examination, they were at least 80% sure that this was a living fossil that occupied a key position in the history of domestication of domestic cats. It was in the transitional stage between African desert wildcats and modern domestic cats.
Nature magazine had mentioned that the Ashmolean Museum in the United Kingdom had a tomb mural from Thebes, ancient Egypt. In the painting, a cat was enjoying fresh fish under its owner's chair. What was noteworthy was that the patterns all over the cat's body were completely different from the patterns on modern Egyptian cats. They were called mackerel patterns.
Zhang Zian had told Wei Kang and the others that the ancient Egyptians moved their capital to Thebes in 2000 BC, and the earlier capital was Memphis, so the age of this mural was less than 4000 years ago.
Over the long 4,000 years, where was the transition between spots and mackerel patterns?
However, Fina had mackerel markings and spots on its body, and its appearance was similar to that of a modern Egyptian cat. Everything seemed to indicate that its origin was mysterious and extraordinary.
It was definitely wrong to say that it was a wildcat, but it was not a modern Egyptian cat, so Wei Kang and the others thought that even if it was not an original Egyptian cat, it must be very close.
In the past, because Zhang Zian had clearly expressed that he did not want to send Fina as a research sample, and he did not agree to the visit of the Biology Department of Binhai University, Wei Kang and the others had to take a roundabout approach and observe Fina through video.
As for where the video came from? Of course, it was a clip taken from the video of Snowy's live broadcast. When she held her mobile phone to show the audience the full view of the pet shop, there would always be a glimpse of Fina.
Video clips and screenshots were gathered together to become first-hand information for Wei Kang's research.
However, after all, the video and screenshots were not particularly clear, and they could not compare to seeing it with their own eyes.
Wei Kang and the three disciples had obviously come to pick up Zhang Zian, but now they had left him to the side, surrounding Fina and arguing about how many years ago it was most likely to be a representative of the original Egyptian cat, with its mackerel markings and spots.
Wei Kang focused on academics and was a very easy person to talk to. Although Xiao Tianyu and Gao Ke were not very motivated in their studies, they were happy to argue and throw out some wild speculations to prove that they were still learning.
"Teacher, I think that the mix of mackerel markings and spots will not appear too late, or it will not be conducive to the spread of the original Egyptian cat to Eurasia, so I think that such markings should have appeared … about 3500 years ago," Xiao Tianyu said. As for how these 3500 years came about, of course, he had thought of it on the spot.
"That's not right." Wei Kang shook his head. "During the New Dynasty, that is, 3500 to 3000 years ago, another tomb mural was unearthed. The mural described the scene of the ancient Egyptians hunting with cats …"
"What? Hunting with cats? "Gao Ke also joined in the fun and interrupted Wei Kang." Shouldn't dogs be brought when hunting? What can cats do? "
There was obvious discrimination against cats in Gao Ke's words, and Fina glared at him angrily. Unfortunately, he did not raise cats and was completely unaware of it, thinking that it had a good impression of him.
Wei Kang also glared at him and said resentfully, "Cats are natural hunters. They are especially good at catching birds and fish in swamps and wetlands. These areas are not conducive for dogs to perform well. How did you learn to be a biology student in the past …"
Gao Ke saw that Wei Kang was going to say the same old thing again, and hurriedly argued, "No, I didn't mean that. I mean … cats are indeed natural hunters, but they eat the prey they catch. If you bring a cat to hunt, the cat will be full, and the owner will still be hungry … Eh? This cat doesn't seem happy? "
As he rambled on, he finally found that Fina's eyes were not right. The fur on its body had swollen, and its ears were pulled into airplane ears. No matter how bad his biology was, after all, he had studied the evolution of cats with his mentor. He seemed to vaguely remember that this was a signal that the cat was about to attack.
Zhang Zian did not want to cause a bloodbath at the airport before they had even set off. He did not dare to watch on the sidelines and interrupted, "You're wrong about this. You haven't raised a cat, have you? These are all random things you say based on impressions and hearsay, right? "
Gao Ke coughed. "I have no plans to raise a cat for the time being …"
In order to appease Fina's emotions, Zhang Zian did not wait for him to finish before explaining, "Dogs will bring their prey back to their owners, and cats will too, provided that you have a good relationship with the cat. When the cat catches any insects, birds, mice, or other small animals outside, it will bring the prey back to you … Of course, modern people may not need these prey, and even feel disgusted when they see the bloody carcasses of small animals, but this is enough to prove that cats are competent for hunting."
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