The deer in the sinkhole had never seen humans and naturally did not know the danger of humans. Therefore, even if they found Ang Lee and his party, they did not deliberately avoid them. In their consciousness, as long as they kept a certain distance, they would be safe. After all, their running ability was very strong. No hunter could outrun them. There were not many hunters at the bottom of the sinkhole, especially not the most threatening wolf pack.
The sinkhole was too steep. Goats could go up and down freely, and humans could go up and down with their hands and feet, but wolves could not go up and down freely. Wolves could not climb such a steep slope.
However, there were also hunters at the bottom of the sinkhole, hunters who were enough to threaten the deer herd. Otherwise, the deer herd here would have been overrun.
The hunter at the bottom of the valley was a small but very dangerous hunter. It was the mountain cat, a terrible hunter. Although it was much smaller than the deer, it was very good at sneak attacks. Every sneak attack was often fatal. It directly bit the deer's neck, causing the deer to lose too much blood and go into shock. Then, the mountain cat could have a full meal.
These mountain cats could freely enter and exit the sinkhole. Their climbing ability was comparable to that of goats. They could walk the road that the goats could walk. Their climbing ability was even stronger than that of the goats, and their bodies were more flexible.
This mountain cat would kill all the prey that could be eaten, from big deer and goats, to small hares and pheasants, and even very small wild birds and mice. It could be called the king of destruction here in Jie Mountain. It made all the prey live in fear. There was no prey that it could not kill. Of course, it also needed luck.
For example, the wolves outside wanted to hunt goats. Once the goats entered the cliff of the sinkhole, the wolves could not do anything. However, the mountain cat was not afraid. It could move freely on the cliff. As long as it was lucky, it could hunt the goats. Among them, the best strategy was to create a terrifying atmosphere and make the goats panic, so that they would enter the land of death, or lose their balance and fall off the cliff to die. Once the goats fell off the cliff, the mountain cat could calmly go down to find the goats' bodies and have a good meal.
The deer herd at the bottom of the sinkhole was also the target of its sneak attack. As long as it was close enough, it was likely to succeed in hunting. If it was too far away, it could only be a failure. However, there were enough trees and weeds at the bottom of the sinkhole, which was very conducive to the mountain cat's hiding. It could be close to the deer herd without being discovered.
Of course, the goats and deer were, after all, large. When hunting, the mountain cat would also be in danger. so, more often, it liked to hunt small prey, such as hares and pheasants........... and easy to hunt small prey..................
Birds' nests were all on trees, but don't think that building a nest on a tree would be safe. Since Mountain Cats could climb cliffs, they could also climb trees. Moreover, their climbing ability was very strong. They could easily climb up a tree and then sweep away all the bird nests on the tree.
. In other words, the mountain cat had the ability to hunt and kill most of the prey in Jie Mountain. Almost all the prey would be threatened by the mountain cat. Therefore, this kind of hunter was the most terrible. It was the public enemy of all the prey in Jie Mountain. All the prey would shudder when they saw the mountain cat.
Did such a powerful hunter have a natural enemy in Jie Mountain? It should be said that adult mountain cats almost had no natural enemies. Although they couldn't beat wolves or bears, they ran fast. Wolves and bears couldn't catch them at all. But young mountain cats were different. Even if the mountain cat hid its young in a hidden place at the bottom of the sinkhole, it was inevitable that the terrible hunter would find it. There were big snakes at the bottom of the sinkhole. These big snakes could swallow the mountain cat's young in one bite. Moreover, the big snakes were everywhere and liked to hide in hidden places. They were a great threat to the mountain cat's young. This was also the reason why mountain cats didn't breed in large numbers. Most of the mountain cats died when they were young. Few could live to adulthood.
In addition, adult bobcats would also make mistakes. For example, when they were catching goats on the cliff, they would sometimes accidentally fall. Once the falling point was too high, they would be injured after falling. In the natural world, once a hunter was injured, it meant that they could not hunt and avoid strong enemies, and the hope of survival was not great.
Therefore, when they weren't very hungry, mountain cats wouldn't easily go to the edge of the cliff to hunt goats. After all, if they accidentally fell, they would be smashed to pieces. This was not a joke. When they were hungry, mountain cats couldn't think so much. In order to fill their stomachs, it was worth taking a big risk.
Mountain cats that ate everything were indeed very strong, but young mountain cats were very fragile. They were very easy to be attacked by other hunters. It was very difficult for them to live to adulthood. This caused the number of mountain cats to be unable to increase rapidly. It also protected the ecological balance here. If the mountain cat's young could survive, then all the herbivores here would be wiped out.
"Today's luck is so good. I actually met a group of deer at the bottom of the sinkhole. Let's call them the Sinkhole Deer!"
Ang Lee looked at the deer in front of him and said.
"The Sinkhole Deer, good, good name. This deer meat is very delicious. Why don't we kill a few to taste?"
Chen Long said.
Ang Lee said, "Okay! However, killing one is enough. There are not many deer in the sinkhole. If we kill too many, they will become extinct. "
There was only one herd of deer in the sinkhole with a radius of 500 meters. If too many deer were killed, the herd would become extinct because of the small number. Ang Lee obviously didn't want to exterminate the herd in the sinkhole, so he couldn't kill too many at once. Killing one to taste was enough.
"The herd ran away. Did they find us?"
Just when Ang Lee and the others were about to kill a deer, the herd suddenly ran away. The running speed was very fast, as if they had encountered something particularly dangerous.
Li An took a closer look. Behind the herd of deer, there was a patch of weeds moving, but soon the weeds stopped moving. It was obvious that there was prey chasing after the herd of deer, but the hunter had obviously failed. It was discovered by the herd of deer in advance, so it gave up after chasing for a while. Because once the herd of deer started running, the hunter would not be able to catch up no matter what. Forcefully chasing after them would only tire themselves to death.
"They must be chased by some beast! The grass is moving. "
"This beast is too small! I can only see the grass moving, but I can't see the beast. "
"Can it be a cat?"
Everyone said.
Soon, the beast that chased the herd of deer appeared. It climbed to a nearby rock, revealing its whole body.
"It's a cat, but it's so big! I've never seen such a big cat. What kind of cat is it? Why is it so big? "
Chen Long said.
"It's not a cat! Cats can't be so big! "
"But it looks just like a cat! A tiger is much bigger than this one. It's only twice the size of a cat at home. It's a big cat. "
Ang Lee said, "This should be a mountain cat. We have encountered it before, but the species is different. The mountain cat here is smaller and looks more like a cat. The one we encountered before is bigger and doesn't look like a cat."
"Mountain cat? Is the meat of the mountain cat delicious? "
Chen Long asked.
Just after asking, the mountain cat seemed to see Ang Lee and the others. It jumped into the grass under the stone and disappeared.
"It doesn't matter if it's delicious or not. It has slipped away. This guy is very cunning and is not easy to hunt. When the mountain cat came, our plan to hunt the deer of the sinkhole was ruined. It's really annoying."
Ang Lee said.
This mountain cat really looked like a pet cat at home, but it was a little bigger. Its weight should be about three or four times that of a domestic cat. It didn't look very scary. After all, its size was relatively small and its harm to people was very limited.
The Mountain Cat was a wild animal that lived alone and was active in the vast space. It was a nocturnal hunter that did not have a fixed nest. During the day, it could lie on a rock and bask in the sun, or hide quietly under a big tree to avoid the wind and rain. It could live alone in an area of a few hectares without moving for a few days, or it could run continuously for more than ten kilometers without stopping. It was good at climbing and swimming and had a strong tolerance for hunger. It could lie in a place for a few days and was not afraid of the cold. It liked to hunt small animals such as rabbits and rats because these small animals were easier to hunt and kill, while large prey was more difficult to hunt. The mountain cat liked to be active in the morning and evening and was active frequently. Its range of activity was determined by the abundance of food. It had a territorial behavior and a fixed excretory place. If its own kind dared to touch its territory, then the mountain cat would definitely fight hard. It absolutely could not tolerate its own kind living in the same area as itself, unless it was its spouse or children.
The mountain cat's temperament was cunning and cautious. When it encountered danger, it would quickly escape to the tree to hide. Sometimes it would lie on the ground and pretend to be dead, thus avoiding the enemy's attack and injury. In nature, tigers, leopards, snow leopards, bears and other large animals were the lynx's natural enemies. They could all kill the mountain cat. Therefore, when it encountered these large animals, the mountain cat could only hide. It absolutely did not dare to fight with these large animals. The mountain cat was nocturnal. It moved stealthily, had developed hearing and vision, could swim, and could run up to 80 kilometers per hour on flat ground. This speed could be said to be very fast, but it still could not catch up with large prey. The fluff on its ears could feel the vibration of sound, so the mountain cat's hearing was very good. Any movement within a long distance could not escape its hearing monitoring.
The mountain cat's main food was small animals such as rabbits and pheasants. Therefore, in many places, the population of the mountain cat would fluctuate with the increase and decrease of the number of rabbits and pheasants. Generally, there would be a peak every few years. In addition to rabbits and pheasants, mountain cats also hunted a lot of prey, including various kinds of squirrels, rats, lemmings, marmots, thunderbirds, quails, wild pigeons and pheasants. Sometimes they would also attack musk deer, roe deer and deer cubs, as well as livestock such as piglets and lambs. Rabbits made up the majority of their diet, and they consumed a few kilograms of meat every day. In the hunting area, mountain cats could control the number of rabbits. Every year, they could kill 20 to 30 percent of the local rabbit population. The density of rodent rabbits was highly dependent on the density of mountain cats.
When catching prey, mountain cats often used grass, bushes, stones, trees and so on as cover. They waited in ambush places where the prey often passed by. Their eyes vigilantly watched the movements around them, not missing any details. They were very patient and could lie quietly in one place for a few days and nights. When the prey came close, they would suddenly rush out and catch the prey. If they missed the prey and the surprise attack did not succeed, the mountain cat would not chase after the prey. Instead, it would return to the original place and patiently wait for the next opportunity. Sometimes it roamed stealthily, and when it saw that its prey was engrossed in feeding, it crept closer and closer, and suddenly pounced on it, causing it to be inexplicably caught without putting up a fight.
Don't think that escaping to the water would be safe. Mountain cats could also swim. They could even be said to be good at swimming, but they did not go into the water easily because they did not like water. Mountain cats were also excellent climbers. They were also very good at climbing trees. They could even jump from one tree to another, so they could prey on birds in the trees. Especially at night, when the forest was quiet and the birds living in the trees had entered the land of dreams, they would reach out their claws and easily hunt for food. This made the birds frightened. Even when they slept at night, they had to be vigilant at all times to avoid being attacked by mountain cats.
Mountain cats preferred cool environments, such as the cold zone in the north and the high mountain areas in the west of the Tang dynasty. These were the habitats that mountain cats liked very much. Although there was no perennial snow in Jieshan, the temperature on the mountain was not high. It was relatively cool, especially at the bottom of the giant sinkhole, where the temperature was relatively low. This made the mountain cats living here feel very comfortable, so they could live here forever.
In order to avoid their natural enemies, Lynx liked to hide their nests in hidden cliff caves. Most animals couldn't set foot in the cliffs, and the hidden cliff caves were very difficult to find. Almost no hunters could threaten the Lynx's nests except for hateful snakes.
At this moment, although the deer herd was scared away by the mountain cat, the area of the giant sinkhole was so large that it was not difficult to continue hunting the deer herd. They just had to follow quietly. At a distance of 100 meters, Ang Lee was very sure that he could hunt adult deer and eat delicious venison.
"Assistant Minister Li, we have been down for so long. The people above should be worried. Do you want to send someone to inform them and let them know that we are down there?"
Chen Long said.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "That makes sense. There are still many places to explore at the bottom of the giant sinkhole. It's getting late. We may have to spend the night here. It's better to send two people to inform them."
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