Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

"We retrieved the footage and surveillance videos, and after comparison, confirmed that the severely injured snow leopard is indeed the one we were searching for that killed the lamb. Judging by its appearance, it likely clashed with the wolf pack and tried to use the herdsman to eliminate the wolves. Unexpectedly, the wolves were smart and didn't fall for it. Eventually, the mother snow leopard found the wolf den and killed all the wolf cubs, but got cornered by the returning wolf pack."

The situation afterwards is known to everyone—purely a scenario of mutual destruction. Both sides fought desperately. In the end, the snow leopard was slightly luckier and survived until humans arrived.

"Besides the mother snow leopard comparison, we also did a comparison of the wolf pack. The analysis reveals that the wolves in this exterminated group are not from the same family as the ones that ambushed the young snow leopard in the middle of the Altai Mountains; however, the Wolf Queen of those wolves seems to have separated from this wolf group."

Gene exchange among animal populations is normal. They live off the same mountain range; who wouldn't have a bit of kinship?

Three days later, Chen Ying and Kelas continued north to head to their school.

They needed to exit the northern Kazakhstan region and travel about 800 kilometers to reach the Russian border.

Procedures were completed in advance; they had a day's delay, then needed to travel five thousand kilometers to reach the school.

This leg of the journey was quite ordinary; the only remarkable thing was that they encountered bottlenose dolphins—the sea elves—while taking the Baltic Sea ferry.

The scientific name of bottlenose dolphins is Tursiops truncatus, one of the most intelligent animals with a brain capacity larger than humans.

Many dolphins used in performances at ocean parks are of this breed.

The two of them, with Meidi, watched the scenic views from the ferry and unexpectedly met a group of dolphin elves.

A total of six in various sizes, occasionally leaping out of the water.

Chen Ying kept taking photos with his phone, "Meihua, did you see that? Aren't those dolphins cute? They look like the ones we saw at your sister-in-law's place."

Although different dolphin species, their hobbies are quite similar, often making leaps of faith.

"The weather is still cold now; if we're lucky, we might see ringed seals in the ice floes."

Perhaps nearing home, Kelas seemed a bit excited.

After getting off, they specially headed north for a segment, staying for a day near Bodnia Bay, gambling on the luck of seeing a ringed seal.

Unfortunately, luck was not on their side. Apart from flocks of seagulls, they didn't even see a shadow of a seal.

In the following few months, with Kelas's help, Chen Ying adapted to life here, with his schedule fully packed every day. It's a bit different from back home; besides the research project on Iberian lynx by his teacher, he also participated in local animal welfare organization activities, assisting professional veterinarians within the organization to treat injured or sick wild animals.

Occasionally, he would go on business trips with his teacher to attend international conferences, exchanging knowledge learning with experts in the field.

The busy study and work made time fly swiftly; in a blink, he's stayed here for almost three years.

Last summer, Dao Meihua came to see him, and they spent a month of wonderful times together.

As the holiday was ending, they bought a spacious wooden villa near Bodnia Bay.

Buying the property wasn't an issue financially, but choosing it was due to a little unexpected event.

Two years ago, during Christmas, Chen Ying and his classmates drove to the bay for fun. They didn't stay in a hotel but opted for a caravan and tent. Then, in the evening, they encountered a little cutie.

The little one possibly got lost while foraging with its mother, somehow leaving the group and wandering to the seaside a hundred kilometers away.

When Chen Ying discovered it, the little one was already too weak to lift its head.

As a member of the animal rescue organization, Chen Ying naturally provided aid to the little cutie, purchasing its favorite cod and krill to feed it.

The little guy could sense Chen Ying's gentle and kind aura, clinging like glue, and refused to leave him.

To reunite the little guy with its group, Chen Ying and his classmates drove the little seal back to its long-term habitat.

But unexpectedly, even when the little ringed seal returned to the group's area, it refused to leave Chen Ying, chasing after him again and again; that helplessness and grievance were akin to a child abandoned by its mother.

Chen Ying had no choice but to temporarily stay and accompany it, hoping it would find its mother.

However, even after searching for five or six days and visiting all the areas where seals were active, they still couldn't find the little fellow's mother, leading to speculation that the separation might have been caused by a predatory event.

Although there are no polar bears—the top predators—in the bay, sharks still pose a threat to them.

This little seal was already weaned and could eat cod and krill, but its survival skills were poor, and it was extremely timid. Leaving it alone here might not guarantee successful living.

To protect this little cutie, Chen Ying rented a residential wooden house nearby and built a pool specifically for the little seal to play.

Thus, inexplicably raising the little seal for half a year made Chen Ying's wooden house a famed attraction point for local tourists.

To provide this little seal with safer protection, Chen Ying and Dao Meihua decided to purchase a wooden villa during their vacation here. After renovating and establishing a safety system, they left a dedicated passage for the little seal to enter the villa's pool.

Nearby residents also liked this little cutie and would voluntarily help Chen Ying politely refuse overbearing tourists to provide the little seal with a safe and comfortable living environment.

Studying for a Ph.D. here requires four years for Chen Ying, and after coordinating with his mentor, he would teach undergraduates for two years, accumulating six years to obtain his degree.

Of course, there is a salary for teaching in the latter two years, and as he's involved in the lynx breeding project, temporarily he can't leave until the project finishes, equivalent to fixed jobs at the research institute and university, which enable him to smoothly purchase property due to having a contract.

Over the past three years, he frequently returns home, as the cats in Jiamu Gully still need his attention, especially Er Niu and the Little Cub, leading Chen Ying unable to relinquish his care.

Speaking of, after the initial year of recovery, Little Cub grew at an exaggerated rate. At over three years old, it is a third larger than its mother. Based on model predictions, this little one's development space remains for the coming years.

Looking at the adult size model for Little Cub given by the computer, Chen Ying fell into contemplation.

Perhaps possibly Little Cub seems to have a physique even more massive than its father?

The abnormal growth manifest in Little Cub compared to other snow leopards has garnered interest from numerous international research organizations.

Though slicing up Little Cub is impossible, its fur, blood, and other biological tissues have been heavily contributed. Even there are attempts at his university to obtain Little Cub's genetic material to see if its paternal genes can be inherited.

Chen Ying didn't participate in this project's research but privately cares about it; he fears that certain crazy scientists might lose control and do irreparable actions.

At the same time, domestically, arrangements are made specifically to watch over Little Cub to eliminate activities by certain black market animal hunters.

These animal hunters differ from past poachers; they utilize various channels to access certain places, then collect biological samples of targets based on employer demands, eventually sending the target through secret methods.

Numerous countries openly combat such actions, such as biological live smuggling and sample smuggling, but there will always be those who take risks for money; as long as there's a demand, complete eradication is impossible.

Leaving school, Chen Ying plans to drive to visit his cute seal.

A ringed seal research group is discussing with him about releasing the ringed seal; coincidentally, he has a five-day holiday to properly communicate with the team.

The cute seal is a male, and now it should learn to follow the group; otherwise, in two years, when it enters the breeding period, what if it can't find a seal girl willing to bear baby seals with him?

Without raising kids, one cannot understand the mood of an old father, and Chen Ying, like a seasoned patriarch of a multi-child family, must constantly monitor his children's physical and mental development and worry about their 'beastly' issues.

Upon arriving at the agreed location, before they began to talk, the other party clattered on with a summary in one sentence.

"Want a seal child bride?"