Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

Packing is impossible, Chen Ying spent more than two hours explaining the situation to it.

In the end, the Eurasian lynx seemed angry, turned around and ran off, cursing under its breath.

Next to him, Judy very calmly took photos and videos, and after the Eurasian lynx left, she asked Chen Ying what he was talking about with it.

"What talk? I'm just guessing. This fellow seems to have a liking for the lynx competing with Lightning for territory, but unfortunately, there's no future for them."

Judy responded with a couple of perfunctory acknowledgments and then continued to ask him, "Do you think there's a chance between them? If one is male and the other female?"

Chen Ying was about to explode; first, he was stressed by the Eurasian lynx, and now Judy came along. He's a veterinarian, not a zoologist!

However, when he was breeding Iberian lynxes before, he really had studied the relationship between two subspecies. Additionally, the latest reports showed that in 2006, Spain's Donana National Park successfully bred fertile hybrid offspring.

The hybrid individuals exhibited intermediate traits: the length of ear tufts between both parents (Iberian lynx 39mm vs Eurasian lynx 48mm→hybrid 43mm).

However, hybridization may dilute the unique genes of the Iberian lynx, such as those responsible for the coat color adaptable to Mediterranean climate, so the IUCN recommends allowing only <5% hybrid breeding to enhance the genetic diversity of the population.

The instances observed by Judy and the others were mostly records of hybridization in captive environments, while in the wild, although hybrid offspring have been confirmed, the specific process of conception and nursing has yet to be observed by humans.

If this Eurasian lynx and Iberian lynx can successfully pair...

Alas, sadly, why are both males?

This question is not only pondered by Judy but also by Daniel and Mike.

"Could this Eurasian lynx be intersex? Or is its behavior abnormal? Normally, being male, it should repel the scent of another male. But not only does it not repel the scent of the Iberian male lynx, it seems to quite enjoy it."

Judy gave Chen Ying a strange look, "Chen, why don't you find a way to determine the sex of this Eurasian lynx?"

Chen Ying was stunned; however, thinking it over, Judy's speculation was not entirely unreasonable.

Previously, he judged based on the lynx's appearance and self-perception, but what if the lynx's self-perception is incorrect?

This possibility is low, but not non-existent.

The Iberian mole is a typical case, where solitary nature causes such occurrences.

The Iberian mole females carry ovarian testicular tissue throughout the year, which atrophies in autumn and winter and recovers in spring, with hormonal levels fluctuating with the seasons. High testosterone levels can enhance aggression and territorial awareness, adapting to solitary terrestrial life.

It's well-known that there's been no record of Eurasian lynx activity in the Pyrenees for years, so the sudden appearance of a solitary Eurasian lynx makes it hard to say whether any changes might occur due to not finding a mate here.

Being a very curious person himself, Chen Ying decided since he had a hypothesis, he would check to confirm it first.

But now, the Eurasian lynx has run off, and finding it will take time.

"Let's first check on Madir and Lightning's situation; if we run into the Eurasian lynx on the way, we'll deal with it then. There's only one day left for the planned release of other lynxes, let's focus on the main tasks first."

Mike stopped Judy, who was about to rush off, and arranged for Daniel and Judy to search downstream for Lightning and Matil's traces after daybreak.

Judy was originally planning to go with Chen Ying, but Mike firmly rejected her.

"Go with Daniel, Judy, you need to control yourself."

Chen Ying watched for a while, speculating that Judy might have experienced something. However, it wasn't related to him; he only needed to complete his subsequent tasks.

Throughout the entire day, there wasn't a single lynx hair seen; by evening, the dark pressure hovering over Judy's head had practically become tangible.

However, Chen Ying wasn't afraid of her causing trouble; it was evident that Daniel and Mike's firm and gentle methods could completely restrain her.

"Mike, I'm going to fetch water and take a bath." Chen Ying glanced at Judy while speaking to Mike, "Please keep an eye on her, I don't want any unpleasant incidents occurring."

Mike nodded, "Quick there and back."

Leaving the camp, Chen Ying picked up his pace and ran towards the water source, not only for washing but also because he had other tasks to do.

"Hey, are you here? Lightning, are you around?"

In the dim early evening light, a lynx with fur almost the same color as the rocks agilely jumped down from the piled stones.

Chen Ying had only met Lightning twice, once when he first arrived at the research station, and again during Lightning's release.

Lightning, appearing before him now, seemed to have undergone quite a change in fur color compared to before.

To adapt to the cold highland climate, Lightning's fur color had lightened considerably. In an environment like just now, if Lightning hadn't actively revealed itself, Chen Ying almost didn't notice its presence.

"Lightning, have you seen Madir?" Stroking Lightning's fur, Chen Ying pulled out a flashlight to perform a check on it.

With a fixed procedure in place, the whole check took merely over twenty minutes.

"Lightning is great, very healthy. Is the fur getting a bit too thick?"

"Naw, not thick enough. I'd want it to thicken more, but unfortunately, it can't grow further."

Lightning leisurely lay down, watching as Chen Ying quickly washed his face and took a bath, "Naw, you're keeping an eye on that big fellow, aren't you?"

"You noticed, huh? That's right, it seems somewhat… special; I'll need to observe more closely."