NOVEL NEXT Chapter 571: Delivery Room Choice, Mother and Daughter Safe (Part 3)
"Where did you bring these from?" Seeing the two lynx cubs with their fur already clearly patterned, Chen Ying was about to lose it. "Return them quickly! How could you steal someone's cubs? If the female lynx doesn't kill you, I'll take your last name."
Jinya howled twice, unmoving.
"They don't have a mother. I've been watching for two days. No mother animal returned to feed them, and they only ate well today because I fed them."
Chen Ying's expression changed, squatting down to touch Jinya's tummy, which indeed felt different from the usual reserve.
"Where did you find them?"
"Right where my brother used to raise cubs — there's a cave there. I originally planned to go take a look so we could bring the little cub there to play in the future. But when I went in, I saw these two little cubs, and they were too hungry to make any sound."
Chen Ying rubbed his face hard and contacted the forest patrol officer on duty.
The place where the large lynx raised its cubs used to be a key patrol route. There were also infrared cameras set up there. Last year, a golden cat was caught on tape giving birth to a litter there, and afterward, the mother cat migrated into the deep mountains with her kittens.
This spring it was checked, and there was nothing. They were still in the process of collecting the second batch of footage, and Chen Ying called to confirm the situation, to see if the cameras caught anything.
The call was timely. The ranger's task today was to collect and replace the cameras, and upon hearing Chen Ying's words, they immediately decided to head over without rest to confirm the situation.
Jinya brought back the two lynx cubs in the morning. By around 1 PM, the ranger called back, saying that upon reviewing the camera records, the last time the female lynx appeared was three days ago in the evening. It was likely hunger and the burden of nursing that drove the female lynx to seek food, never to return.
"Mr. Chen, I looked at the video and found that the female lynx seemed unwell. I'm not sure, so I took two photos and sent them to you. I'll be heading over to you now, and you can review the video then."
Chen Ying opened the photos and saw that this lynx was very thin, but that was normal. Not every lynx is a skilled hunter, and not every lynx has a mate to help feed them.
But after carefully observing a few successive photo clips, he realized that this female lynx might be ill, displaying head-jerking movements and seemingly unsteady steps while walking.
"Brother Ou, Little Chen, you two come help. Take these two little cubs for a checkup, a full examination. Their mother might be sick, and we don't know the specifics."
Jinya and the little cub, having come into contact with the lynx cubs, must go through simple disinfection and immunization.
They dared not let the experts know about this, or else they'd surely go mad, maybe even propose sending Jinya and the little cub to the center for detailed care (strict monitoring).
After an anxious wait, the results came in, and everyone was relieved.
Aside from some malnutrition, the two cubs were in good health, without any issues. The smaller one had a slight bit of diarrhea, which was normal and just needed observation.
Just as they breathed a sigh of relief, the ranger arrived. After exporting the camera data, the veterinarians immediately identified the female lynx as seriously ill. Didn't they see its unsteady walking? In such a condition, how could it catch prey!
A few minutes later, two protection stations issued orders, asking the patrolmen nearby to help search for the whereabouts of the female lynx, and deployed two drones carrying infrared imaging equipment for low-altitude search.