Page 511
The presence of small to medium-sized wild herbivores attracted some carnivores as well.
That day, Shi Wen saw wolves outside the ranch while he was patrolling.
These wolves are the Wolf King's henchmen.
Their original range wasn't here. Perhaps because many wild animals were driven away from the pastures, the wolves knew there was food here, so they came here to hunt.
The wolves are relatively small in size. Because of their frequent interactions with humans, they have learned to be more cautious and will avoid humans from a distance, no longer daring to attack them.
Shi Wen glanced at them and told Zhou Hongzhong.
Upon receiving Shi Wen's report, Zhou Hongzhong brought his men to investigate. They immediately saw that the wolves were simply roaming freely outside and posed no threat to humans, so they registered them and let them go.
Zhou Hongzhong said, "This is the best example of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. The ideal state is one where people share the same space without interfering with or infringing on each other, and where both benefit each other."
Shi Wen that this is based on the contributions of various small herbivores.
Zhou Hongzhong: "Definitely. They can only live together harmoniously if there is enough food. If there isn't enough food, they'll get desperate and probably won't care about anything else."
Shi Wen, "I just hope they can maintain a healthy population size and stop expanding. Too many of them could cause a lot of problems."
Zhou Hongzhong: "Don't worry about that. At worst, we'll take measures. There shouldn't be any problems. This group is already under our surveillance, and we'll deal with any issues promptly."
Shi Wen, "That's good. I was thinking that if you don't take any action over there, I'll try to find a way to do something. We can't just let them keep multiplying."
Zhou Hongzhong: "Not only will we find a way, but many people will. Professor Yan and his team's investigations weren't in vain, so don't worry."
The wolves were quite tactful, maintaining a respectful distance from the ranch children.
The Wolf King didn't seem to care much about the feelings of his former kin; he would even drive away the wolves when they got too close to the pasture.
Shi Wen said to Yan Kexing, "I didn't expect the Wolf King to have such a strong stance."
Yan Kexing: "That's why they say it's a smart wolf. Now that it's a sheepdog on the ranch, it will prioritize the ranch's interests and probably won't care about its former pack anymore."
Shi Wen, "I feel that small animals are much smarter than we imagine; I always have a feeling that I underestimated them."
Yan Kexing smiled.
Shi Wen laughed and said, "But there are so many small animals around here! I saw quite a few when I went out today. I even saw some cats."
Yan Kexing: "Where there is food, there are wild animals, that's quite normal, but how come there are cats? Cats kept by the villagers?"
Shi Wen, "I'm not too sure either. I just saw two cats dart by. They must be cats belonging to the villagers, otherwise there shouldn't be any stray cats around here."
Wanderer cats are more likely to survive in cities, but it's more difficult on grasslands, mainly because there are many predators there, and Wanderer cats don't have an advantage.
They are not the kind of animals that are good at long-distance travel, so it is difficult for them to come here from afar.
Shi Wen feel that I see more cats from the village.
After hearing this, Yan Kexing said, "That's not necessarily true. We do have stray cats here, Asian wildcats, and they do look quite similar to domestic cats."
Shi Wen checked and said, "It shouldn't be. The cats I've seen don't look quite like Asian wildcats. If I see one tomorrow, I'll observe it carefully and I'll know."
After Shi Wen Yan Kexing say that the cat he saw might be an Asian wildcat, Shi Wen made a special trip to look for it the next day.
He was so good at finding animals that he quickly found a gray-orange cat.
This cat has long fur, gray-blue eyes, and two patches of long gray fur on its ears. Its face isn't as round as that of a typical domestic cat, but it still looks quite sweet and cute.
Shi Wen approached the cat, the cat hesitated for a moment, glanced back at him, and kept a distance of five or six meters from him.
This distance is already very close, indicating that the cat is not afraid of him.
Shi Wen speculate that this is not an Asian wildcat, as Asian wildcats are generally quite wary.
Shi Wen crouched down, patted the ground, and whispered, "Meow, come here."
The cat stared at him for a while, then tentatively approached and stopped two or three meters away.
Shi Wen chuckled, took out some jerky he'd prepared for the dogs from his pocket, placed it on the ground, and barked again, "Want some meat?"
The jerky the dogs eat is neither too soft nor too hard, and it uses relatively little salt. However, it is all jerky specially made on their ranch, and in addition to regular meat, it also contains offal, which is very attractive to the dogs.
Shi Wen if this cat will like their jerky?
Logically speaking, their meat should be very attractive to all small animals, even herbivores.
The cat raised one front paw and stood still.
Upon Shi Wen this, Shi Wen put down the dried meat and stepped back a little.
The kitten saw it and then walked over with light steps. It looked up at the cat first, then quickly grabbed the jerky and ran away. After running a few meters, seeing that the cat didn't seem to be chasing it, it put the jerky on the ground and slowly began to eat it.
This kitten is quite alert.
Shi Wen chuckled, and after it finished eating one piece of jerky, he took out another piece of jerky from his pocket.
As Shi Wen pulled out the third piece of jerky, the kitten seemed to have become friends with Shi Wen unilaterally, walking directly to Shi Wen 'Shi Wen knee and rubbing against it.
Shi Wen patted its head.
This should be a large, adult cat. The fur on its head is a bit rough and prickly to the touch, but otherwise it's just as petting as his Cong Zai.