amaotonovel Chapter 169 Dividing Territories
Chapter 169 Dividing Territories
The three continued along the tiger's tracks, with Black Cat and Little Tiger leading the way, while Night Shadow vigilantly guarded the rear.
Tracking a Siberian tiger is not easy; they are extremely cautious when they walk and often suddenly change direction along the way.
"Wait." Li Xiangyang suddenly stopped and squatted down to examine the marks on the ground carefully.
Besides the tiger's footprints, there were also some tiny scratches on the snow.
“It marked this place,” Li Xiangyang said, pointing to a pine tree. “Look, there are scratches on the bark, and they’re very fresh.”
Anna immediately pulled out her notebook and wrote: "This means it's dividing up territory."
Just then, the black cat suddenly pricked up its ears alertly and made a low purring sound in its throat.
Xiao Hu and Ye Ying immediately went on alert.
“It’s nearby,” Li Xiangyang said in a low voice, quickly surveying the surrounding terrain. “Find cover.”
The three quickly hid behind a protruding rock.
Through the cracks in the rocks, they saw the young tiger wandering in the clearing ahead.
It was already past ten in the morning, and the sunlight shone through the treetops onto the snow, making the stripes on the tiger skin exceptionally clear.
The young tiger seemed very wary, stopping every few steps to look around.
Anna held her breath and carefully raised the camera.
Although she tried to move as quietly as possible, the sound of the camera shutter still caught the tiger's attention.
It suddenly turned its head, its eyes fixed intently on the direction where they were hiding.
Wang Ergou's hand unconsciously reached for the gun, but Li Xiangyang stopped him.
The tiger slowly approached them, each step filled with a sense of oppression.
The three of them were on tenterhooks.
Just then, the black cat suddenly darted out from behind the rock, leaving a trail of footprints in the snow before quickly hiding back inside.
This move successfully diverted the tiger's attention.
It sniffed along the footprints left by the black cat, seemingly judging whether the little guy was worth chasing.
Ultimately, it seemed to decide it wasn't worth the risk for a cat and turned to walk in another direction.
Once the tiger was far away, Wang Ergou finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Xiangyang, that was really close."
"Yes, the black cat has done a great job." Li Xiangyang patted the black cat's head and said with lingering fear.
Anna exclaimed, "What a clever little creature! It knows how to distract the tiger!"
Looking at the time again, it was almost noon.
The three decided to find a safe place to rest first, and also to sort out their findings from the morning.
Li Xiangyang found a sheltered hillside, and the three of them sat down on the ground.
Anna ate her dry rations while making notes in her notebook.
“Based on current observations,” she wrote as she wrote, “this young tiger is looking for a suitable territory. Its behavior this morning indicates that it is very interested in this area.”
Li Xiangyang nodded: "Yes, the terrain here is complex, the vegetation is dense, and there are plenty of deer and wild boars; it is indeed an ideal habitat."
“But there’s already an adult tiger here,” Wang Ergou warned. “They’ll meet again sooner or later.”
“That’s exactly what we need to observe,” Anna said excitedly. “The process of two tigers fighting for territory is valuable for studying their social behavior.”
Li Xiangyang glanced at the sun's position: "Let's continue now that we've rested enough. This afternoon we'll go check out its possible habitat."
After lunch, the three continued their pursuit.
Sunlight filtered through the pine branches, casting dappled shadows on the vast expanse of white snow.
"Xiangyang, do you think this is a water source?" Wang Ergou asked, pointing to the shallow marks ahead.
Li Xiangyang nodded: "Yes, it's a stream, but it's frozen over now. Water is an important factor for Siberian tigers when choosing territory."
Upon hearing this, Anna took out her notebook again to write it down.
The black cat had already run to the stream and was poking at the thin ice with its paws.
Xiao Hu and Ye Ying followed closely behind.
Li Xiangyang squatted down and touched the tiger claw prints nearby.
There are many overlapping footprints on the snow in this area, which is obviously a place frequently visited by tigers.
“Look at these marks,” Li Xiangyang said, pointing to the imprints in the snow. “Some are new, some are old, which means this is a tiger’s regular watering spot.”
Wang Ergou carefully observed his surroundings: "Indeed, the terrain here is quite good, with slopes on three sides and a wide field of vision."
“And by following the direction of the stream, you can also find traces of other prey,” Anna added, adding that she had already taken several photos with her camera.
Just then, the black cat suddenly raised its head and looked alertly towards the upstream direction of the stream.
Little Tiger and Nightshade also perked up their ears.
Li Xiangyang immediately made a shushing gesture.
The three of them held their breath and listened intently.
Soon, a series of heavy footsteps approached.
The snow on the ground crunched underfoot.
"It's a tiger!" Wang Ergou said in a low voice.
"Quick, hide over there." Li Xiangyang pointed to a fallen pine tree.
The three quickly hid and observed through the gaps in the tree trunk.
Then the old Siberian tiger slowly emerged from upstream.
In the sunlight, its fur gleamed, and its muscular shoulders undulated with each step, displaying astonishing power.
Even though they were hiding behind the tree, everyone could still feel the oppressive aura emanating from this king of beasts.
The older tiger walked to the stream and lowered its head to drink.
Suddenly, a faint sound of snow being crushed came from downstream.
The older tiger suddenly raised its head, its muscles tensing up.
Through the gaps in the tree trunk, Li Xiangyang saw the young tiger appear downstream.
The air between the two enormous creatures seemed to freeze.
Li Xiangyang could clearly feel Wang Ergou's hand slowly moving towards the butt of the gun, while Anna held her breath and didn't even dare to raise her camera.
The older tiger let out a deep roar from its throat, like rolling muffled thunder.
The sound made the three people hiding behind the tree involuntarily tense up.
But the young tiger did not back down. It raised its head and let out a low growl, but dared not rush forward.
"They could fight at any moment," Wang Ergou's voice trembled. "Are we really just going to stand here and watch?"
"Not necessarily. The two sides have fought before. Let's see how it goes."
Li Xiangyang stared intently at the two tigers and said in a low voice.
After a brief standoff, the young tiger suddenly made a strange move.
It slowly moved forward a few steps, then lay down about twenty meters away from the older tiger, its head slightly lowered.
The older tiger was pleased with this, let out a low growl, ignored the other tiger, and continued to drink water.
He then turned and disappeared into the forest upstream.
Only after the other party disappeared did the young tiger get up, make a mark on a tree in the distance, and tacitly acknowledge this division.
After it finished drinking the water, it left in the opposite direction.