Chapter 479 Who is the diner?
A huge searchlight was cast into the forest, and a long ladder rope was lowered from the sky.
Two minutes later, one after another rainforest workers appeared from the ladder, climbed down little by little, and came near the tree hole.
The staff carried an insulated box, picked up the snake eggs on the ground, and observed them with a flashlight. The light shone on the snake eggshells, reflecting a bright orange light.
After confirming that everything was correct, they put them into the incubator one by one, and the people coming down later were even more amazed.
The remaining snake eggs of wild Burmese pythons are survivors of the battle between python and bull. They are rare, really rare. If they are placed in the zoo, there will be a special plaque to explain them.
On a certain day of a certain year, the offspring of the white-lipped buffalo that survived a battle with a wild Burmese python were brought back by the famous explorer, biologist, and geographer Bifang.
How awesome.
The last person to come down from the rope ladder was Director Zhou of the nature reserve. Bifang had not expected that Zhou Weisheng would come in person. Although he was quite old, his skills were still quite good and he landed steadily on the ground.
The two naturally exchanged greetings when they met. Zhou Weisheng also praised Bifang's performance. Finally, he promoted scenic spot tourism to the audience.
Today is the fifth day of the live broadcast. The number of tourists coming to the Banna scenic area has increased significantly and visibly, which is gratifying.
It's a totally free publicity effect. Even if you spend 10 million on advertising, it may not be as effective as Bifang's one-day live broadcast.
The only problem is…
"You didn't find the body of the Burmese python?" Bifang was surprised to hear Zhou Weisheng's account of his experiences along the way. How could such a large body of a Burmese python disappear before the nature reserve staff arrived?
Zhou Weisheng nodded: "We searched the coordinates you gave us, but didn't see the body of the Burmese python. Later, we searched along the way, but didn't find it either. But it doesn't matter. It may have been dragged away by a wild animal."
"Dragged away by a wild animal?" Bifang frowned. The Burmese python died in the afternoon, and only a few hours had passed between them. It was neither long nor short, so it was not impossible. "Did you find any traces of wild animals nearby?"
Zhou Weisheng was stunned and a little embarrassed: "I didn't notice that. We went to the jungle, found everything and left. At that time, I thought it might have been eaten by something."
Personnel at the nature reserve often attach trackers to the protected animals they encounter. They have seen many cases of accidental deaths and being eaten, and while they are not always able to successfully collect the bodies, they don't find it strange.
Bifang's brows frowned even deeper, but relaxed after a moment.
Maybe it was really eaten by something. There are many carnivores in the rainforest, Bifang thought.
"By the way, we also want to take this Zhoushan cobra away." Zhou Weisheng squatted down and looked at the slightly swaying bark frame. "We don't have enough Zhoushan cobra venom serum in stock. There are fewer and fewer wild Zhoushan cobras now, and there are not enough farmed ones. This one is just right for extracting venom and making snake venom serum."
"Take it if you want. It's useless to keep it with him anyway, and I'll let it go tomorrow." Bifang waved his hand, not caring at all.
Zhou Weisheng nodded, and immediately the staff came forward to catch the snake. They took out a plastic board, cleaned the dirt around the bark frame, inserted the plastic board at the bottom, and then walked towards the snake catching bag holding the entire bark cage. They then pulled out the plastic board and poured the snake into it.
The Zhoushan cobra struggled violently after being thrown around, and tried to jump out of the barrel, but the lid was closed the next moment, and it fell into darkness again.
Catch the snake, put it away, and get it on the helicopter, all in one go.
There were no accidents.
They are all professionals, so how could any accident happen? As staff members in the rainforest area, the most common snakes they see are poisonous snakes, and they are all experienced snake catchers.
Once you insert the snake-catching pole, no snake can escape.
After doing all this, Zhou Weisheng and others did not disturb Bifang from continuing the live broadcast. After chatting for a few words, they climbed up the ladder and left with the others.
The huge roar gradually faded away. Bifang put his hands on his hips and said proudly: "Now I am the real owner of the tree hole."
Unexpectedly, Zhou Weisheng came to get the snake eggs and took the cobra away as well, which solved a big problem.
What would happen if the snake was caught?
[Will be locked in a small dark room]
"The venom will be extracted. Zhoushan cobra venom can be made into freeze-dried products and snake venom enzymes, which can be used to make serum." After a pause, Bifang added, "It is still its breeding season. It may be caught and bred again, and then released back into the wild."
This is basically the process when catching wild animals.
Reusable things are extracted, and those that are precious and can be raised are caught and bred, and then released back into the wild after a wave is over.
[Breeding? I am happy. Is that what I thought? After Wandashan No. 1, Zhoushan No. 1 appeared! ]
[One day later, Zhoushan Cobra: What kind of heaven is this? One month later, let me go, what kind of hell is this?]
[Ah, this is draining in every sense of the word]
Returning to the tree hole, Bifang raised the torch to illuminate the surroundings. This tree hole was not only large but also very high, and was almost completely hollow in the middle.
Above the fire, there is a space that can never be illuminated.
"There should have been a tree here originally, but it was strangled to death. Now there is nothing left. Think about it, with such a large forest, the banyan tree has been growing here for who knows how long. It is impossible for a plant that was strangled to survive."
[Strangulation, what is strangulation? ]
[The anchor is too professional, netizens can’t keep up]
"The fruits of the banyan tree are often brought by small birds and other animals to the branches or cracks of the bark of the host plant, where the seeds will germinate, take root and grow."
"As the tree stems grow, they wrap the host tree tighter and tighter, weaving it into a natural 'flower basket' of various shapes. Look at this tree hole. If there was a big tree inside, wouldn't it look much more natural?"
Bifang reached out and picked up all the dead branches and leaves on the ground, and leveled out a piece of open space, which would be his bed tonight.
From close entanglement to revenge, the host tree eventually dies due to overload and nutrient deficiency, and these strangler plants eventually become independent large trees.
The banyan tree is the most typical "chronic killer" in the plant kingdom, and is extremely cruel to the trees it strangles.
Below ground, they rob the strangled tree of water and nutrients, starving it to death.
On the ground, its basket-shaped root system tightly encircles the trunks and branches of the strangled trees, inhibiting their thickening and blocking the transport of water and nutrients.
In the canopy, strangler trees quickly branch and grow leaves, competing with stranglers for space and sunlight.
Almost all plants that are strangled in the tropical rain forest will survive and die, and the stranglers will take their places and slowly enjoy the remains of the strangled plants as nutrition.
"But this is nature. Life and death alternate, dead trees give birth to new buds, and every life has its own way of life. They need nutrients, and we also need to eat, so let's solve the dinner problem first."
There is no need to think so much about the cycle of life and death. Instead, you might as well think about what to eat in the evening.
The meal time every day is the happiest time of the day.
Eating food into your stomach, feeling the energy brought by its digestion, and supporting yourself to live, this is the simplest and most basic meaning of life.
After putting the supplies that had fallen to the ground back into the bark frame, Bifang looked around and felt relaxed for the first time.
"It's actually a good thing that the owner of the tree hole is a Zhoushan cobra. Cobras are very ferocious, and you can hardly see other small animals near their territory."
"Now that the owner has left, this is a rare safe zone. No other small creatures will dare to come here for at least a few days."
Bifang chose to make a fire three meters away from the big tree to cook and eat fish and wild vegetables.
Although the tree hole has a relatively large space, because it is a tree hole, it is destined not to be able to make a fire inside. Not only is it flammable, but it is also not ventilated and it is easy to choke on the smoke.
"After eating fish for four consecutive days, I now feel like I am full of fishy smell. But there is nothing I can do. In order to ensure energy intake, I can only eat these things. Occasionally, I can catch some insects to improve the taste."
I stuck a few cicadas I caught earlier onto branches. These are the most common edible insects, but unfortunately there was not enough oil so they could not be fried.
A big fish, a few sips of vegetable soup, and some roasted insects were Bifang's dinner today.
A primitive and happy atmosphere arises spontaneously. In the wild rainforest where life and death crises are everywhere, the sense of satisfaction brought by a safe place is incomparable.
After all, humans are creatures that enjoy stability.
Many people also find it very romantic. Digging a fire pit and barbecuing in front of a huge tree hole in the primitive jungle is like a fairy tale. If they can experience it once in person, they are willing to spend any amount of money.
Unfortunately, thinking about today’s battle between the bull and python, everyone had to give up the idea.
It is too dangerous. Even though people know that lying on the ground can avoid the attention of the bison, most people are so scared the first time they see the bison that they don't have time to remember these things.
Safety manuals and various survival knowledge have been repeatedly promoted during school years. Many people know what to do, but when the danger really comes, their brains will still be blank. No matter how much they know in normal times, it is difficult to apply it in practice at critical moments.
There was no entertainment at night. Before going to bed, Bifang found a few thick vines. There was nothing else in the rainforest but many vines.
Windmill vine, shoulder pole vine, Tokyo big-leaf vine, winged drupe vine, etc.
Vines entwine around trees, trees entwine around vines, big or small, thick or thin, long or short, from fences to ropes, from weaving to knotting, it can meet all your needs.
By wrapping thick vines around the roots of the banyan tree and covering them with mud, you can perfectly isolate the outside world and prevent small animals from accidentally entering.
Just as Bifang was filling the soil, a huge white worm suddenly jumped onto his hand.
The white worm is as long as two finger joints and almost as wide.
Suddenly being caught in the hand, the white worm twisted its fat body and tried to escape, but the next moment, it was pinched and immediately struggled even harder.
Bifang held the torch and moved closer. Under the light of the fire, the white worms looked fatter.
[Oh my god, what a fat bug! ]
【Big...big white worm?】
【The caterpillar has mutated? 】
"This is a white grub." Bifang pinched it, and it was plump, as if it would burst into pulp at any moment. "I think I mentioned it once yesterday or the day before yesterday, but I didn't expect to encounter it today."
"This thing is the larva of the Scarabaeidae family. The larvae of the Scarabaeidae family are all called grubs, and they look almost the same. Only after they break out of the pupa can we know what kind of insect it is. It could be a rhinoceros beetle or a scarab beetle."
Bifang didn't know what kind of insect he had in his hand.
"They lay their eggs in soft, moist soil. Each female can lay about a hundred eggs. I probably dug it up just now when I was digging, and one fell out."
Bifang rummaged through the place where he had just dug, and sure enough, he found two more. He was immediately delighted.
"Hey, this is a snack for me. This thing has six times the protein of beef. Looks like I'll have breakfast tomorrow."
[Holy crap, can this be eaten? It's a bit yue]
[What's the big deal? Isn't this just a large cicada pupa? Have you ever eaten a cicada pupa? ]
[Eating giant white worms is a good thing]
[I can't accept it. It's a bit too strong. ]
The harvest is always so sudden.
This is the rainforest, you never know what creature you will encounter next.
Maybe it’s a delicious meal, maybe…it’s still a delicious meal.
The soil around was completely dug up, and twelve large white worms were found, a great harvest. Bifang stuffed them all into a bamboo tube and sealed it with leaves and soil.
When everything is done, turn off the live broadcast.
"sleep!"
…
In the middle of the night, in the bushes not far from the tree hole, a purple flower that no one had noticed quietly bloomed and spread pollen.
The evening breeze blows and the branches of flowers sway.
