Chapter 854 Identity Recognition
The feel of a wild cheetah is completely different from that of a regular house cat.
It looks furry in appearance, and many people may think it is very soft, just like the fat cat at home, which feels great to pet.
But when you actually touch a big cat, you will find that it feels much rougher than a domestic cat, and even rougher than a dog of the same size.
It’s not because the hair is naturally hard. The difference in softness and hardness of the hair can also be felt on wild cats and domestic cats. The main problem lies in feeding.
Domestic cats that are well-nourished and bathed regularly have naturally soft and smooth fur.
Not to mention the nutrition of wild hair, it is extremely common for the hair to be hungry one moment and full the next. Add to that the wind and rain, and the hair will become dry, split, and hard.
This is actually a form of protection, as hard hair gives an advantage in a fight.
Harley grew up in a protection center, so he doesn't have to worry about food. Eating meat alone is not enough, so the keepers here specially provide a certain amount of liver to supplement vitamins.
But don’t worry about taking a shower.
Except for water-loving creatures like elephants and hippos that flush regularly, normal animals may take a bath a few times when they are young, but basically maintain a state similar to their natural state after adulthood. This also helps animals adapt to the wild environment in advance and enhance their body resistance.
The Kenya Conservation Center is not a zoo, and most of the rescued animals will eventually return to the wild.
Because of this, Halley's hair is not as soft and smooth as most people imagine, and some parts of his back can even be described as hard.
However, the hair on the flanks and neck is still relatively soft. Thanks to its huge size compared to a domestic cat, it feels completely different to touch. It gives you a feeling of fullness as if your entire palm is filled up, which is something that smaller animals can never compare to.
The audience in front of the screen expressed their envy and joy at the successful resolution.
In just three days, no, it should be said that it was two and a half days, he was able to successfully have physical contact with a strange cheetah without resistance. This progress was really incredible.
[Should I say he is worthy of being called Fang Shen? 】
[I have been feeding a wild cat downstairs for more than a month, but it has never been touched (woo woo woo)]
[Wild cat: That idiot who comes to deliver food every day is so easy to fool, meow~]
[Hahahaha, I’m dying of laughter]
[I also want to pet a big cat woo woo woo]
Since it was the first time, Bifang was not too anxious. After Harley finished his food, he stopped eating and did not stay in Harley's residence for too long. He left directly.
With a successful contact, everything that follows becomes easy.
For the next three feedings, even though the hunger was not so strong, Harley still chose to go forward and eat, from being hesitant at noon to being natural and calm at night.
The changes were so fast that it was unexpected, yet inexplicably reasonable.
After all, everyone saw the entire process of change.
The chin, top of the head, and back are the areas that Bifang focuses on.
With the same physiological structure, there is really not much difference between cats and cheetahs, even their comfort zones are similar.
When a cat immerses itself in petting, it means it likes you, and the same is true for cheetahs.
At night, after eating his last meal, Harley did not leave as he did before. Instead, he lay on the ground and let Bifang stroke his neck.
This is another progress worth celebrating.
With the foundation in place, on the fourth and fifth days, the relationship between the two sides developed rapidly, and the level of the relationship continued to break through. At noon on the fifth day, Harley was able to come out and move around again.
In fact, before the keeper who found Harley died unexpectedly, Harley had a certain amount of activity time every day, usually moving freely within the conservation center.
The conservation center does not often have outside visitors. Even if there are, every employee will be notified and will manage the animals under their charge to ensure that strangers are not attacked.
When everyone is familiar with each other, wild animals that are not too dangerous can move freely.
If you are going outside the protection center, you will be wearing a collar.
However, ever since Hamid Griffiths died unexpectedly of a heart attack, the conservation center has created familiar conditions for Bifang and Halley, so it has never left its 30-square-meter area surrounded by iron fences.
This is the first time today.
Barry drove his car past the dirt road and looked at Harley, who was leisurely walking beside Bifang. He smiled and said, "It seems like your relationship is developing well."
"Yeah, it's a lot easier to get along with than I thought."
"Hahaha."
Barry laughed a few times, then turned the handlebars, and the car quickly disappeared from sight. Everyone could still see the skinned pork on the back seat, revealing bright red flesh and blood, shaking up and down in the bumps.
Apparently, Barry went to feed.
[I’m so jealous. The animals in the conservation center eat better than me.]
[Will the protection center accept human waste like me? If necessary, I can show my belly]
[Is the one with the belly exposed in front a young lady? ]
[No, I’m a real man]
[Fuck, can I just die?]
[A young lady is here, this matter can still be discussed (dog head)]
[It's already the 5th, Fang Shen, tell me, can we see Harley running on the prairie before the National Day holiday ends? ]
Seeing the question in the last comment, Bifang looked down at the Harley at his feet, thought for a moment, and estimated a time point.
"Maybe on the 7th."
"After spending these few days with him, I found that Harley is quite smart. After five days of getting along with him, he can now roughly recognize my identity."
Identity recognition is not the distinction between individuals.
This is actually very easy to confirm for animals; they will be able to tell the difference after smelling the scent a few times.
But identity confirmation is not that simple.
In the animal world, there are also concepts of parents, friends, parent-child, and children, in addition to the hierarchical concepts of leaders, subordinates, and equals.
This kind of identity confirmation is not so easy for animals.
Especially when they are obviously not of the same species, it takes a lot of effort to make an animal realize that this is its companion.
Even Bifang took several days to make Harley deeply impressed that he was its new keeper and companion.
Perhaps this is still due to the fact that cheetahs are social animals.
"There is a social intelligence hypothesis about animal cognition that states that social animals need to constantly monitor their peers, predict their behavior, and respond appropriately in order to collaborate with them or compete for resources."
"In this process, individuals with stronger cognitive abilities will benefit from this challenge, survive and reproduce better, and thus gain an evolutionary advantage."
"So, more complex social structures promote the evolution of cognitive abilities."
"Since it is just a hypothesis and has not been substantively proven, and there are even many experiments that contradict each other, I am just stating it so that everyone can hear it."
Two female scientists in the United States conducted an experiment on which is smarter, a lion or a tiger, and the results of the two experiments were contradictory.
Natalia Borrego from the University of Miami designed a puzzle feeding box that allows animals to open the door and eat the meat inside the box as long as they pull the rope in the right direction.
She used spotted hyenas and three big cats as experimental subjects, a total of 48 animals participated in the experiment, and each animal had three attempts.
The experimental results were that 8 out of 9 spotted hyenas opened the box door, 16 out of 21 lions succeeded, 6 out of 11 leopards succeeded, and only 2 out of 7 tigers succeeded.
This result is consistent with the "social intelligence hypothesis", that spotted hyenas and lions living in groups have better innovation capabilities than solitary tigers and leopards.
"As both are social predators, spotted hyenas performed better than lions in the experiment, probably because their social structure is more complex."
"Hyaenas live in hierarchical clans, whereas lion pride members are equals."
"Hyaenas face more challenges than lions in dealing with social status and social relationships."
"In 2015, Natalia published her experiment in a paper titled: Social carnivores are better than non-social carnivores in using innovative solutions to problems."
"However, anyone who has done scientific experiments should know that only a small number of samples from four animals were tested, and their representativeness is questionable."
“So Sarah Benson Amram of the University of Wyoming also published her research results in 2015. Her research was more thorough and detailed, involving 39 species in nine families of the Carnivorous order of the class Mammalia.”
“She also designed a puzzle feeding box that the animals can open by pulling the bolt and taking the food inside.”
"For the four animals in Natalia's experiment, the spotted hyena still had the highest success rate in Sarah's experiment, at 40%, but the tiger's success rate was 33.3%, ranking second, and the lion and leopard dropped to third and fourth."
"The difference in the results of the two experiments may be due to the different experimental props. Natalia's experiment involved pulling a rope, while Sarah's experiment required pulling out the bolt. Relatively speaking, the latter experiment is more difficult."
"Another possible reason is individual differences. Some animals in individual zoos may have been trained and are smarter."
"These two opposite results cannot prove that the social intelligence hypothesis is definitely wrong, nor can they prove that it is right. It may be correct in some aspects, but it is more likely not comprehensive, so I just want to say it out to expand on it for everyone."
"But Harley is indeed quite smart. I will take it to the grassland tomorrow to have a look. If it performs well, I will try to start the live broadcast before the 7th."
The National Day holiday is from the 1st to the 7th.
Nowadays, Bifang's fans are becoming more and more globalized. The domestic audience has long been less than half of the number of people in the live broadcast room, but it is still around one-third. He is still more considerate and will try to start during the holidays.
[My goodness, these days, if you don’t read some papers, you’d be embarrassed to go out to survive in the wilderness]
[Don’t be so omnipotent! ]
[Too scary]
[I used to think that the development of an industry was gradual, until I discovered Fang Shen, who took wilderness survival to its peak (covering face)]
[Indeed, among the rock climbing masters, the rappelling masters, and some extreme athletes, there will always be more awesome people. I also believe that there will be people who break records in the future. But Fang Shen, to be honest, I really can’t imagine what it would be like to be more awesome than him.]
"Not really, not really."
Bifang smiled, squatted down and touched Harley's ear.
Walking on the path, Harley looks more agile, graceful, and full of the unique charm of a cat.
Cats are recognized as charming species, and if you have to choose the most beautiful one among them, different people may have different answers.
For example, the snow leopard has white fur dotted with black stripes, like a snow elf.
Some people would choose a male lion, with its thick mane that makes it look very majestic.
There are also many people who favor cheetahs, with their slender limbs and graceful figure, combining elegance and beauty.
Being able to let such a beautiful creature follow you for a walk is definitely an experience in life that is worth recording.
Bifang took Harley to visit the protection center for more than an hour, which relieved Harley's depressed mood after staying in the iron net for a long time. Then they returned to the protection net. However, this time Bifang did not leave. Instead, he cleaned up the side unexpectedly and cleared out a small space.
Harley sat in the shadow of the fender, sweeping the ground with his tail, and yawned out of boredom.
"Harley performed well today. I plan to take Harley to the grassland tomorrow. In order to shorten the distance between us and him, I plan to sleep with Harley tonight. We will find a place inside the protection net and sleep on the floor."
"Even if you adapt in advance, when you are really in the wild in a few days, days like this will happen every day."
Bifang usually sleeps outdoors and does n't feel any discomfort about making a bed on the ground.
Instead, the audience expressed their opinions.
[Damn it, I want to sleep with the big cat too]
[Ah, is this dangerous?]
【Not really】
[To be honest, cats are not as reliable as dogs. Sometimes I really don’t know what they are thinking. They may be playing nicely one second, and scratch you the next.]
【This is urgent (funny)】
"Of course I have considered all these, but like I said, this is actually a matter of early adaptation. After all, there will be many days like this in the future, and it will be the same sooner or later."
"If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't make such a decision."
Bifang comforted the audience.
He knew much more about the behavior and reactions of cats than the audience, and after a few days of getting along, he had a general understanding of Harley's personality, so he was still able to ensure safety.
Things developed just as Bifang expected, and nothing unexpected happened.
The next morning, Bi Fang saw the cheetah curled up in a ball beside him.
