Chapter 857 Animal Migration
On the grassland, Bifang led Harley towards the north.
The sparse, dry, yellow grass reached up to my thighs.
If you are wearing shorts and your skin is a little more delicate, after a hike, it will be covered with white marks. If you are unlucky and encounter thorny plants, blood marks are inevitable.
If it is poisonous, you may be killed on the spot.
What Bifang said about teaching something different has not had the opportunity to be reflected at this time.
I just chatted with the audience during the hike, introducing the features of the African savannah, as well as some of the food and scenery they might encounter at that time.
"In fact, early October is a very special time for the African grasslands in the northern hemisphere. During this period, we can see many things that we cannot see at other times. It can be said to be the best time."
【How do you say it? 】
[Is it the great migration of animals? ]
[I've been to Kenya. The Great Migration usually starts in June or July and ends in September. It's October now. How can I still see the Great Migration?]
"As for the great migration, it does usually start in June or July." Bifang admitted this without hesitation after seeing the comments, but then smiled and said, "However, the great migration comes quickly and leaves quickly."
"We really couldn't see how the animals migrated there, because we were a few months late, but we can see how they came back now, just in time."
Kenya has a special geographical location.
It belongs neither completely to the Northern Hemisphere nor completely to the Southern Hemisphere, but spans north and south, with the equator in the middle.
This means that when the northernmost part of the Kenyan grassland is in the dry season and the earth is cracked, its southernmost part may be the wet season with lush grass and water.
Such a significant difference has created the most shocking scene in the entire natural world - the great migration of animals from north to south.
The wet and dry seasons on the African savannah coincide with summer in each hemisphere.
Therefore, starting from mid-to-late May every year, the Serengeti National Park in northern Africa is about to usher in its dry season.
During this period, the aquatic plants in the park gradually withered, and the lack of food could not meet the needs of a large number of herbivores.
Plus, the timing was very coincidental.
Spring is here, everything is reviving, and it is the season for animals to mate.
Anyone who has watched Animal World will be familiar with this sentence.
For most herbivores, their breeding season is concentrated between March and May each year.
The herbivores on the African savannah are no exception.
Survival and reproduction are the instincts of every living thing.
The so-called estrus period seems to be a violation of the biological instinct for reproduction.
Some people believe that if animals could reproduce all year round like humans, the population size would increase significantly.
However, this idea is wrong.
In fact, the estrus period of animals is not a limit to the population size, but is to improve the survival rate of offspring and increase the population size.
The laws of nature are very different from those of human society. In nature, "survival of the fittest" is an eternal truth.
In spring, all things come back to life, the temperature is suitable, and the comfortable environment provides shelter and food for animals.
Most animals also choose to be active in this season and then give birth in the summer.
In summer, plants flourish and the climate is more suitable.
If cubs are born in winter, they are very likely to freeze to death due to insufficient food.
With sufficient food, herbivores become more active, which makes it easier for carnivores to hunt, so that the offspring of both can survive better.
Mating and reproduction are extremely physically demanding. Some extreme animals will even choose not to eat at all while they are pregnant and wait for delivery. After giving birth, most female animals are in a weak state and need timely care.
As the saying goes, good steel should be used on the blade, and the same principle applies to animal reproduction.
Therefore, all energy must be accumulated and released in the spring when the survival rate is the highest.
Of course, not all animals choose to be active in spring. This is actually related to the pregnancy period of the animals. For example, deer gestate in autumn.
Since deer have a long gestation period, they can give birth to cubs in the spring after being active in the autumn, which actually follows the above rule.
The drought is coming.
The number of ethnic groups increased dramatically.
The combination of these two reasons has seriously disrupted the balance between supply and demand.
In order to survive, herbivores had to start migrating to the northwest of Serengeti just to pursue grass and water.
The herbivores all ran away, and the carnivores were no exception. Then, under the influence of the food chain, almost all creatures, big and small, had to move.
Such a scene is very spectacular.
A huge procession of millions of wildebeests and hundreds of thousands of zebras and antelopes travels northward from the Serengeti Reserve in Tanzania to the Masai Mara National Park in Kenya, covering a distance of more than 3,000 kilometers.
Not only do you have to cross the grasslands where lions and leopards lie in ambush, you also have to beware of jackals that may appear at any time and crocodiles that gather on both sides of the narrow Mara River. These carnivores are ready to share the upcoming feast.
Large numbers of animals cross the border, cross the Mara River and come to Masai Mara. This situation will continue until September or even October every year.
Even if we can see it now, there may only be a few scattered small groups, which cannot be called a large-scale migration at all.
[But why can I see the return journey? 】
[Will this live broadcast also take several months? 】
Bifang shook his head: "Of course not. We can see the return journey because this kind of animal migration is not like migratory birds, leaving in autumn and returning in spring. Instead, it only stays for less than a month."
"Because soon, the grasslands of the southern hemisphere will also enter the dry season."
“And the Masai Mara National Park, where the animals migrate, is only one-tenth the size of the Serengeti.”
"It's simply not enough to sustain a large population of herbivores."
"Starting from mid-October, when the rainy season returns to the Serengeti savannah in Africa, the grass begins to turn green again under the nourishment of the rain."
"At this point, the animals have to migrate back to the Serengeti after a short period of refuge. The whole process lasts about a month and basically ends in December every year."
"In December, the animals returned to their homes, began to reproduce, recuperate, and gradually replenish the number of their kind lost along the way, preparing for the next year."
"Among the millions of migrating animals, only 30% are lucky enough to return to their starting point, but along with them come 400,000 new lives born during their thrilling journey."
"So, in a dozen days or so, we may be lucky enough to see this shocking scene."
[Good man, if I'm unlucky, I'll have to rush back right after I got there (dog head)]
[Not necessarily. Now that everyone is back, there will be fewer people eating grass. Maybe it will be just right (dog head)]
[Come to think of it, we can still see the great migration of animals]
[Great! ]
【Prohibition is good】
Looking around, all the grass was withered and yellow, without a trace of life.
The ground is very hard, and although there are no cracks, this is also a manifestation of the lack of water.
If there is sufficient water, the ground should not be as hard as cement, but should be softer and able to leave clear footprints.
But now even the small car from the conservation center can't leave any trace when passing by, which shows how dry and hard the land has become due to lack of water.
However, you can still occasionally see animals passing through the grassland.
There was a rustling sound in the bushes, and a brown mouse disappeared into a narrow rock cave, leaving only Harley digging in vain at the entrance of the cave.
After walking for several hours, Bifang could clearly feel his lips getting dry.
Harley, who failed to catch the mouse, began to show impatience. He started to move towards Bifang and tried to "lie down".
Cheetahs are creatures that don't like walking long distances, and this was especially evident at this moment.
Facing Bifang who was still moving forward, Harley, who had failed to lie down several times, quickly took a few steps forward, walked in front of Bifang, and lay down on the ground. He let Bifang pass by without getting up, but just raised his chest and shouted a few times on the ground.
[I can’t walk anymore]
[Is it no longer possible now? ]
【Playing bad (eating watermelon)】
Bifang smiled but did not force him. Instead, he looked around, found a small mound, and walked straight towards it without paying any attention to the cheetah beside him.
Harley on the ground raised his head to look, but his eyes were blocked by the grass. After waiting for a while, he still couldn't see Bifang, so he had to stand up. Then he saw Bifang standing on the slope. He hurried over and continued to move forward.
But at this time, Bifang did grab the flesh on the back of its neck and dragged it up the hillside.
"Cheetahs spend most of their time lying down, and during the hottest part of the day they are least active, resting in the cool protection of large trees."
"Although the weather in Kenya is not very hot, it does not affect its habit of lying down. They do not like long-distance expeditions, so they should take a rest now."
"But the native cheetah is a very timid animal. It will be very alert when walking, and will stop from time to time to look around to see if there is any prey that can be hunted."
"Another point is that it also has to prevent other beasts from preying on it. It usually takes a rest during the lunch break. During the nap, it even wakes up every six minutes to check if there is any danger around."
"So now we need to cultivate this habit in an interesting way, in places with better visibility, that is, at higher altitudes, so that they can develop the habit of observing first and resting later."
"Of course, it won't work once, but after doing it many times, it will eventually understand."
On the slope, Harley sat down under the compulsion of Bifang. Out of animal nature, he looked around curiously, and then followed Bifang and stopped under a big tree to rest.
Bifang cleared the space and sat down. After walking for half a day, he didn't feel too uncomfortable.
The mouth is dry, but the degree is very mild and not to the extent of dehydration.
[Harley's reaction is so funny]
[I have never been so tired in my life]
[Harley: What are these two-legged beasts doing (dog head)]
【Want to touch】
[I want to go to the African savannah someday! Maybe I can meet Harley]
"Don't think I'm not afraid of cheetahs, but that doesn't mean they're not a threat to adults."
Bifang directly grabbed Harley's paw beside him and compared it with his own. Although the cheetah was slender overall, its arms were not much thinner.
"The arms of ordinary people are not actually thicker than the forelimbs of a cheetah. A cheetah can accelerate to 110km/h in 3 seconds, which means that in a 100-meter race with Bolt, you can let him run 60 meters first, and the cheetah will win."
"In addition, cheetahs often roll around with their prey after catching them at high speed, so don't think their bodies are fragile. Cats' bones are much harder than humans'."
Then Bifang opened the cheetah's mouth again and photographed its canine teeth reluctantly.
"The cheetah's teeth are smaller than those of the leopard, but they are sharp enough. This is because the small head can ensure a higher running speed. The small head means the teeth are naturally small, and naturally they don't have the powerful jaws of the lion."
"So cheetahs usually can't bite through the throat of their prey, but instead use a clamp like this to suffocate the prey."
"But human skin is not covered with hair and is thinner than wild animals, and the throat is also smaller. The cheetah's canine teeth with an exposed length of 3.5 cm are enough to bite through the human throat."
"Usually, if a person's throat is bitten, it will not kill him immediately. Instead, he will become more energetic due to the large amount of air he inhales. However, if an artery in the neck is bitten, it will cause bleeding, so there is a possibility of death from excessive blood loss."
"The bite force of a cheetah can reach 340 pounds, a leopard 550 pounds, an African lion 1,050 pounds, a Siberian tiger 1,100 pounds, and a spotted hyena 1,300 pounds."
"When compared like this, it doesn't seem very high, but when compared with the big wolfdog German Shepherd, it is very impressive because the bite force of the German Shepherd is 230 pounds, which is 40 kilograms, only about two-thirds of that of the cheetah."
"So if you want to kill a cheetah, you first need to be able to kill a large canine."
"Besides, canines don't have the sharp claws of cats. Although the cheetah's claws are not as good as those of leopards and tigers, they are still very threatening to a naked human."
"The claw under the cheetah's thumb is especially retractable and long, which can help it hook and cut prey. People who often watch cat documentaries should know that sometimes when a cheetah catches up with its prey, a cut is suddenly made on the prey's body. This is the result of its thumb claw."
Bifang squeezed the cheetah's thumb claw out of his palm and showed it to the audience, reminding them not to be so silly as to think that all cheetahs in the wild are cute and want to touch them.
He has so many fans, it's no surprise that there are some weird ones among them.
During the rest, Bifang was not idle. He peeled some tree bark, rubbed out the fibers, and made ropes for future use.
After resting for an hour, Bifang continued on his journey with Harley, who had almost recovered. It was not until three o'clock in the afternoon that when Harley was about to give up and was about to give up, he finally found a good target.
A group of baboons.
"We found a source of water."
