Chapter 858 Curious Baboon
Due to the drought, several baboons covered in black fur were crouching on the big tree trunks that were not lush and green.
The flat terrain of the grassland made it easy for Bifang and Harley to be discovered by the baboons in the trees.
A baboon on the lookout puffed up its cheek pouches, opened its skinny, bulging mouth and let out a dry howl, alerting its companions under the tree.
Calling their friends, the baboons that were fighting on the ground quickly separated, jumped a few steps and climbed up to the treetops, standing on the branches to observe the approaching people. Soon, black coal balls rolled from the ground to the high places.
For a moment, the trees were densely packed with baboons.
The group of baboons looked at the man and the leopard that suddenly appeared on the grassland, and became agitated, crawling around on the rough branches.
Several large trees, like huge balls of black wool, were slowly wriggling in the grassland wind.
Even though the distance was too far and the sunlight was blurred, so the audience couldn't see it very clearly, they could still clearly feel that "they" were being stared at by dozens of eyes, and they couldn't help but get goose bumps on their backs.
Any living creature, once it is in large numbers, will instinctively give people a sense of crisis.
Is this a baboon?
[It feels a bit like that]
[I think there are no monkeys in Africa]
[You can tell it’s a baboon just by looking at its face]
Bifang squinted his eyes and stood in the sun for a while before he recognized what kind of animal it was and explained the audience's questions at the same time.
"There are actually monkeys in Africa, and there are quite a few species, more than ninety, but what we have in front of us is a baboon."
"The difference between baboons and monkeys is pretty easy to spot. First of all, the environment is different."
"Baboons mainly live in tropical rainforests, semi-mountainous desert grasslands, and hilly areas. They are more common in Africa."
"Monkeys are mainly distributed in Asia, Africa, America and other places. Most of them live in forests and there are basically no monkeys on grasslands."
"The reason for this is actually the difference in survival ability."
"Baboons are larger in size, especially with a thick head and very prominent lips, like a dog's muzzle, and high brow ridges, but small ears, which are suitable for moving on the ground."
"Monkeys are not that big, and there are many types of monkeys. Although they are very flexible, they can't compete with other animals for survival and resources on the more brutal grasslands like baboons."
Survival in nature is quite cruel. Species that are not strong enough can only survive in the cracks.
The sky, the ocean, and the land are the three major living circles.
The forest located between the ground and the sky is such a gap layer.
Baboons are stronger than their monkey counterparts, which allows them to live in the woods while occupying a certain territory on the ground.
"As for baboons, there are fewer species. Currently, there are only five species found in the world, namely, the Hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the East African baboon, the Savannah baboon and the Papio baboons."
"Judging from the geography and appearance, there is no doubt that what we are seeing is a group of savannah baboons. They are relatively large in size, second only to orangutans among primates. Although they appear to be only half the size of humans, they are actually very dangerous."
[I see]
[True or false]
[I don't believe it. I can kill these little bastards with one punch.]
[Some people can't even beat the monkeys in Mount Emei, yet they still dream of defeating a group of baboons on the grassland (eating watermelon)]
"I'm serious. As primates, we humans have different muscle composition from monkeys, gorillas, and baboons. We are not as powerful as them in terms of explosive power."
"Two-thirds of the muscle fibers in these primates are fast-twitch fibers, while the muscles of ordinary people are mainly slow-twitch fibers, with fast-twitch fibers accounting for only half."
"Fast-twitch muscle fibers are thicker than slow-twitch muscle fibers, and their volume is about 22% larger under isometric conditions. This data comes from Schwarzenegger's Complete Fitness Book, and their contraction speed is 2 to 3 times that of slow-twitch muscle fibers, and they can produce greater force."
"More fast-twitch muscle fibers give orangutans, baboons, and monkeys a natural advantage in strength over humans, and they also appear stronger. However, fast-twitch muscle fibers consume a lot of energy and are easily fatigued, and are far less endurance-resistant than slow-twitch muscle fibers."
"Combining measurement data and computer simulation results, some researchers believe that the muscle strength of these primates is 1.35 times that of human muscles of the same volume. The relevant paper was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States."
"Taking into account the difference in body fat percentage, the strength of an adult male primate weighing 50 kilograms is roughly equivalent to that of an 80-kilogram strong human."
"Human evolution has adjusted the proportion of different muscle fibers in muscles, which shows the unique direction of human evolution. It sacrifices some strength in exchange for better endurance to better adapt to life on the ground."
[You throw away the paper if you don’t agree with me, right?]
[I just want to ask, is there really anyone who will read the article that Fang Shen said after the live broadcast (dog head)]
【True and well-founded】
[I would like to call Fang Shen a popular science anchor, is that ok? ]
[He's only one meter tall, so he probably weighs less than 50 kilograms]
"It's true that savannah baboons usually don't weigh more than 30 kilograms, but that doesn't mean they can't threaten humans. Don't forget that they are social animals, and their numbers are quite terrifying. Each group is usually larger than 30, and the group is composed of multiple males and females. The number structure is not comparable to that of wolves."
“But it’s not a bad thing to encounter them.”
As he spoke, Bifang also took off the rope from his waist, licked his dry lips, and said to the screen: "If you want to find water, the easiest way is to ask the local residents, just like I tracked the white-lipped buffalo in the rain forest to find salt blocks."
"Most mammals drink water regularly, and herbivores usually don't stray too far from a water source - like the animals in Kenya who migrate thousands of kilometers to avoid the dry season - because they need to drink water every day and night, and they can't survive without it."
"So you can find water sources by following animal footprints; and when you see herbivores coming down the mountain, you can follow them."
"For carnivorous animals, drinking water can sustain them for a long time. They can obtain water while preying on other animals. So where carnivorous animals appear, there may not necessarily be water nearby. This is something we need to pay attention to."
Bifang explained the reason, searched around for a while, found a place seemingly at random, and started digging a hole on the spot.
The loess was too dry and hard, so Bifang inserted a knife and used it as a crowbar to pry up the hard soil. However, after squeezing it hard, the loess quickly turned into granules.
With the help of the knife, the entire pit quickly grew larger.
"In addition, granivorous birds, such as finches and pigeons, will not stray far from water sources. They also drink water in the morning and evening."
"When they fly straight and low, they must be thirsty for water."
"Once they have had enough water they will stop there, flying from tree to tree, taking frequent breaks, and keeping an eye on where they are flying, maybe they will find water."
"Of course, water birds can sustain long-distance flights without stopping to eat or drink, and their presence does not necessarily indicate that there is water nearby."
"Falcons, hawks and other carnivorous birds get water from their prey, so they can't be used as a water signal."
“They are not water indicators.”
"Reptiles can also suck dew and get water from small animals they capture, allowing them to survive for a long time even without water."
"Insects are the best indicators of water sources. Bees in particular usually stay no more than 50 meters away from their hives or beehives, but they drink water at irregular times."
"Ants also rely on water. A group of ants marching towards a tree is likely to go to an underground reservoir to drink water."
"Such a water storage place can be found even in a barren land."
"Most insects will fly non-stop within a 90-meter radius of a water source, especially the European mason bee, which reveals its bright green body when flying."
"Therefore, whether you can follow a certain creature to quickly find a water source depends on your own judgment and your knowledge of the species."
"Otherwise, if you follow the wrong target, you may not be able to find water for two or three days. You can't hold on for that long. If you don't drink water for two consecutive days, you will basically feel exhausted and it will be difficult to resist and struggle when you encounter danger."
It’s all about the details
[Survival experience from the world's number one jungler]
【Write it down, write it down】
[By the way, what are you doing now, Master Fang? Is there any point in digging this hole? ]
[Is there groundwater here too? ]
"I can tell you for sure that there is no groundwater under this pit. On the contrary, it is extremely dry. I didn't dig it to find anything. I just thought it was fun."
Bifang dug a big hole and played a joke on the audience.
The audience was also successfully tricked and had a lot of question marks on the screen.
【Fun???】
[Old Fang, are you serious? ]
【Are you playing with me through me? 】
"Isn't it fun? Look at the baboons over there. They are very curious."
Bifang pointed to the baboon in the distant tree.
Sure enough, after seeing Bifang digging a hole not far away, almost all the baboons came to the top of the tree canopy, trying to see what Bifang was digging.
Curiosity is inherent in all living things, especially in primates.
"Baboons always have a secret watering point, but they won't tell anyone, so we have to use some method to lure them into giving it away."
"On the African savannah, baboons are also ferocious animals. They are not picky about food and can find food sources in almost any environment, including insects, grubs, spiders, scorpions and other small animals."
"We can even see some baboons directly killing antelope cubs for food, tearing and eating the cubs of these herbivores, and even snatching food from the mouths of cheetahs, regardless of whether they are meat or vegetables."
[Cheetah: Just because you’re a kid, you think you can rob me, right?]
[It’s over, why do I feel like cheetahs are at the bottom of the food chain (funny)]
"Yes, in the food chain, some male baboons are not afraid of cheetahs at all, and even dare to scare away adult cheetahs, because the main natural enemy of baboons is leopards, which are more ferocious and have stronger fighting power than cheetahs. Baboons mainly move on the ground, and also climb trees to sleep or forage, while leopards are good at running and climbing, and can catch monkeys and birds in trees. Baboons cannot escape the pursuit of leopards."
"Although cheetahs can climb trees, their fighting power in trees is not as good as that of leopards, so they are easily bullied."
"However, because baboons are not picky about meat or vegetables, they are not very dependent on water sources like carnivores. But they have one good thing, which is that they are very easy to track."
"Compared to birds and herbivores, once baboons start looking for water, it's easy for us to follow and solve the urgent problem."
Among herbivores, antelopes and gazelles run too fast and are too timid. Once you track them, you need to ensure that you are not discovered.
But animals like buffalo and wildebeest are too dangerous.
Birds fly too fast, and if you only look at the direction, the cost of misjudgment is too high.
It is not easy to encounter solitary, slow-moving, and non-aggressive creatures like the white-lipped buffalo.
Therefore, although they are all feasible methods, they lack cheapness . Compared with the above, baboon is a very good choice.
They run slowly and their individual strength is limited. Although they live in groups, their safety can be guaranteed as long as they do not invade other people's territory and an individual can be successfully separated.
That's why Bifang initially thought that encountering this group of baboons was a good thing.
The most important thing is that compared to finding water-containing plants or other various operations, the skill of tracking animals is the easiest to understand for Cheetah Harley.
When you are thirsty and don’t know where the water comes from, you follow the baboon.
This point will be firmly engraved in its heart.
Bifang's action of digging a hole at this time was to arouse the curiosity of the baboons and separate one of them.
After pretending to dig a hole for a long time, Bifang found some plant seeds nearby. Finally, he pretended to dig them out of the hole, grabbed them, put them in his pocket, and then left.
"In fact, my method was invented by the indigenous Makara people of Africa. When they are hunting, they often need to find water sources, so they use baboons to help them, and it almost always works."
When Bifang disappeared, several baboons immediately ran down from the tree and ran towards the pit, but found nothing.
"Remember, every step we take must be visible to the baboon. Next, let's make a simple trap."
After walking for dozens of meters, Bifang came to a towering earth slope. He searched around on it and soon found a small hole.
"There are many burrowing creatures in Africa, and on some soil slopes we can find these holes that may have been abandoned. These are natural traps."
When Bifang looked around and saw a baboon following him not far away, he knew that his plan had succeeded. He knew that the baboon was now tortured by curiosity.
"These caves are usually hard and have narrow passages, and are a natural cage."
After stuffing the plant seeds he had just picked up into the hole, Bifang turned around and left as if nothing had happened, and soon disappeared from the baboon's sight.
The baboon doesn't trust humans, but it really wants to know what's in the cave.
