Chapter 882 Dead Trees on the River
The wet mud and sand were slowly pushed away by the advancing raft, and a striking trace appeared on the river beach.
The dark blue river water turned slightly yellow due to the mixing of a lot of mud and sand. The waves on both sides continued to spread farther and farther, as if sending a signal to the overlord of the river.
Harley sat on the shore, slightly opening his mouth and breathing out, looking around vigilantly, but his appearance made him look rather dull.
Bifang noticed out of the corner of his eye that something moved in the grass nearby.
Several grasses more than two meters high were swaying slightly. If you didn't pay attention, you might think it was just a small breeze. But if you look at the swaying frequency of the grasses in other places, you can tell that it is very discordant when only one place is swaying so violently.
He guessed that the creature hiding there was most likely a crocodile.
As a cold-blooded animal, crocodiles can keep their body temperature basically consistent with the environment, and their metabolic levels will also change constantly.
The advantage of doing this is that there is no need to consume energy substances in the body to maintain body temperature. It takes a lot of energy for normal animals to maintain a body temperature of more than 30 degrees. The energy provided by the same piece of meat can support the activity of poikilothermic animals for a longer time, so the energy consumption rate of poikilothermic animals is much slower than that of homeothermic animals, which means they eat less.
Eating less is a huge advantage in the cruel nature. Eating less means less prey is needed and it is less likely to starve to death. Less prey means less hunting times are needed and it is less likely to be killed.
Look at the two preys of the Nile crocodile a year: wildebeest or zebra. Neither of them is easy to deal with, and a kick from a crocodile's hoof won't be pleasant.
If you walk by the river often, your paws will get wet.
The less you walk, the longer you live.
However, temperature change also has disadvantages, otherwise most of the organisms at the top of the food chain would not be warm-blooded animals.
If the environment is too cold, the metabolic level of cold-blooded animals will be too low, their movements will become very slow and clumsy, and the possibility of catching prey will drop rapidly.
Among the cold-blooded animals, the only two that can be considered top creatures and are well-known to humans are crocodiles and pythons. Both are opportunists that hide in a small place and cannot catch their prey unless it runs to their sight.
In order to face the upcoming semi-annual buffet meeting, as long as there is sunshine in the sky, the crocodiles will crawl ashore to bask in the sun, storing energy like a solar cell to charge for the next action.
Bifang looked around and found that except for the raft, there were no ripples anywhere else, which meant that the crocodile did not enter the water.
The audience was also quite nervous when they saw this. Perhaps it was because Bifang's words and actions had left a very deep impression on everyone. Such a wide river was labeled as extremely dangerous in the eyes of the audience.
[Already starting to panic]
[I don’t feel safe at all]
[Will the crocodile not attack the people on the raft? There is not even a barrier. If it presses on them directly, will the raft fall apart?]
[I am an old man and I cannot watch this]
"We still have to cross the river as soon as possible."
Pushing the raft into the water, Bifang walked up to test its buoyancy and structure.
The river is over fifty meters wide and full of crocodiles. If the raft is not strong, you will be playing with your life.
After ensuring that everyone was safe, Bifang picked up the spade and called Harley who was sitting on the ground to prepare to cross the river.
Looking at the exposed islands in the river, you can tell that the river here is not too deep and the flow is not fast. Compared with oars, paddling is actually a better choice.
"Although the pole can only be used in shallow water, it is the most adaptable way of maneuvering a boat under special conditions. It can easily overcome narrow waters and aquatic plants."
"Therefore, domestic wooden boats usually use oars in combination with other propulsion methods. In the busy shipping areas of Jiangnan, oars are rarely used because the use of oars is too restrictive. They must be used on open waters and are difficult to use on narrow waters. Fishermen in open waters, such as near lakes, use oars more often. At the same time, there should not be too much aquatic plants, otherwise it will be difficult to use if they are entangled."
Of course, Bifang also prepared oars.
There were no bamboos nearby, let alone straight and slender plant poles, so Bifang could only make a temporary prop by connecting tree branches and reinforcing it with special knots.
Compared with bamboo supports, this method is heavy, has a weak structure, and is of absolutely unqualified quality, and is basically disposable.
One must be careful to do this, as it would be very troublesome if it broke, so Bifang prepared an extra rowing oar in advance.
After receiving the call, Harley lowered his head and looked cautiously at the slightly turbid lake surface. He stretched out his claws to try, then quickly retracted them, looking hesitant.
Bifang was always paying attention to the underwater environment to make sure that there would be no surprise attacks at this time. He did not urge Harley, but let it judge the environment on its own.
Being afraid and hesitant in the face of unfamiliar environments is a very normal behavior, and it is a very good habit in nature. Bifang will not stop Harley from behaving in this way, so as not to affect his future natural life.
If you urge him because you are in a hurry, it may not matter once or twice, but if you urge him once, it is easy for Harley to lose this good habit.
[It’s a bit like raising a child (dog head)]
[ I feel that Harley is really smart]
[When will everyone have one of these?]
[It’s still too dangerous]
After pacing back and forth on the shore for several times and about three minutes, Harley finally made up his mind and jumped onto the raft carefully.
Under the influence of gravity and inertia, the raft swayed slightly . Frightened, Harley immediately lay down to lower his center of gravity, with his limbs and claws firmly embedded in the wood. He stood up cautiously and began to move carefully after the raft stabilized again.
Seeing this, Bifang continued to wait for a while. Every time he saw Halley approaching the edge of the raft, he would gently push it back. When Halley would not easily approach the edge, he would insert the pole into the river, and when it touched the bottom, he would use the force to push the entire raft out .
"In shallow water, we can use two long poles to control the raft. If you have no experience, it is best to have two people work together, one person at the front corner and the other at the back in a diagonal line. In this way, even if you have no experience in pole-steering, you can make the whole boat move quickly and ensure a certain degree of stability."
"If you are alone, it is quite difficult to use the pole. It is also a technical job that requires the whole body's sensitivity to be mobilized. If you don't have enough skills, you will easily feel tired, and if you are not careful, the boat may keep spinning in the same place."
While Bifang was speaking, his hands kept moving, supporting himself with the long pole and gradually moving towards the other side of the river.
Compared to the noise when it just entered the water, this time undoubtedly attracted more attention from the crocodiles. After only going out six or seven meters, the audience noticed that there were many more "dead trees" not far away.
